Grave
Digger are something of an German music and metal institution, these
guys have been around since 1980, and they've been churning out big, epic
metal crunchers for more than twenty-five years now, and while they certainly
make no claim to be innovative or breathtaking, they sure do seem to have
a lot of fun and creativity behind them now. I haven't listened to all of
their albums over the years. One thing I’ve always loved about Grave
Digger is their album covers, they have always had great artwork on their
albums and ‘The Ballads Of A Hangman’ is no Exception with a
real medieval looking masterpiece its true classic heavy metal look. Now
their last two albums where not up to their mighty standards, but their
new album is a direct hit for me. In every sense it’s back to the
classic Grave Digger sound, like the two I mentioned. It’s the first
time the band has recorded with the dual guitar sound and Guitarist Thilo
Hermann first studio recording with the band. So yes it’s got a bigger
sound. The opening title track rocks mightily, and it's followed by the
even better "Hell of Disillusion," and one of my favorite song
on the album ‘Sorrow of the Dead’, and "Into the War,"
the epic sound of "Funeral for a Fallen Angel" and the catchy
anthem "Pray." The songs here all follow a similar formula, opening
up with a galloping riff and expanding into quick, snappy verses and a punchy,
layered chorus that you'll be singing along with before the song ends. It
does have a ballad of sorts "Lonely The Innocence Dies where singer
Chris Boltendahl uses his clean vocal delivery on this song as well as his
gravelly vocals and it works well together on the song; another favorite
of mine on this great album. And their cover of the classic Thin Lizzy Song
‘Jailbreak’ is not to bad either. I really like this album because
The Ballads Of A Hangman is just strait up pure heavy metal and it’s
just a lot of fun from one the originals. A worthy addition to your metal
collection, get it today where all good metal albums are sold.
The Gallows Pole (intro)
Ballads of a Hangman
Hell of Disillusion
Sorrow of the Dead
Grave of the Addicted
Lonely the Innocence Dies
Into the War
The Shadow of Your Soul
Funeral for a Fallen Angel
Stormrider
Pray
Jailbreak (Thin Lizzy Cover) Bonus track on digipak version
Rating: 80
Reviewed By: Cameron Edney
- http://www.myspace.com/insideout666ints |
