It’s taken 1.5 years since the last meal, but the Diggers are finally back with their supper. Through a total of 11 studio albums since the early eighties, Chris Boltendahl and his crew have delivered the goods again and again, and The Last Supper is no exception. This is (once again) a rock solid and, at times, very fresh-sounding effort with great songs and powerful production.
Except for “Black Widow” and “Always and Eternally” — none of which are bad songs but seem to lack that extra spark — this is Heavy Metal heaven, and songs like the killer “Grave In The No Man’s Land,” “Hell To Pay,” and “The Night Before” are on their own worth every penny.
Chris Boltendahl, whose characteristic voice sounds more musical and melodic this time around, and Manni Schmidt, the former Rage-axeman who replaced Uwe Lulis before 2001’s The Grave Digger, delivers a tombful of fatty riffs. Great examples can be found in the main riff within “Grave In The No Man’s Land” (which bears no resemblance to “Enter Sandman” whatsoever, of course), the Power Metal riffs in “Hell to Pay,” at 4:17 in the epic and majestic “Crucified,” the lead line in “Divided Cross,” and the 70s-inspired intro riffs in “Soul Savior” and in the title track… and that would be about every track…
Also, keyboardist HP Katzenburg adds to the soundscape both with awesome piano parts like in “Always and Eternally,” and atmospheric, almost Emperor-style sound pallets, found in songs such as “Crucified.”
As you’ve probably understood by now, this is an awesome album indeed, and if thundering, galloping, face-punching European-style Heavy Metal is your bag, you can’t possibly go wrong with Grave Digger. Now go ahead and dig deep into this twelve-course feast of Heavy Metal served raw!
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