"This is Grave Digger at their most evil and at their best. The 90’s releases don’t get much better than this. God bless Diggers metal hearts for this hateful masterpiece."
— Metal Archives
2 RED LP, Gatefold Cover, limited to 100 copies : 29,00 €
I tedeschi Grave Digger si formano nel 1980, nel 1983 pubblicano il debutto "Heavy Metal Breakdown", il secondo album "Witch Hunter" esce nel 1985. Apparizioni a diversi festival, un tour come supporto per Helloween e un triplo tour headliner con Celtic Frost e Helloween seguono prima dell'uscita del terzo album "War Games" nel gennaio 1986, sempre su Noise Records, come i precedenti. Uwe Lulis alla chitarra si unisce alla band nel 1987 che cambia il nome in Digger, con il quale pubblicano l'album “Stronger Than Ever”. Questo disco non ha nulla in comune con la musica precedente dei Grave Digger e non viene accettato dai loro fan. Di conseguenza, Chris Boltendahl scioglie la band alla fine del 1987. Tuttavia si riformano parzialmente nel 1991. Chris Boltendahl e Uwe Lulis, insieme a due nuovi arrivati, Tomi Göttlich e Jörg Michael (Rage, poi con Running Wild, Stratovarius), pubblica il disco del ritorno, "The Reaper", tornando alle vere origini Heavy Metal dei Grave Digger. "Symphony Of Death" esce nel 1994, con la stessa formazione di "The Reaper". Seguono quindi altri grandi album come "Heart of Darkness" (1995), "Tunes of War" (1996), "Knights of the Cross" (1998), "Excalibur" (1999), tutti con la stessa rocciosa formazione eccetto per i batteristi, Frank Ullrich prima (su "Heart of Darkness") e Stefan Arnold (Capricorn) poi, mentre da "Knights of the Cross" in poi Jens Becker (Running Wild, X Wild) sostituisce al basso Tomi Göttlich. Nel 2001 anche Uwe Lulis lascia la band, sostituito da Manni Schmidt (Rage), chiudendo cosi' un capitolo nella storia del gruppo. "Heart of Darkness" è il mio album preferito tra quelli usciti nei '90, grazie anche ad un eccellente resa sonora, lo considero un capolavoro heavy metal. Gentilmente concesso in licenza da Sony Music, disponibile in vinile con copertina apribile ad alta risoluzione e 2 bonus tracks (disponibili solo nella versione digipack del 1995)
The beginnings of Grave Digger date back to 1980. In 1983 they released their debut album “Heavy Metal Breakdown”, second album “Witch Hunter” in 1985. Festival appearances, a tour as the supporting act for Helloween, and a triple headlining tour with Celtic Frost and Helloween followed before the release of the third album “War Games” in January 1986, all on Noise Records. Then Uwe Lulis on guitar joined in 1987 and the band's name was changed to Digger, under which they released the album “Stronger Than Ever”. This album had anything in common with the earlier music of Grave Digger and it was not accepted by fans. As a result, Chris Boltendahl declared the break-up of the band at the end of 1987. However, the band partially reformed in 1991. Chris Boltendahl and Uwe Lulis, along with two newcomers, Tomi Göttlich and Jörg Michael (Rage, later in Running Wild, Stratovarius), released a comeback record, “The Reaper”, returning to the true Heavy Metal roots of Grave Digger. “Symphony Of Death” is released in 1994, with the same line-up of “The Reaper”. Then other great albums follow such as "Heart of Darkness" (1995), "Tunes of War" (1996), "Knights of the Cross" (1998), "Excalibur" (1999), all with the same powerful lineup except for the drummers, Frank Ullrich first (on "Heart of Darkness") and Stefan Arnold (Capricorn) then, while from "Knights of the Cross" on Jens Beckers (Running Wild, X Wild) joins on bass replacing Tomi Göttlich. In 2001 also Uwe Lulis left the band and was replaced by Manni Schmidt (Rage), closing a band's chapter. "Heart of Darkness" is my fave album from 90's, thanks also to a excellent sound, consider it a heavy metal masterpiece. Kindly licensed by Sony Music, available for vinyl with high definition artwork, gatefold cover and 2 bonus tracks (previously only available on 1995 digipack).
.jpg "Grave Digger - Heart of Darkness")
.jpg "Capricorn - Inferno")
