GRAVE DIGGER — Exhumation - The Early Years (review)

GRAVE DIGGER — Exhumation - The Early Years album cover

Album · 2015 · Heavy Metal

2.5/5 · 2015-10-03
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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.

more than 2 years ago
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666sharon666 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Good review. I wasn't exactly enthralled with the new version of Heavy Metal Breakdown they released a video for recently. You hit on something here though that I would actually like to hear: an updated version of the Digger album.

Nightfly wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Shame, was hoping they'd beef things up a bit with a modern production. Still curious to check it out though as I think their later albums are the best.