format: LP
year: 1986
country: Germany
label: Noise
#: [tba]
info: Innersleeve with lyrics
style: Heavy Metal
Tracks
1) Wanna Get Close
2) Don't Leave Me Lonely
3) Stronger Than Ever
4) Moonriders
5) Lay It On
1) Don't Need Your Love
2) Listen To The Music
3) Stay Till The Morning
4) Stand Up And Rock
5) Shadows Of The Past
GRAVE DIGGER went a few albums before they decided to take a nosedive into a more hard rock oriented direction. And UNLIKE Metallica, at least they had the decency to change their band name for a record like this. Not a terrible effort, but not one that's going to be familiar to normal GRAVE DIGGER fans. "Shadows Of The Past" is a rather speed metal oriented tune though, albeit a sloppy one that doesn't sound like the rest of this CD. And what's with the piano notes on "Stronger Than Ever"?' I've kinda been enjoying the rougher edged vocals of GRAVE DIGGER's main vocalist, but this obvious foray into "teen dream" hard rock takes some definite getting used to. The songs for the most part are heavy, especially standout cuts like "Stand Up And Rock", "Moonriders", and "Wanna Get Close". Some of the chorus work gets rather odd at times, especially the multi vocal choruses, and hearing the band singing lines like "Wanna Get Close" and "I Don't Need Your Love" will make some a little queasy. If it's one thing I have a definite problem with 80's metal, it's their insistence on the syrupy ballad to "get the chicks", or get radio play as the case may be. Nevertheless, it's a GRAVE DIGGER record that plays down the metal image, though it's not a terrible effort. The guitar work is still on par with some of the past releases. Might be worth tracking down if you're a GRAVE DIGGER fan that has to have a complete collection. All I have to say is, after this record came out, the GRAVE DIGGER name was resumed, and DIGGER was subsequently put to rest for good.