Review Summary: An album which represents Grave Digger at the bottom of their game.
In all honesty, Grave Digger have been making the same album since 2004's
The Last Supper. Depending on whether or not you're a fan of the band, this statement rings true every time the band announce a new release. However, making the same album, delivering the same riffs, and being fronted by a vocalist who by now sounds way past his prime seem to be among the core reasons why Grave Digger just aren't that relevant anymore-at least as they were around 15 years ago.
That's why 2012's
Clash of the Gods is more suited to developing the downfall of a band's ongoing musical career than it is just another record to put with the rest. From the very beginning, this record simply proves that the band don't have life left. The ludicrous opening interlude, narrated through nasally and monotonous vocal chords makes the listener laugh because of 1) its irrelevance to the album's concept, and 2) Boltendahl's attempt at sounding somewhat creepy. Indeed, "Charon" is one of several reasons why
Clash of the Gods never really gains any momentum, save for a few solid albeit predictable riffs scattered throughout. I mean, just take the one-two fizzle of "God of Terror" and "Hell Dog", which will probably earn a prize for being two of the most mundane songs in Grave Digger's discography. You could pick any tune from the band's 80s releases and see that comparatively, you'd prefer the older source. "God of Terror" attempts a hard, gritty metal sound but falls flat too soon-and that, unmistakeably, is when Boltendahl begins to sing. "Hell Dog" suffers the same consequences, and even worse, details some of the weakest lyrics you'll likely have heard from any Teutonic metal group.
So what does
Clash of the Gods really have going for it? Well, the solo sections of most songs are very well-refined and solidly performed, even if they don't quite take away from the general monotony of the rhythm section. Axel Ritt performs just as coolly and menacingly as he did on previous record
The Clans will Rise Again, even at times echoing Deep Purple in their prime ("God of Terror"), simultaneously playing with keyboardist H.P. Katzenburg. There's two noteworthy songs here where the band actually sounded like they enjoyed what they were doing. The first is "Medusa", a song which, whilst not particularly special regarding lyrics, certainly presents one of the most memorable main riffs of the record. The second, "Walls of Sorrow", revels in melodic territory and Boltendahl even attempts to vary his vocal range as serenely and confidently as on previous Grave Digger releases.
It's almost as if Grave Digger managed to overcome the mundane with these few moments of greatness, but the reality is, is that they are too few and far between to even result in something above average overall. You'll likely find this more appealing if you're a fan of Grave Digger, but for anyone else it simply is evidence of a band falling behind with the times. Not only that, but it sounds as if each member just isn't interested anymore-and that's quite a crippling thought, given the remote history of Grave Digger's most successful works.
