960. Grave Digger / Healed By Metal. 2017. 4/5

In the modern age, where the world is opened up to the music listener through the internet age, the ability to access all manner of bands and their material means you can experience more music than ever than was the case in my teenage years. So when I see a band is releasing their eighteenth studio album, and I have never heard anything of theirs before, it’s time to get their latest release and give it a spin to see where the longevity comes from.

Thus, Grave Digger is another band I have heard nothing of their back catalogue, and so went in with little to guide me. The thumping start to the title track “Healed By Metal” sets everything off in the right direction, a simple but effectively branded song that encourages chanting along with the chorus with the underlying heavy riff. This is followed by “When Night Falls” which picks up the tempo and flies along with those speed metal guitars, reminiscent of Judas Priest in their heyday. This is exemplified by “Lawbreaker” which jumps straight in and continues in this direction, once again powered by a chorus that encourages the sing along.
“Free Forever” continues to channel the 80’s heavy metal styling, using many of the guitaring techniques used in the hair metal scene (in a heavier sense) to contribute to the music. I don’t know if it was deliberate, but it is effective (think Mick Mars’ guitar sound and you’ll know what I mean). The crowd anthem chorus of “Call For War” uses that theme as well. It’s a simple but effective song progression, and one that pulls on the strings of my youth. “Ten Commandments of Metal” goes for the mid-tempo heavier riff, while the chorus of Chris Boltendahl’s vocals again demand a crowd-chanting involvement.
“The Hangman’s Eye” brings in those Helloween and Gamma Ray hints while retaining the basis of the band’s sound, belting out the vocals and then letting the guitar solo flay along during the break. It really drags you into the album again. This is followed by “Kill Ritual” where you can taste Judas Priest’s influence again, and the pull on my love of metal is again inflamed within the solo break.
And then, hello! “Hallelujah” wants to have an old school thrash influence, though not with the same ferocity. Still enjoyable. “Laughing With the Dead” slows everything back to a chanting mid-tempo again, which for me was a strange thing to do at the ‘end’ of the album. It sounds fine, but why end an album on that tempo? The answer to that is that there are two ‘bonus tracks’ following this – which surely in this day and age everyone gets, this making the ‘concluding track’ NOT that at all? Anyway, Kingdom of the Night picks up that tempo again, but is bettered by the final track “Bucket List”, a romping heavy tune that is a joy to bang your head along with, singing along at the top of your voice. Terrific stuff.

I’m not sure what the long-time fans of the band think about this album, but I rather enjoyed it for the most part. The foundation of the 80’s heavy metal scene being sewn into the fabric of the songs is what appealed most to me, and made it an enjoyable experience. While Boltendahl’s vocals are not what you come to expect from the speed/power metal bands of the halcyon period, where high pitched melodic vocals are most prominent, his fit wonderfully well here, uniquely his own and perfectly crafted to the music. Like a few other bands I’ve found lately, I need to make a serious effort in discovering the bands back catalogue to see what I’ve missed, but as a starting point of Grave Digger for me, this was more than worthwhile.

Rating:  “We hold our shields high in the sky, never surrender till we die”.  4/5