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Grave Digger > The Clans Will Rise Again > Reviews > Diamhea
Grave Digger - The Clans Will Rise Again

They will never take our pride. - 80%

Diamhea, February 15th, 2014

Schmidt and Hermann are sent on their merry way, and veteran Axel Ritt takes their place. This returns Grave Digger to the single-axe lineup they are more familiar with. In the end it matters little, as The Clans Will Rise Again is without a doubt the most massive sounding Grave Digger release since Rheingold.

It's not that Ritt is even far removed from Schmidt's tepid output from the previous three albums, he just has a much more spirited playing style that comes through in the incendiary riffs. "The Clans Will Rise Again" and "Valley of Tears" rival some of the best cuts off of The Grave Digger in compressive swells of distortion. I understand that this is purported to be a quasi-sequel to Grave Digger's classic Tunes of War, but the concept ends up representing little more than window dressing. It is nice to continue the storyline, but Boltendahl always delivers enthralling concepts anyway, so it comes off as somewhat redundant.

As if Ritt's inclusion wasn't enough, the band also reactivates the operatic, multi-layered choruses that have largely been absent for the last decade. "Highland Farewell" contains the stickiest single chorus, but "Valley of Tears" isn't far behind. Boltendahl really dials up the intensity in his inflection during certain moments, hailing back to his off-the-wall performance on earlier classics like Witch Hunter. His gruff snarls do a lot to sell the ferocity of the material, but he isn't afraid to clean up his approach as per some of the slower cuts like "When Rain Turns to Blood". As usual with Grave Digger albums, the bonus track is one of the highlights. "Watch Me Die" is no exception, sounding straight out of Rheingold or maybe The Last Supper. Ritt has a decent grasp on the colossal riffing style Grave Digger is known for, but he also injects some more animated passages and palm-muted sections that help give The Clans Will Rise Again a unique identity.

Katzenburg delivers two bagpipe-driven instrumentals, but fails to appear alongside the band like I would prefer. "Days of Revenge" sounds so upbeat it is almost offensive, but "The Piper Mcleod" features more of that foreboding atmosphere Katzenburg delivered on classic instrumentals like "The Passion". I still can't help but feel that his presence is superficial, and that the band is seriously missing out by not letting him contribute alongside the rest of the members like a fulltime keyboardist.

There are moments where The Clans Will Rise Again fails to make much of it's desired impact, most glaringly evident on the slower songs like the aforementioned "When Rain Turns to Blood" and "Whom the Gods Love Die Young". Regardless, even these songs have their isolated moments, mostly on the latter. While Grave Digger wasted most of the last decade phoning it in and not living up to their lofty potential, relief can be had in the fact that they finally turned things around for this one. In the end, perhaps it took the departure of the long-tenured Schmidt to inject the new blood into the band required to facilitate the required volte-face. Whatever the means, the end is what really matters, and Grave Digger's end is far from near.