DippoMagoo After being around for 35 years and counting, and releasing 16 albums, many of which could be considered great, it makes sense for a band like Grave Digger to do a bit of a celebratory look back to their beginnings, which is what we have here with their upcoming release Exhumation – The Early Years. This release is a collection of re-recorded songs from their 1984-1986 releases, including 11 tracks from the albums Heavy Metal Breakdown, Witch Hunter and War Games, as well as the title track from their 1984 EP Shoot Her Down, and one track from their one off Digger album Stronger Than Ever. The retail version will also feature two new tracks titled “My Private Morning Hell” and “Young and Dangerous”, meant to serve as a teaser for their next full length album, tentatively due for release in 2016, though I can’t comment on them as they don’t appear on my promo copy.

I had mixed feelings going into this release. On the one hand, I often find myself not enjoying re-recorded releases too much compared to their original versions, as I find the newer versions usually lack the energy and overall essence of the originals, so I was a bit concerned about this feeling the same, especially coming from a band that’s been around for so long. On the other hand, while I enjoyed the first three Grave Digger albums for what they were, I definitely prefer their later output, especially their albums released from 1993 through to 2003, as well as their most recent album Return of the Reaper, as those albums had much stronger power metal elements as well as some more melodic tracks, and so I was hoping they could inject some of that into these re-recordings. One last factor that gave me reason for optimism, is that I greatly prefer the more polished, modern production on their newer albums over the rougher production from 80’s metal albums in general, and I prefer how Chris Boltendahl sounds nowadays, compared to the typically cheesy and way over the top 80’s metal style he had on the original recordings. So when you put it all together, this seemed like it had potential to be one of the rare re-recorded albums I like more than the original, and in the end I’d say it delivers, though I can see it being divisive for longtime fans.

There aren’t too many surprises on this release: It’s pretty much a case of “you get what you pay for.” I don’t mean that as an insult or anything, though. Pretty much, if I were to imagine what these songs would sound like if they were updated to fit in line with newer Grave Digger albums, particularly Return of the Reaper, which it sounds a lot like at times, I’d end up with the new versions found on Exhumation. Fans expecting any huge changes to the songs may be disappointed, but those like me who just want to be able to enjoy the songs with clear production, and those who prefer Boltendahl’s vocals on newer releases, are sure to get a ton of enjoyment out of this. Perhaps the biggest difference I notice, aside from the obvious difference with the vocals, is that the drum patterns seem to have been changed a bit, and I greatly prefer how they sound on this album. Otherwise, everything sounds as good as you’d expect from Grave Digger, and the performances are definitely as strong and as energetic as I was hoping for.

The songs themselves are mostly similar to their original versions, with little to no real major changes made. Which is to say, they’re a still bit raw sounding and a bit simplified compared to some of their later works, though the power metal elements come through a little bit more, and some of the choruses are much more impressive sounding, due to Boltendahl’s gravely but not terribly cheesy vocals, when compared to how he sounded before. Most songs are fairly speedy, and fit in well with the aggressive power metal sound of recent releases, with some of my favorites being“Headbanging Man”, “Fire in My Eyes”, “Enola Gay – Drop the Bomb”and “Paradise”, while among the slower tracks my favorites are “Stand Up and Rock” and “Playing Fools”.

Overall, Exhumation is a solid collection of re-recorded tracks that I think may work best for fans of later Grave Digger albums who either haven’t heard their first three albums yet, or struggled with the production or vocals of the originals, while longtime fans should get some enjoyment, but depending on their preferences they may or not be too impressed. As someone who prefers their later works (by “later” I mean anything from 1993’s The Reaper and onwards, which isn’t represented here,) I wouldn’t put this release up there with classics like Tunes of War and Excalibur, nor among their better newer albums like Rheingold and Return of the Reaper, but I do greatly enjoy it and I do think I’d take these new versions over the originals any day of the week.

(originally written for myglobalmind: http://myglobalmind.com/2015/10/09/grave-digger-exhumation-the-early-years-review/)

adg211288 Exhumation - The Early Years (2015) is a re-recordings release by German heavy/power metal act Grave Digger. It collects songs from the band's original period of activity in the 1980's, before their split and later reunion. They released three albums as Grave Digger in that time and a fourth one after shortening their name to Digger. It's from the three Grave Digger releases that the track list of Exhumation is largely taken; Heavy Metal Breakdown (1984), Witch Hunter (1985) and War Games (1986), though there is also one song from the EP Shoot Her Down! (1984) and one from the Digger album, Stronger Than Ever (1986) included on the album. As bonus tracks the band have also recorded two new songs - unfortunately absent from my promo copy of the album - as a teaser for their next full-length studio album, due in 2016.

It doesn't take a genius to work out that re-recordings albums can be a very hit and miss thing. They invite questions too. Was there something so wrong with the original recordings that re-recordings had to be done instead of re-mastering them? Well, I have to admit that none of the early releases will ever be my personal favourite from the band, but I have been really digging Heavy Metal Breakdown recently. But I was hopeful about Exhumation when it was first announced, definitely. Has the band changed sound so much that the old songs need an update? Well, yes, Grave Digger did change sound when they got back together. They changed to a more power metal orientated sound compared to the traditional heavy metal with speed metal influences of the original recordings. Older Grave Digger songs updated to the current power metal sound definitely sounds appealing to me, so yeah, sign me up for that!

And that's exactly what Grave Digger don't deliver on Exhumation. Yep, you read that right, they don't bring these old songs up to date in any way so the first thing I have to wonder about the album is what the point was supposed to be? A bit of celebratory backslapping perhaps? Maybe frontman Chris Boltendahl (the only constant member between the originals and Exhumation) has earned that, but aside from the tracks Shoot Her Down and Stand Up and Rock, which some Grave Digger fans may not have heard due to being from an EP and the Digger album, I don't think that Exhumation is offering up overly much to the band's fans, a group I most definitely include myself among. The songs aren't even definitive versions in my view, in fact some seem to be distinctly lesser versions of the originals, as if the band were performing at half power. The energy of the songs from the Heavy Metal Breakdown album is distinctly stronger on the originals in particular. And quite frankly, since a vocalist's voice can change over the years especially in terms of power I don't find Boltendahl's vocals here on par with his younger self. I still like him on the band's newer material, in fact their last album Return of the Reaper (2014) was their best album in years and he still kicks arse on that, but Exhumation only serves to show his age. This isn't a criticism, it's natural part of life after all, but why do something that really highlights it? Return of the Reaper showed that Grave Digger are still a force to be reckoned with on the German heavy/power metal scene. Exhumation, sadly, makes the band sound as if they might be getting passed it, which I'm sure isn't actually true.

Re-recordings albums can be a really good thing for a band. I love, for example, Running Wild's The First Years of Piracy (1991) and consider it to be one of their most essential releases, but Exhumation - The Early Years marks the first time I've actually been really disappointed by a Grave Digger album. As a compilation it isn't a bad representation of their early years, but it does seem a rather pointless one. The versions represented here are either on par with the originals at best and lesser versions at worst, with the one exception being the Digger song Stand Up and Rock, which I find superior. As such Exhumation - The Early Years is the most fans only release that the band has ever put out, and as a fan myself I'd still think twice about buying it. This one really is for the total completionist. Since the Digger track is the best new version a more fruitful exercise would have been to completely re-record Stronger Than Ever, as opposed to what they've put out here, which only serves to prove that old songs can in fact sometimes be left well alone. As for a rating I'm going to go with 2.5 stars.