Germany is no doubt one big Heavy fuckin' Metal country with tons of bands pumping steel tunes throughout the last 25 years. If you come up to me and ask me to name the first German Heavy Metal bands that come to my mind, Grave Digger will surely be among my first answers! Truly raw, Heavy to the bone, loyal to their fans, loyal to the Heavy Metal scene...the reaping Grave Digger is here to serve us The Last Supper before our heads roll!
The band formed in 1980, released Heavy Metal Breakdown in 1984 (sold 40.000 copies in Europe) as their debut and gave birth to about a dozen of albums ever since and up until now. Their works were always of a guaranteed quality (for those who loved/love raw and fast Heavy Metal tunes) and rarely did any of their releases ever really decline from each other. Their highest peak (in my humble opinion) though must be mentioned and that's none other than the brain-crushing Tunes Of War (1996, Great Unlimited Noises) which is surely a must have album for every heavy metalhead (songs like Rebellion (The Clans Are Marching), The Dark Of The Sun, The Ballad Of Mary (Queen Of Scots) and William Wallace (Braveheart) will always melt my headphones away).
What I've always liked about Grave Digger was their picks on some really interesting subjects. They always wrote songs about things that fascinated me. A most distinguishing example would be the aforementioned Tunes Of War which galloped triumphantly through the plains of Scotland along with William Wallace, Queen Mary etc. This time, Chris Boltondahl (vocals) and his diggers decided to touch a really sensitive issue...Jesus Christ's last moments before his crucifixion...his last supper.
Approaching religious topics is always a risky kind of thing especially when most people obviously believe in something (whatever that may be - believing in nothing is also believing in something...). Nevertheless when it's done carefully and of course by a musician it's always very interesting to hear the artist's opinion on the matter he elegantly approaches. Grave Digger drew Christ's Last Supper on a musical canvas and they do it just fine. So let's proceed with the essence of this review (which is NOT religion...), let's cut to the music.
The Last Supper is a supper consisted of straightforward, face pounding Heavy Metal, the way only Grave Digger know how to cook, served along with an atmosphere of mysticism as the dressing and...hum, you hungry?
Heavier than Rheingold (2003) yet deeper, this album's got lots of headbanging to offer. Just listen to tracks like No Man's Land, Soul Savior, Black Widows, Desert Rose and Hell To Pay. These songs are fast, heavy and a fist up the a...ups, sorry, I got carried away again. But you get my point. If you're a Grave Digger fan, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Then, we've got softer (but still heavy) songs like The Last Supper, Crucified, Hundred Days which are more...deeper should I say? Well of course deeper, it's Jesus Christ we're talking about.
Always And Eternally marks the end of this release in a rather soft (but not as soft as a ballad...) way, referring to faith (well, it makes sense if you look at the song's title) and though this album may have ended, it surely won't stay on the shelves and suck on dust. There'll yet be much more suppers to come...
- Album Highlights: The Last Supper, Desert Rose, No Man's Land, The Night Before, Hundred Days, Always And Eternally and the artwork (awesome!).