Grave Digger – The Clans Will Rise Again

Grave Digger – The Clans Will Rise Again (2010, Napalm Records)

1. “Days Of Revenge” … 1:58
2. “Paid In Blood” … 3:58
3. “Hammer Of The Scots” … 4:02
4. “Highland Farewell” … 4:08
5. “The Clans Will Rise Again” … 5:01
6. “Rebels” … 4:41
7. “Valley Of Tears” … 4:09
8. “Execution” … 4:46
9. “Whom The Gods Love Die Young” … 6:12
10. “Spider” … 3:19
11. “The Piper McLeod” … 0:49
12. “Coming Home” … 4:23
13. “When Rain Turns To Blood” … 6:14
Bonus Track
14. “Watch Me Die” …3:55

Band:
Chris Boltendahl – Vocals
Axel Ritt – Guitar
Jens Becker – Bass
Stefan Arnold – Drums
HP Katzenberg – Keyboards

Additional Musicians:
Florian Bohm – Bagpipes

Producer: Chris Boltendahl

Another year, another Grave Digger release! This one is supposed to be a sequel to 1996′s Tunes of War. This album came out at the right time for me. After listening to last year’s Ballads Of A Hangman just recently, I was in the mood to try out some more Grave Digger. If there was one problem I had with Ballads it’s that the songs often blended together, they were too similar to my ears. Luckily that’s not the case with The Clans Will Rise Again. I think the use of bagpipes really helps gives this album and the songs their own flavor and identity but it’s not like they’re all over the place but they help spice things up. The entire album just seems more aggressive and melodic while featuring more tempo changes than Ballads.

Ballads took me a long time and many tries before I finally got into it and enjoyed it but Clans I’ve instantly liked. Just some ferocious power metal to be found all throughout. Boltendahl really comes through with some powerful and harsh vocals doing a great job but his rough voice is almost comical on some of the slower moments like when “When Rain Turns To Blood” starts off.

Not really sure how you go about getting the “bonus track”. I thought it was exclusive to the digipak version but my copy came in a standard jewel case and I still have the song.

The Clans Will Rise Again is another good album that cements my status as a fan of Grave Digger and encourages me to check out more of their albums…

Highlights: “Hammer Of The Scots”, “Highland Farewell”, “The Clans Will Rise Again”, “Rebels”, “Valley Of Tears”, “When Rain Turns To Blood”

http://www.grave-digger-clan.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Official-GRAVE-DIGGER-Fan-Site/256056408537
http://www.myspace.com/gravediggerclan