Review Summary: Grave Digger's successful comeback and reinvention.
Among all the cheesy and poppy stuff power metal has, sometimes you can also find some material played with… well, excuse me for redundancy, power. Examples？ This 1993’s gem called
The Reaper. Although not as commercially successful as some of their German comrades like Helloween, Blind Guardian or Accept, Grave Digger has earned the affection of the metal community. Some of the most outstanding and prominent members throughout Grave Digger's trajectory are talented vocalist Chris Boltendahl, who has been the only constant member in all of the band’s incarnations; the band’s first keyboardist, Hans Peter Katzenburg, who made his debut as an official member on 1998’s
Knights of the Cross and has been one of the longest running musicians in the band until he retired in 2014; and prodigious, stellar guitarists such as Uwe Lulis (who had previously participated with Boltendahl in a couple of Grave Digger-related projects in the late-80s, Digger and Hawaii, but officially made his debut with Grave Digger on this album), ex-Rage Manni Schmidt or Axel ''Ironfinger'' Ritt (Domain, Monstergroove).
Grave Digger started in the 80s as an unpretentious, balls-out heavy/speed metal group. They released three studio records before changing the band’s name to simply ''Digger'' in the mid-80s, largely because of the low sales
War Games had, and with that they also decided to make a stylistic detour, releasing a strange and confusing album called
Stronger Than Ever (even the cover art is weird, I mean, why a robotic Donald Duck？), a failed attempt to commercialize their sound and adopt stylistics of current (back then) melodic hard rock/glam metal groups like Bon Jovi or Def Leppard. The album flopped and now is out of print, and soon later the German diggers retired temporarily from making music. It wasn’t until the early 90s when the group reborn from the ashes as the Phoenix with
The Reaper, the album in which the musicians took a more epic-oriented direction, a risky but wise reinvention of their previous sound.
While the band’s playing skills haven’t deteriorated so much over the years, their performance on
The Reaper is undoubtedly one of their best, with the musicians doing a spectacular and consistent job, guaranteeing that this will be a fantastic, mystical and rocking experience. Needless to say, this album is also an adequate option to introduce you to the band’s sound. Guitarist Uwe Lulis delivers a lot of energy, passion and force to the songs with his loud riffs and solos, which are mostly influenced of old school metal bands. His guitar playing provides a perfect accompaniment to Chris’ strong voice, which differs from other power metal vocalists as his vocals are gruff, gritty and a bit cavernous rather than melodic, subtle or operatic, not to mention some terrifying, euphoric shrieks and high-pitched screams he delivers from time to time. The rhythm section is an unstoppable beast as well, providing a relentless, tight and neck-breaking pace to all the songs.
The Reaper rather than being exclusively a heavy or a power metal record is more a hybrid of both genres, with big emphasis on straightforward, fast metal attacks such as the rocking, energetic ''Shadows of a Moonless Night'' and the title track, filled with direct riffs, frenetic drum playing and Chris’ vocals in a perfect state. The album may have some cheese in a couple of parts, but if you’re acquainted with power metal that’s an ''evil'' we’ll all have to cope with, I guess. Despite that, the album isn’t so cheesy compared to other power metal albums or even some of Grave Digger's later releases. The band didn’t have a keyboardist at that time and there aren’t any overblown orchestral arrangements, power ballads or polished and sterile production values. In counterpart there are many fierce rockers very reminiscent of early Accept like ''Ride On'' or ''Play Your Game (And Kill),'' which already present us Grave Digger's trademark up-tempo formula consisting of strident, punchy riffs and thunderous, entertaining (although sometimes a little simple) choruses. In the same way, ''Spy of Mas’On'' and ''Fight the Fight'' are very solid and enjoyable songs, especially the former, which features one of the album's wildest choruses and more catchy riffs.
Not the entire album is an up-tempo fest, though. Grave Digger's first attempts to create anthemic and adventurous mid-tempo tunes appear here, and for a first attempt, they did a very competent and interesting job. ''Wedding Day'' is the first slow song, starting with a dominating, killer bass line and a ghoulish laugh by the vocalist before presenting us with a sound now more reminiscent of classic Judas Priest. During its almost four minutes, this song stands out as one of the album's highlights thanks to its ominous, macabre and hellish atmosphere and Uwe Lulis' impressive guitar work. Other mid-tempo tracks include ''Under My Flag'' (possibly the song that most reminds of their 80s stuff) and the six-minute ''Legion of the Lost (Part II),'' which excellently intercalates melodic and acoustic passages with some heavy riffing. However, not all attempts at this sound are 100% successful, as is the case with ''And the Devil Plays Piano,'' which despite having a hooky and somewhat bluesy main riff, it doesn't deliver so much substance besides the riff and can feel a bit awkward and primitive in its structure thanks to the constant repetition of the main vocal hook (
'Can't you see, oh can't you see/The devil plays piano'). Possibly the only weak spot of the track list. Fortunately the band recovers the way with the fairly decent, speedy rocker ''Ruler Mr. H''; more of the same, of course, but very consistent.
The Reaper’s only minor flaw may be that the first listen can be a somewhat tedious experience for some people. This album won’t be a problem for someone who really digs this punchy, in-your-face sound or a metal fan, but otherwise you may get tired a bit almost by the end or don’t understand why almost every track here is a heavy, unstoppable and loud riff-fest. If that’s your case, I doubt your opinion of the band will improve or change with their later studio works. But regardless,
The Reaper was a perfect presentation card for the band to the 90s, and also the record where Chris & boys finally found their trademark medieval sound. Along with their well-respected and beloved Middle Ages Trilogy, this is an album that every classic metal fan and power metal connoisseur should look for.
