HALLOWEEN are considered the progenitors of the first wave of power metal — and arguing with that would simply be foolish. Yet there is another fact worth noting. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, three more bands emerged in Germany, each of which today operates essentially within a power metal sound. I single out precisely three because they are deeply interconnected — first and foremost through the musicians who have played in them — and all of them began as heavier heavy and speed metal outfits, with high but gritty vocals. All three are well enough known. I am of course speaking of RUNNING WILD, GRAVE DIGGER, and RAGE — listed here in order of formation, and all very much still active today.
Each of these bands has undisputed leaders who have changed their lineups repeatedly. In RUNNING WILD it is Rolf Kasparek, today the sole permanent participant of what has become essentially a project: he records all guitar parts and vocals in the studio, while a bassist and drummer quickly lay down their contributions before their involvement ends — tours take place only in Germany, for which Rolf assembles a band. Peavy Wagner, bassist and vocalist of RAGE, has changed the entire lineup around him multiple times; the most recent changes happened quite recently with a new drummer, though the band today is scarcely imaginable without guitarist Victor Smolski. And in GRAVE DIGGER, it is of course Chris Boltendahl — vocalist of the project from its very first days. He was the one who, after recording the third excellent speed metal album in 1986, disbanded the collective — and he was also the one who reassembled it at the start of the 1990s, recording a new studio album with a fresh lineup in 1993.
Now for the connections between these three bands I mentioned. As it happens, everything converges in GRAVE DIGGER. Current guitarist Manni Schmidt has been with the band since 2000, having previously recorded five albums with RAGE. Bassist Jens Becker joined in 1997, having come from X-WILD, which itself formed from members of RUNNING WILD when Rolf dismissed his entire lineup in 1992–93. On that note we'll leave the subject of interconnections — suffice it to say that drummer Jörg Michael has played in all three bands. The current drummer, Stefan Arnold, has been with GRAVE DIGGER since 1995; a year later keyboardist H.P. Katzenburg joined.
GRAVE DIGGER's work in the 1990s differed markedly from those early albums. It became more power metal in character — but this by no means suggests that Chris learned to sing with a "castrated" voice; the musical side shifted, and the combination of roughness with melody produces a uniquely distinctive effect. Many accuse the band of repetitiveness — not true, I'd say. In any case: the band returned with a fast-paced album in 1993, then came Heart Of Darkness in 1995, and what followed was simply fantastic. GRAVE DIGGER released three enormously powerful conceptual albums in four years, selling in huge quantities. The first, Tunes Of War, encompassed a thousand years of Scottish history including the struggle against England — hundreds of thousands of copies restored the band to first-tier status. The equally strong Knight Of The Cross followed two years later, telling the story of the Knights Templar. The very next year came another disc, with Boltendahl this time turning to the Arthurian cycle and creating Excalibur. These releases confirmed the band's power metal direction, combining a hard sound and Chris's raw vocals with melody and a distinctive romanticism. Songs from these albums still form the absolute backbone of the band's setlists to this day. Incidentally, the band's only live release came out in 2002, documenting their Wacken performance of just over an hour. The 2001 self-titled GRAVE DIGGER album was the first non-conceptual release in many years and featured a particularly heavy sound — but then the poet's soul could no longer resist, and conceptual albums returned in 2003 and 2005 with Rheingold (after the Ring of the Nibelung) and The Last Supper, dedicated to the life of Christ. The most recent album, Liberty or Death, was released on 12 January 2007. Five days later the band gave their first concert. Thirty shows with THERION across Europe followed, after which GRAVE DIGGER visited russia for the third time. After concerts in yekaterinburg and Krasnodar, they arrived in moscow on 31 March. At the press conference, unfortunately, it emerged that the band's keyboardist had remained in Germany due to health issues. Objectively speaking, most bands would simply have played a keyboard backing track and performed over it as a canned playback. To the musicians' credit, such an approach was unacceptable to them — and they didn't cancel the concerts either. Yes, the band played without keys, the atmospheric quality was diminished, and the incomparable ballads about Queen Mary and the "Yesterday" arrangement were conspicuously absent — but there was simply nothing else to fault. More on the concert itself, which took place at the moscow club Apelsin.
Opening the evening was the moscow band BUTTERFLY TEMPLE. I won't dwell at length on the support act, but I'll say I have absolutely no sympathy for those who lament the fact that Abrey now handles all the vocal duties — he does it brilliantly. The band played for around 40 minutes. Something from the new album was featured alongside long-familiar songs — "Veles," "Solntsestoyaniye." No complaints whatsoever — an excellent performance with very good sound.
And then the moment arrived. The sounds of the intro The Brave from the Scottish album heralded the start of the concert, and soon the full band was onstage: a slender, now almost entirely grey-haired Chris Boltendahl; a noticeably slimmed-down Manni Schmidt (from immense to merely very large); a newly short-haired Jens Becker; and behind the drum kit, naturally, Stefan Arnold. Scotland United opened the concert. Those present dutifully sang along with the chorus, many with the entire song. A note is necessary here: roughly 350 people were in the venue — a surprisingly weak turnout for such a celebrated and accomplished band. Evidently the sheer number of concerts in recent years has taken its toll; when the band visited in 2003 and 2004, the crowds were significantly larger. Grave In The No Man's Land from the previous album continued the programme. Then came the next song, which provoked a genuinely spirited reaction. Chris announced almost every subsequent track — though there was barely any need, as despite the modest attendance, there was not a single awkward moment where a musician waits for the crowd to sing along and the hall doesn't know the words. The overwhelming majority were thoroughly familiar with the material. So it was that Excalibur rang out — a pity about the missing keys, as in the original a beautiful guitar solo is framed by extraordinary keyboard lines. Then Valhalla from the Nibelung album and Lionheart from the Templar album, with the hall again helping Chris — this time to sing a heroic song about Richard Plantagenet (a deplorable monarch, I must say). The House from the 2001 album was received with relative coolness, but then the hall nearly erupted because Chris announced Headbanging Man. The fast, aggressive, and utterly straightforward track, with Boltendahl's trademark high rasp, was perfectly placed after the slow and dark preceding song. "Circle Of…" sounds from the stage — "…Witches!" comes from the hall. "Oh, you know it…" — and indeed Circle Of Witches from the 1995 album rings out. Chris is simply a genius frontman, with something inimitable about his stage persona — youthful, childlike in its spontaneity, positive and warm. His facial expressions are simply extraordinary, and positive energy simply pours out of him.
Back to the Scottish theme: The Dark Of The Sun. Then the very pompous title track from the previous album, Last Supper. Two songs from the new album were received in diametrically opposite fashion — Highland Tears with relative calm, Silent Revolution with extraordinary enthusiasm, the title line dutifully sung in chorus on every refrain. But between these two tracks came one more — and what a one.
If anything was the climax of the entire concert, it was one of the band's most dramatic songs: Morgane Le Fay. For a start, the majority of those present knew the song absolutely inside out. What happened on the chorus is genuinely hard to describe: the crowd drowned out Chris even on the lines "I am the devil in disguise / I bring the evil to your life," and the admission "My name is — Morgane le Fay" Boltendahl simply and honestly left entirely to the hall. Two more hits rounded out the main setlist: one of the band's most melodic songs, the title track from the Templar album Knights Of The Cross — again a moment to regret the absent keyboards — and the magnificent Rebellion brought this portion of the concert to a close.
A few minutes pass, and the band is back onstage. The title track from the latest album, Liberty Or Death, came first, then The Grave Dancer, after which came the question "What is the name of the band?" — and The GRAVE DIGGER closed the first encore.
A few minutes later, Chris cautiously peeked out from the wings, walked out, retreated again, listened to the hall — this pantomime continued for a couple of minutes, then he persistently beckoned the musicians with gestures for another minute. Soon they emerged and launched into The Roundtable about the Knights of Camelot, after which rang out the final song of the evening: naturally, the band's greatest and most famous hit, from 1984 — Heavy Metal Breakdown.
The concert concluded; checking the time, the band's set had run two minutes short of two hours. No pomposity, no rock-star airs, no nonsense. Excellent contact with the audience, and as a result, a positive mood as everyone filed out. Yes, there were no ballads — but the band played an extended set, and above all, played it in a manner that left absolutely nothing to criticise. And the sound didn't let anyone down either.
Report by Alan
Special thanks to the Apelsin club and personally to Ilya Zinin for the accreditation provided
Setlist: Intro: The Brave Scotland United Grave In The No Man's Land Excalibur Valhalla Lionheart The House Headbanging Man Circle Of Witches The Dark Of The Sun Last Supper Highland Tears Morgane Le Fay Silent Revolution Knights Of The Cross Rebellion
Liberty Or Death The Grave Dancer The GRAVE DIGGER
The Roundtable Heavy Metal Breakdown
Photo report (photos by McAllen)
GRAVE DIGGER
Support: BUTTERFLY TEMPLE
Special thanks to the Apelsin club and personally to Ilya Zinin for the accreditation provided