Ballads Of A Hangman

Grave Digger | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 27, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Napalm / SPV
• ASIN: B001KKRD7M
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #377,061 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Grave Digger confirms once again their legendary status in the world of heavy metal with their latest album. While celebrating genuine old-school metal and remaining loyal to their trademark sound with driving guitar riffs, thundering double bass, soulful solos, and catchy choruses, songs like "Pray" or the title track can already be hailed as the latest classics of the true metal genre. Charismatic frontman Chris Boltendahl reigns over the instrumental faction, adding the finishing touches to the longplayer with his distinctive vocals. As a special highlight, he shares the vocal responsibilities with Veronica Freeman of Benedictum on the partial ballad "Lonely the Innocence Dies". Grave Digger strikes back with 120% Metal!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In An Unreliable World, You Can Always Rely On Grave Digger, April 2, 2009

By 

Stanley Runk "Runkdapunk" (Camp North Pines) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ballads Of A Hangman (Audio CD)

Writing a Grave Digger review is fairly easy. Since these guys have altered their sound very little over the years, we all know what to expect. So when it comes to a new Grave Digger album, the question is pretty much, did the Grave Digger formula result in good, mediocre or blah songs this time around.

Well, with Ballads Of A Hangman fans shouldn't be disappointed. There are some great metal tunes to be found here, the title track and Pray being just two examples. Filler seems to be at a minimum. To my ears, only one or two songs didn't do too much for me. There doesn't seem to be an overall concept to this album like most of their past ones, but maybe there is one and it just slipped me by. Death and dying seem to play a big part though. There's a cover of Motorhead's Overkill(on the digipak version anyhow), while decent, it's easy to see why it's a bonus track. There's an extended version of Pray, but the extension is only a few seconds more and seems a bit unnecessary. My version doesn't have the cover of Jailbreak, and I would certainly have liked to hear that.

Basically, it's Grave Digger we're talking about here-plain and simple. If you're a fan, you're gonna get this and will probably like it. If you're not a fan, this isn't gonna convert you, and you're probably not reading this review anyway.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Grave Digger, December 30, 2009

By 

Felixrox (Tivoli, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ballads Of A Hangman (Audio CD)

The best thing they've released since Rheingold, this is classic Grave Digger here. With 2 killer guitarists on board this time around, I like the songwriting & song structures better than on the last few albums. A few more speedy tunes, blazing guitar solos abound. We even get a special guest visit from Veronica Freeman of Benedictum on the only "slow" song, a nice, very tastefully done duet. Killer highlight tracks would be Hell of Disillusion, The Shadow of Your Soul & Sorrow of the Dead.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars these "ballads" are awesome, November 21, 2009

By 

king beagley "metal maven" (warsaw, in usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ballads Of A Hangman (Audio CD)

Grave Digger have been around since 1984, but I first heard of them with their "Excalibur" album that they released on Nuclear Blast. the album I am reviewing now is "Ballads of a Hangman" on Napalm. Chris Boltendahl is a very competent singer. it is too bad that Manni Schmidt left after the recording of this album, and I hope that somebody gets the guitarist position. there is a keyboardist in this band, but I hear more guitar than I do the keyboard. one minor complaint is I didn't get the bonus track of "Jailbreak" which is originally by Thin Lizzy, but then again, I got the regular jewel box instead of the digipak. I would have loved to hear the cover of that song. Thilo Hermann (Running Wild guitarist) guest stars on this album. I have to say that the solos are killer. if you like power metal, you have to check this album out. an interesting side note on this album. it does have a ballad on it. no. 6 "Lonely the Innocence Dies", and it is executed fairly well.