Witch Hunter

Oh fellas, fuck me! Because as dumb as the coverartwork with the seducing 1985's mascara Johnny Depp vampire with the reaper tattoo who wants to bite or fuck his victim looks, as generic and bland is the music that this album throws towards the listener. Somehow it really pains me to say this, but Grave Digger took a monstrous step backwards in their songwriting. The predecessor "Heavy Metal Breakdown" was, and will ever be, an overlooked and partly forgotten piece of funny speed metal that contained some good songs, one disaster in form of a miscreated ballad and a fucking metal hymn like its titletrack. Somehow it is an important album for the german speed metal scene although the debut albums by nearly any other teutonic metal band was way more important than Grave Digger's "Heavy Metal Breakdown". In turn, "Witch Hunter" is the retarded little twin brother of said album. Everything that could have gone wrong seems to have gone wrong.

In just one year the successor for "Heavy Metal Breakdown" was written and recorded, Chris Boltendahl and his crew still wanted to dominate the metal scene with their fierce speed metal. But I personally think that Grave Digger should have take much more time for the songwriting, because what we have here is a perfect example for an unfinished album that was mindlessly thrown into the masses. After bass player Willi Lackmann called it quits, guitar wizard Peter Masson saw himself confronted with the 4 strings. So he played both the guitars and bass parts on "Witch Hunter", he completed his work with the help of René Teichgräber, who played the bass on "Friends of Mine" and the Alice Cooper cover version of "Schools Out". So far, so good... so fucking what?!

Nearly everything on "Witch Hunter" sounds bland and so fucking uninspired that I really wonder how this could happen at all? The now three grave shovelers had proven themselves on their debut. Although even "Heavy Metal Breakdown" was far from perfect, mostly due to generic songwriting, but it was nevertheless extremely entertaining and showed fucking talent. But "Witch Hunter" seemed to took the formula Grave Digger had crafted with "Heavy Metal Breakdown" and placed the smelliest turd ever on it. Oh boy, where do I begin? Ok, the production isn't better than on "Heavy Metal Breakdown" but it is okay, good old 80's heavy metal production with the right flair, but let's go on.

Let's focus on the good sides "Witch Hunter" has to offer. At first we have the opener and title track which is indeed a cool song on one hand but a silly one on the other. Like on "Heavy Metal Breakdown" the songs on "Witch Hunter" tend to repeat the choruses like mantras, and although this song is far from being great it offers a good pacing and a somehow sinister atmosphere. Although the little break in the middle of the song that gives way to a shredding and improvised solo seems self indulging and silly, it does fit the attitude this song spreads around very well. "Night Drifter" is a good rocking speed metal song with cool and somehow uplifting verse parts. It is a shame that the chorus is constantly disturbing the flow of "Night Drifter", mostly because of its idle construction, so it will not leave a lasting impression on you. "Get Ready for Power" has a energetic chorus but fails to set the signs right in terms of songwriting. All in all every song is constructed the same: Power riff, verse, chorus, verse, guitar solo, chorus. But that's not the problem, the real problem is that the instrumental fraction seems a bit too lazy and repetitive to me. A little more time would have been good for all songs.

Indeed every other song on "Witch Hunter" is okay but clearly exchangeable in near every aspect. There is a little lazyness, especially in the instrumental fraction and the lyrics, which are still a little goofy. The typical ballad about a broken heart "Love Is a Game" is just cheesy but I like this one much more than "Yesterday" from "Heavy Metal Breakdown", but it is still just generic. At this point I do not want to lose a single word about the Alice Cooper cover "School's Out". The real winner here is "Friends of Mine". It is the only song that breaks the usual structure, it really shows variation and a cool atmosphere. I like this song very much. But one great song cannot save a whole album of generic songs from drowning. So "Witch Hunter" is a little disappointment but is somehow still fun. If you look for background music to party and enjoy some beer, then buy it and have fun. But if you look for a stellar metal experience then "Witch Hunter" isn't a good tasting cup of molten steel.

With the exception of Exhumation (The Early Years) with its bland re-recorded material of the band's early years, Witch Hunter is Grave Digger's worst release in the four decades of its stunning career and easily the most forgettable regular studio album of the band.

There are several major problems with this record. First of all, the band sounds quite aimless on this album. Speed metal tracks like ''Night Drifter'' with its ridiculous lyrics meet the terribly executed cover of Alice Cooper's legendary hard rock anthem ''School's Out'' as well as the ballad ''Love Is A Game'' with clean vocals and acoustic guitar sections.

Secondly, singer Chris Boltendahl often sounds out of tone and rhythm which can be heard in the terrible three aforementioned songs. His performance rarely fits the sounds of the bland guitar work or the pace of the nearly inaudible bass guitar or the tame drum patterns. His vocals sound so loud in the production that it quickly gets obnoxious.

Thirdly, there isn't one single song that can be described as great on the whole record. The least terrible track is probably the slower ''Friends of Mine'' that starts with drum patterns and bass sounds before evolving into a gloomy tune that flirts with doom metal elements that gradually becomes a heavy speed metal track. The transitions are odd and exemplify the band's lack of direction and identity but the final result can at least be described as courageous and entertaining.

The more I listen to Grave Digger's Witch Hunter, the more flaws I can find. The musicianship is bland. The vocals lack skills. The mixture of different genres sounds aimless, confusing and obnoxious. The production is lacking dynamics. Even the cover art looks ridiculous. This whole release is unintentionally funny and would deserve the categorization of slapstick metal. At least, the flaws make it somewhat entertaining. Only die-hard fans of Grave Digger should even listen to this output.

The second album of Grave Digger showed a band with two faces. On the one hand, the guys delivered fascinating heavy / speed metal songs. On the other hand, it seemed as if they wanted to bring all metal maniacs to the point of despair in view of some really miserable pieces. Therefore, it is not as simple as it sounds to write a review about this album and its overall impression. However, the first interim result is clear. Grave Digger had composed a very heterogeneous full-length.

The Germans seemed to be unsure about their musical direction as well as their commercial prospects. The guys briefly dived into speed metal (the openers of both sides of the vinyl) and offered some traditional metal tunes (for example the solid "Fight for Freedom"). But they were unfortunately not immune against avaricious thoughts. Or what do you think was the reason for the terrible implementation of the equally terrible "School´s Out" or the absolutely gruesome ballad at the end of the A side? Maybe you find a revealing video on youtube, a live appearance of Grave Digger during the mid-eighties. Lead vocalist Chris Boltendahl looks like a clown. He wears white gloves and a scanty top while he and his band mates perform "Witch Hunter", the aggressive opener and title track of this album. A real feast for the ears, but definitely not for the eyes. In any event, the contrast of the feminine outfit and the harsh music symbolized the aimlessness of the band and its inner conflict.

However, the title track did not lack of speed, power and edginess. The only minor flaw was that the guitar solo failed to match perfectly with the rest of the song. But, as indicated above, "Witch Hunter" was no representative opener. Too many twists and turns killed the effectiveness of the album, at least to a certain degree. Aggravating this situation, the stylistic mishmash was not the only problem. The songwriting suffered from technical faults. For example, the third track was definitely too long. In terms of early German metal, I do not remember a more repetitive track. How many times did Chris sing the mediocre chorus? I do not understand why nobody realized the stupidity of this configuration. Due to obviously unwise decisions like this, the album appeared as a shoot from the hip. It seemed like the band or the company record (probably both) wanted to make a quick profit. To complete the picture, there were definitely more songs which were marked by repetitiveness.

The production did not blow me away. It would be unfair to say that it was nothing to write home about. But it could not be seen as a compensation for the comparatively huge number of compositional failures. As far as I remember, the album got mixed reviews at the time of publication. I agree. Three speed-oriented tracks with thrilling riffs were not enough to create a really convincing album. Generally speaking, I wanted a delicious meal but I got average home-made cooking. Neither the solos nor the majority of the riffs had a long-term effect and the limited voice of Chris failed to take the songs on the next level. The decline of Grave Digger had already begun and its final result was the lukewarm and commercialized Digger album.

I have no qualms with early speed metal. I dig Anvil, Stained Class-era Priest, Venom, Exciter; these were the seeds of thrash metal. But Grave Digger's shit does not kick ass. Though I’ve heard good things about their later work, it must be reinforced that early Grave Digger is generic, dated, and cheesy. Their second album, Witch Hunter, does admittedly make a decent listen now and again, but pretty much sucks when compared to any other album from the mid-80’s. My apologies for the facetious review title. Generic speed metal is nothing to cheer about.

The track listing for my US version is a little different than the one on the album’s page. It has all three of the “US tracks,” but does not include “Love is a Game” or “School’s Out.” Probably for the better, as very few of the included songs rule. Opener “Shine On” starts out pretty heavily with a decent riff, but it’s driven into the ground through repetition and an awkward stop/start chorus. This I wouldn’t mind so much if the vocals didn’t suck. Chris Boltendahl has an irritating, raspy shriek that calls to mind both Randy Rampage (Annihilator) and David Wayne (Metal Church), but without the energy or the presence. His voice is further crippled by an overpowering reverb (one of many complaints with the lackluster production) and a never-ending sequence of cheesy lines to deliver. The infamous chorus to “Night Drifter” comes to mind as a good example of this lyrical ineptitude and later hearing Boltendahl implore his audience “don’t kill the children, please let them live” is enough to solidify it.

Continuing through the tracklist, the listener will actually be pleased to find a lot of good guitarwork. Both “Witch Hunter” and “Night Drifter” feature some hammering rhythms as well as few decent lead moments (not counting the awkward break in the former, featuring an isolated tapping solo that is completely out of place). Most of the songs actually start out pretty good like this before being ruined by either repetitive song structures and/or Boltendahl’s vocals/lyrics, depending on how generous you are. “Get Ready for Power” and “Tears of Blood” stick to this trend, as do most of the rest.

Half of the time it seems like these guys are trying to be Metal Church and failing. The bass-heavy production spends too much time highlighting the miserable vocals rather than the guitars or drums, instruments that while repetitive on the album are both the highlight and the driving force behind the music’s tempo and intensity. The production does allow the bass to be quite audible, but rarely is the bassist doing much more than following the root of the guitar chords.

But back to the track list. The remaining songs continue in the above fashion for nearly the rest of the album. A few nice riffs (the triplet one in “Don’t Kill the Children,” the verse riff of “Here I Stand”) exist, eventually negated by Boltendahl’s vocal melodies. He eventually makes up for himself briefly at the beginning of “Fight for Freedom” with a surprisingly clean Dio-sounding passage, but then makes it seem like a distant memory by the chorus of “Here I Stand.” But the album as a whole is redeemed by the final track. “Friends of Mine” starts off so mercilessly slow, with Boltendahl’s nastiest vocals and a constant double bass. But then it fucking explodes into a fucking brutal thrasher. The verse riff is classic and even the lyrics aren’t so bad. The chorus section is questionable, but the overall riffage makes up for it. Talk about saving the best for last.

But one good song standing among an album of snoozers does not a good metal album make. Keep this in mind if you find this title in a used music store somewhere and avoid it unless cheap.

Here we are at Grave Digger’s second album and we can quickly ascertain that this band has not evolved at all. The easiest comparison I can make for Grave Digger’s career between their debut and Heart of Darkness is to that of Blind Guardian’s.

Both bands debut with aggressive, incessant thrashy speed metal, neither particularly inspiring, but notable for their dedication to the cause of alacrity. They then proceed to sit on their hands for a few albums, utterly obstinate to any attempts to progress their sound out of their trite origins. Finally, as we all know, they both suddenly stumble into glorious power metal and live happily ever after. Though my point is done, if we extend time a little further both bands have peaked and are presently struggling in a musical rut.

With that out of the way, the music here is nearly identical to the debut. The strengths of the first album (catchy choruses, simple and memorable riffs and a melody at odds with the metal mayhem of the guitars) arise here, only in a slightly diluted form that results in a marginally weaker album. The lyrics still show both from their substance and from topic an at best tenuous grasp of English. The chorus to Night Drifter still cracks me up after many listens. Hearing the gravelly voice of Boltendahl belt out “cries in his pillow” conjures up some ridiculous imagery.

Now my rating might seem low considering the inflated ratings prominent on this site. The material here is solid, if uninspired, with the latter reflected in my score. You might get mileage out of this album more akin to the other two reviewers. However, I wouldn’t dote too much on early Grave Digger, much better speed metal albums exist elsewhere, including later in Grave Digger’s own discography.

Not nearly as good as their phenominal debute album, but a quite decent release. It's just as heavy as HMB, with much less fury and attitude to both the lyrics and the music. The opening title tack, 'Witch Huner', picks up right where HMB left off and could have fit perfectly on that debute. Heavy as fuck riffage, with Chris shouting his lungs into the mic with his incredible, gruff vox...."He's a WITCH HUNTER! WIIIIIITCH HUNTER!!!", killer stuff right there (The mid solo just rips!!). The second track, 'Night Drifter' is pretty average when compared to the debute album, though being one of the highlights heard here. The song kicks off with a punishing riff that will keep your ears glued to the speaker, but then slowly fades into nothing more than a solid, decent metal tune. 'Love Is A Game' is one of those enjoyable ballads that Grave Digger has the ability of doing, and is of course another stand out track as opposed to the rest of the 'kick your ass' riffs and licks on the album. Great tune, though it doesn't even come close to 'Yesterday' from HMB. Every remaining track here isn't very memorable on the first listen with the exception of the afformentioned 3 and a real cool cover of Alice Cooper's 'School's Out', better than the original and even better than the version that Krokus did. Perhapse another stand out song here is the last, 'Here I Stand', with much credit to it's galloping riff during the chorus.

So overall this doesn't even compare with the debute, but it's still in your face, solid heavy metal!! Not a must have for any metal head but it's DEFINETLY a must have for any Grave Digger fan.

Best songs: Witch Hunter, Night Drifter, Love Is A Game, Here I Stand