GRAVE DIGGER – Return of the Reaper (2014)

So rarely am I speechless, I could name each and every moment exactly. My longest fine-draw over a review was over this one. Grave Digger‘s last album won me on so many levels I cannnot decide which one to wrtie about first.

Even though rumour has never had me as a particular fan of the Germans, I’ve always had something in mind for their contribution to metal music and metal history as a whole. I laid my ears on Return of the Reaper with the mindset that I will hear something huge and, well, majestic. Such a right attitude it was!

Raging rhythm, striking guitars, catchy melodies and quite an interesting story – this is what the last album of the classicists proposes. The begining is set with a three-minute-long melody that could one day serve as a soundtrack for a horror movie, followed by Hell Funeral. After they buried me in heavy metal, the quintet threw Wargod at my face – a neck-breaking piece. Of course, the typical rocker must not be skipped – it is he who inspired Tattooed Rider.
A time comes when I must wake up after the shock – the alarming Ressurection Day and Season of the Witch guarantee one hell of a good afternoon! Road Rage Killer actually kills it by drums and alongside racing catastrophically rapid guitars. Grave Desecrator manages to keep me sane until the moment my absolute favourite begins – Satan’s Host is a wonderful invitation for a supper in the company of charming sinners.
Exceprionnaly tactfully there are hymns in praise of those who already had their diner with the Еvil One – Dia de los Muertos, аnd that faithful servant who has led them there – Death Smiles at All of Us.
The end is put very fatally – with Nothing to Believe: melancholic opening, lyrical filling and a tragic final. Chris Boltendahl‘s husky voice adds the needed drama and thus makes the album absolutely and utterly complete.

Instead of a conclusion I would like to say that I can’t wait to see Grave Digger live this autumn – just to convince myself in the might of the German Machine.

9,5/10