Grave Digger
BB Kings Club
New York City, New York
March 2, 2008
Tony Pijar
I’ve been a huge fan of Grave Digger since their inaugural blaster “Heavy Metal Breakdown” back in 1984, but because we in the US live in the land of the musical lame, rarely do we get a chance to see the likes of Grave Digger. And this was the band’s first visit to New York City!
A brief keyboard intro lead into “Liberty or Death”, the bruising title track off of their latest album. Band leader and vocalist, Chris Boltendahl, a very soft-spoken gentleman off-stage, turned into a absolute madman on stage as he sang with that patented growl we’ve all come to know and love. Ditto for Manni Schmidt whose maniacal guitar playing belies his quiet demeanor off stage. The excellent “Valhalla”, “Son of Evil” and “Scotland United” followed in quick succession. A total of 20 songs are played including the pulverizing :Rheingold”, “Rebellion”, “Excalibur”, which has one of the heaviest riffs ever penned. The encores were “The last Supper”, The Grave Digger” and one of the metal anthems of all time in “Heavy Metal Breakdown”.
I was surprised they didn’t play “Hell to pay”, “Witchhunter” and “Headbanging Man”, but those minor quibble aside, this was one of the most enjoyable shows I’ve been to in quite some time.
