Grave Digger
Liberty or Death

June 2007
Released: 2007, Locomotive Records/Sound Pollution
Rating: 2.0/5
Reviewer: Anders Sandvall

The German metal institution Grave Digger is back with a new album on a new and smaller label. It’s taken the band a year to finish the album, which is a themed album about freedom, war, and peace (again). And yet again, Grave Digger delivers straight-up German heavy metal. If you’ve heard one album by the band, you’ve probably heard them all. Let’s face it, the band isn’t known for their varying sound. I don’t consider this album to be one of the band’s strongest because of the low-budget production that really reeks. Most of the 10 songs feel just like a repeat of earlier songs. However, the first part of the album does feel more solid compared to the second part.

The better songs are “Liberty or Death”, “Ocean of Blood”, “The Terrible One”, and “Silent Revolution”. These tracks are the standard sing-a-long songs when the band heads out on tour. Ex-Rage guitarist Manni Schmidt delivers some great guitar work. The song that really surprises me is “Massada”, which includes both female vocals and oriental beats. It’s not fast, but it’s heavy and it feels fresh and fun.

You might like LIBERTY OR DEATH if you’re a hardcore fan of Grave Digger; otherwise, this feels like a pretty lame attempt to do something new, and many bands have done albums about war and peace so much better than Grave Digger. I had higher hopes for Grave Digger and I really hope that they can do much better on the next album.