Grave Digger - The Living Dead (2018)

It seems like the Germans in Grave Digger are trying to revive the zombie hype again with their 19th record "The Living Dead", and I certainly would not mind, if it was not for the fact that the zombie craze has tried to revive itself for the last decade or so. Zombies feel a little outdated these days, and unfortunately, so does Grave Digger it seems. After a couple of mediocre albums in "Return of The Reaper" and "Healed By Metal", it gives me a bad feeling when they are unveiling another new album only one year after the last one. Let us hope my gut feeling is wrong this time.

So it should come as no surprise that "The Living Dead" is pretty much like every other Grave Digger album, classic German heavy metal with catchy choruses, sweet riffs, and a little cheese sprinkled in between. It is certainly comfortable for me as a reviewer, since I do not need to listen through the album a billion times to get me an opinion on it (I do it anyway). You sit there, bob your head from time to time, and let their age old tricks entertain you.

At the same time though, it is kind of boring to listen to this record, since you already know what it is going to sound like, and you also know that they have done this formula better previously. It does not seem to matter that songs like "When Death Passes By", "Hymn of The Damned", and "The Power of Metal" are of good quality, you are still more likely to go back to other songs the band have made half a year from now. Most of the songs in here work for the moment, but are unlikely to have a lasting impact on fans, or live setlists.

Neither the lyrical themes seem to excite, with most of them being already explored in previous outings, and other being slightly strange. "Fist In Your Face" is one of the more confusing ones, not only for the title that would be more fitting on Anthrax's debut record, but also that the lyrics do not match up with the music at all. You would think it is a hard hitting tune, but nope, it is one of the more mellow songs on the album. All of this is just weird.

Speaking of weird, when the final track "Zombie Dance" hits my ear drums I get treated with... polka? This is the only original injection from the band in this record, a strange and infectious folk metal song in the style of Trollfest that must be a homage to Michael Jackson's "Thriller". It is an incredibly strange song that has gotten me hooked, getting me into a trance that sounds wrong, but feels right. And like that was not enough, the video for this track is pretty strange as well, which is topped by the Grim Reaper leading a conga line, whilst playing the accordion. This is definitely a track that will divide the fan base.

Yes, this is another Grave Digger album that is certainly not missing any passion or skill, but it has very little new to offer, which makes "The Living Dead" a fairly anonymous outing amongst the rest of the band's esteemed discography. It has a lot of enjoyable things, and even a wtf moment, but it is a comfortable record from a comfortable band. They know who they are, and that is fine in itself, but if they expect to make any "best of the year" lists, then they have to step up their game significantly. The fans will be happy, the rest will go back to their coffins in the wait for something more powerful.

Songs worthy of recognition: Hymn of The Damned, When Death Passes By, Zombie Dance

Rating: 6/10 Fists In Your Face

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More reviews of Grave Digger
Return of The Reaper
Healed By Metal