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GRAVE DIGGER
“Bone Collector”
Album Review by Iron Mathew
10/10

Grave Digger are a heavy metal band from Germany formed in 1980 following a path set by fellow countrymen Accept – Grave Digger taking the Accept sound and heavying it up somewhat to pioneer a new genre of metal that would become known as heavy/power metal! This heavier, bolder style of power metal inspired the likes of Helloween, Rage and Running Wild – and the next generation too with bands such as Iron Savior, Orden Ogan and Primal Fear. And it’s no coincidence that all of these bands are German – Germany is the world’s hotbed for power metal bands, the legacy that began over forty years ago, still going strong today! Maybe even stronger, as generation after generation follow in the foot-steps of Grave Digger, et al.
Founded by singer Chris Boltendahl (Hellryder, Steelhammer), Grave Digger have enjoyed a forty five year career releasing twenty two studio albums – the bands most recent ‘Bone Collector’ emerging in 2025 featuring eleven songs across forty six sensational minutes! It’s no secret that Grave Digger are one of my all time favourite bands, who have also released two of my all time favourite songs – ‘Headbanging Man’ and ‘Heavy Metal Breakdown’ (both appearing on the bands 1984 debut album ‘Heavy Metal Breakdown’). So forgive me if my review appears a little biased, ‘Bone Collector’ a bone crunching skull crushing slab of very heavy, heavy metal – the title song ‘Bone Collector’ storming outta the gate fuelled by thunder, fire and brimstone! The band are at full tilt here, hurtling across metal territory with immense power, pace and purpose, the impetus of ‘Bone Collector’ (the song) oozing more energy than a lightning bolt! A sensational album opener – and to be honest I wouldn’t have expected anything less from one the worlds greatest metal bands ever – ‘The Rich, The Poor, The Dying’ maintains the albums electrifying start! The pace and power pouring outta ‘The Rich, The Poor, The Dying’ is much greater than ‘Bone Collector’ (the song), Grave Digger turning up the levels of everything to beyond maximum as every metaller and mosher around the world vigorously rock their heads back and forth.
An absolutely barnstorming brace to unleash your new album, Grave Digger keep the hammer well and truly down as ‘Kingdom Of Skulls’ rockets outta the blocks at a hundred miles a fucking hour – the band changing down a gear as the song gets fully into its stride. The heaviness of the opening threesome has been overwhelming, the all conquering metal machine from Germany proving they are still a force to be reckoned with. I never had any doubts the band were anything else, Grave Digger are, and always will be, one of my favourite metal bands ever! And entering the fray, ‘The Devils Serenade’ is melodic heavy/power metal personified, the chugging guitar riff so fucking gorgeous my heart is melting at an astonishing rate, ‘Bone Collector’ (the album) simply getting better and better! And we’re only four songs in! How great an album is this gonna turn out to be? A fucking great one surely – ‘Killing Is My Pleasure’ upping the intensity level to new heights! And the pace too is faster than the speed of light, Grave Digger surging forth quicker than a proton in a particle accelerator!
There’s just no stopping the barnstorming barrage of heavy/power metal on show, the album entering anthemic metal territory with the almighty ‘Mirror Of Hate’, the band shuddering the ground with immense force, every building in the immediate vicinity immediately crumbling into ruins! And the change of pace across the chorus break is emphatic, Grave Digger roaring through the gears faster than a Formula One car off the grid! I really can’t put into words how fucking heavy ‘Bone Collector’ (the album) is, the German metallers heavier than the fucking Sun! And just to put that into perspective, the Sun’s weight in kilograms is two times ten to the power of thirty – that is 2 followed by 30 zero’s, equivalent to the weight of 333,000 Earths! Now that’s heavy! As is ‘Riders Of Doom’, the band thunder stomping forward with incredible force – a force so powerful that planet Earth is gonna be knocked off its axis and into a new fucking orbit! The anthemic nature here is off the charts, Grave Digger marching through the heart of metal territory with shoulders back and head held high, ‘Made Of Madness’ slow burning into life with more mellowness than a soft rock album, the band turning on their heels after just twenty six seconds to roar louder than a thrash metal band in full flight! The ferocity on display here is astounding, ‘Made Of Madness’ delivering a barrage of brutal power metal to knock every listener into next fucking week!
The phenomenal onslaught of heavy/power metal is unrelenting, ‘Bone Collector’ (the album) striding on with ‘Graveyard Kings’, the band remaining firmly rooted to the heavier end of the heavy metal genre! I tell ya readers, if you’re looking for a metal album to batter the fucking hell outta ya, this is it – Grave Digger making an early charge for the Album Of The Year title! And I for one wouldn’t bet against ’em – but then I am biased! And that’s why I never vote for an Album Of The Year, there’s just too many to choose only one – ‘Forever Evil & Buried Alive’ returning red hot scorching pace to the fore! Ever since the album began the level of head bang ability has been higher than the sky, Grave Digger catering for every head banger and mosher on the planet – every mosh pit around the world turning into a sea of frenzied head banging maniacs! What an album ‘Bone Collector’ has been, the German metallers kicking 2025 into life with a corker of an album – ‘Whispers Of The Damned’ making a bee-line for the lighter side of metal territory, Grave Digger hitting the brakes hard to rein in all the power and drive of the album up to this point. The mix of hymn-like swagger, balladry and anthemic elements make ‘Whispers Of The Damned’ the least head bang-able song on offer, although the punch thrown will still knock you flat on your back!
Overall, a barnstorming barrage of overly heavy, heavy metal with tonnes of head bang ability and an infectious level second to none!
TRACKLIST
Bone Collector
The Rich, The Poor, The Dying
Kingdom Of Skulls
The Devils Serenade
Killing Is My Pleasure
Mirror Of Hate
Riders Of Doom
Made Of Madness
Graveyard Kings
Forever Evil & Buried Alive
Whispers Of The Damned
http://www.grave-digger-clan.com/
https://www.facebook.com/gravediggerofficial

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