Early years and split (1980–1987)
After various appearances at small festivals, the band recorded two songs for the compilation album Rock from Hell in 1983. A year later, Grave Digger, now comprising Chris Boltendahl (vocals), Peter Masson (guitar), Willi Lackmann (bass) and Albert Eckardt (drums), released their debut album Heavy Metal Breakdown.
In 1985, with Lackmann having left the band, they recorded and released their second album Witch Hunter. Only after the album was completed, a replacement on bass was found in the form of C.F. Brank. Further festival appearances followed, a tour with Helloween as special guest and, finally, their third album War Games in January 1986. To promote this album, a triple headline tour with Celtic Frost and Helloween followed. Thereafter, Peter Masson gave way to Uwe Lulis; in 1987 the band's name was changed to Digger, the name under which they released the album Stronger Than Ever. The album flopped, as it was not accepted by fans or the masses. As a result, Boltendahl declared at the end of 1987, the breakup of the band.
Reformation and Middle Ages Trilogy (1991–1999)
In 1991, the band was partially reformed. Boltendahl and Lulis, along with two newcomers, Tomi Göttlich and Jörg Michael, who had been the drummer for Rage and Running Wild, released a comeback record called The Reaper in 1993. This album was a return to the true roots of Grave Digger. In the same year, the album The Best of the Eighties was released. It represented a quasi Best-of-Album of their earlier songs.
An EP titled Symphony of Death followed in 1994. In the interim, Grave Digger, now with a new drummer, Frank Ullrich, toured Germany, playing as the warm-up act for Manowar. In 1995, the album Heart of Darkness appeared. It was a very dark album with many influences from the early works of Annihilator.
In 1996, Stefan Arnold became the band's new drummer. This year also marked the release of the concept album Tunes of War, which dealt with the history of Scotland. This album was the first part of the Middle Ages Trilogy. The second album, Knights of the Cross, with Jens Becker as bass guitarist, was released in 1998 and was about the rise and fall of the Knights Templar. The final part of the trilogy finished in 1999 with Excalibur. This album explored the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Shortly after, a tour soon followed through with keyboardist Hans-Peter Katzenburg, who later became a permanent band member.
The Grave Digger and Rheingold (2000–2004)
In 2000, Grave Digger celebrated their 20th anniversary. To mark the occasion, they performed at a sell-out concert at the Zeche in Bochum. Many of the band's most popular songs were played alongside other less well-known ones. There were also a number of different supporting acts appearing with Grave Digger. This concert also marked a defining chapter in the band's history, as Uwe Lulis left a short while before the concert because of personal and business reasons. Lulis finally called his new band Rebellion.
A replacement, in the form of the ex-Rage guitarist, Manni Schmidt, was found. Along with him and the new record label Nuclear Blast, the album The Grave Digger, appeared in 2001. The works of Edgar Allan Poe served as an inspiration for the lyrics of the new album. Their first live album, Tunes of Wacken, appeared in 2002. This was coupled with the release of their first DVD of the same name. The next album Rheingold was released on 26 May 2003, which centered on the opera Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner. They embarked on a tour in support of the album into early 2004.
The Last Supper and Ballads of a Hangman (2005–2009)
After the successful Rheingold Tour, the band recorded another album, The Last Supper, which was released on 17 January 2005. The artwork was first revealed in November 2004 which received positive feedback. A number of fans were disappointed by the artwork because of the motive. The band issued a statement saying that the cover isn't a message of the Devil and not against Christians, but a representation of a depressive Jesus Christ at his last days before his death. Unlike their previous albums, The Last Supper was not a concept album, despite several songs about the last days of Jesus. A few journalists described the album as the best since Tunes of War or Heavy Metal Breakdown. According to the band, it contains "more metal, more passion and more power" than the group's previous efforts. Less than a month later, the band began a tour with Stormhammer and Astral Doors in Andernach, the birthplace of Manni Schmidt.
October 2005 saw the release of a live DVD titled 25 to Live, which was recorded live in São Paulo, commemorating the band's 25th anniversary.
In December 2006, a number of release parties was announced for the band's follow-up album, Liberty or Death, which was released on 12 January 2007. A Double-Headline Tour together with Therion followed, beginning 17 January 2007 in Essen.
In late February 2008, Grave Digger began writing new material. In mid-August, they entered Principal studios with additional guitarist Thilo Hermann to record their 13th studio album entitled Ballads of a Hangman, which was released on 9 January 2009 under their new label Napalm Records. It was their first album with twin guitars.
In February 2009, the band parted ways with Thilo Hermann due to the built up excitement of a second guitarist and with the free space on stage and musical aspects that was observed by every old band member independently. In early October, Manni Schmidt left the band due to ongoing disagreements with Chris Boltendahl.
The Clans Will Rise Again and The Living Dead (2010–2018)
On 12 January 2010, Schmidt was replaced by Domain guitarist Axel Ritt after performing temporarily during the remaining dates of the band's previous tour. On 1 October 2010, Grave Digger released the album The Clans Will Rise Again in Europe, with a North American release following soon after. The band members explain that it is a loose sequel of the 1996 album Tunes of War, "but this time not a concept album about the Scottish history, rather a work about Scotland, its mysticism and its people." On 11 September 2011, a video for the song "Highland Farewell" was made available for streaming.
On 27 July 2012, the band released an EP entitled Home at Last with the album Clash of the Gods following on 31 August 2012. They performed a handful of shows in the UK and Europe from early to late 2012 and then toured throughout 2013 in Europe and a few shows in Brazil in support of the album.
In February 2014, the band began recording their next album titled Return of the Reaper, which was released on 11 July 2014, with later release dates elsewhere. In November 2014, keyboardist H.P. Katzenburg left the band in order to spend more time on outside projects. He was replaced by new member Marcus Kniep, who would continue performing as The Reaper.
In October 2015, Exhumation - The Early Years was released, which contains re-recorded versions of the band's "absolute classics with a dynamic and powerful sound of 2015," according to a press release.
In June 2016, Grave Digger entered the studio to begin working on their next album entitled Healed by Metal, which was released on 13 January 2017. They embarked on a tour with Blind Guardian as the support act on the second leg North American tour supporting the album Beyond the Red Mirror.
In March 2018, the band returned to the studio to record their nineteenth album The Living Dead, which was released on 14 September 2018, with a European tour taking place in January 2019. On 25 June 2018, longtime drummer Stefan Arnold departed the band. He was replaced by Marcus Kniep.
Fields of Blood (2020–present)
Grave Digger's twentieth album Fields of Blood was released on 29 May 2020, celebrating the band's 40th anniversary. The follow-up album Symbol of Eternity was released on 26 August 2022.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grave_Digger_(band)
Studio albums
Heavy Metal Breakdown (1984)
Witch Hunter (1985)
War Games (1986)
Stronger Than Ever (1986) (as Digger)
The Reaper (1993)
Heart of Darkness (1995)
Tunes of War (1996)
Knights of the Cross (1998)
Excalibur (1999)
The Grave Digger (2001)
Rheingold (2003)
The Last Supper (2005)
Liberty or Death (2007)
Ballads of a Hangman (2009)
The Clans Will Rise Again (2010)
Clash of the Gods (2012)
Return of the Reaper (2014)
Healed by Metal (2017)
The Living Dead (2018)
Fields of Blood (2020)
Symbol of Eternity (2022)
Pray
Grave Digger Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My head on the angels fold
An eagle waiting in the corner
To take away - me and my soul
A journey without return
To a land that no one knows
My Avalon my paradise
Where angels dare my soul will rise, rise, rise
Pray - dancing through the night
Pray - until the morning light
Pray - pray for the devil's rite
Pray - because we'll die tonight
I wake up in the hell of Eden
Guardians taking care of me
Out of the haze a shadow moves
A unicorn, black and wild
I open my eyes and look around
My hunger is fed by a lonesome child
It looks like me when I was young
I'm buried alive, my life is done, done, done
The lyrics of Grave Digger's song Pray speak about the inevitability of death and the journey beyond, accompanied by imagery that borrows heavily from Christian mythology. The song starts with the singer envisioning his death and the eagle waiting in the corner to take him away to a land that no one knows. The singer refers to this place as his Avalon, his paradise, where angels will dare his soul to rise.
The chorus of the song introduces the theme of praying - to dance through the night and pray till the morning light. The listener is then told to pray for the devil's rite because they will die tonight. The reference to the devil's rite could mean different things, from a nod to a cult-like behavior to perhaps the singer accepting his fate and what lies beyond it.
In the second verse, the singer wakes up in the hell of Eden, with guardians taking care of him. This is again a reference to Christian mythology, where Eden is the supposed paradise, and the guardians taking care of the singer could indicate he is being punished for something. The unicorn, black and wild, is another mythical creature that appears in the song and could further this concept of punishment. The singer looks around and sees a child that looks like him when he was young, and in a sense, he sees himself as having been buried alive, with his life now done.
Overall, the lyrics of the song Pray has a bleak view of what lies beyond death, but it also speaks of acceptance and resignation to it. The reference to Christian mythology is also noteworthy, as it creates a sense of familiarity and an almost haunting feel to the song.
Line by Line Meaning
I see myself lying on the bed
The singer visualizes themselves lying on a bed, contemplating their own mortality.
My head on the angels fold
The singer is resting their head where an angel would cradle it, symbolizing the approach of death.
An eagle waiting in the corner
The eagle represents the end of life, waiting for the singer to pass on.
To take away - me and my soul
The eagle is waiting to take the artist's soul away to the afterlife.
A journey without return
The artist's journey to the afterlife is irreversible.
To a land that no one knows
The afterlife is uncharted territory, unknown to the living.
My Avalon my paradise
The singer's version of paradise, akin to the mythical island of Avalon.
Where angels dare my soul will rise, rise, rise
In the afterlife, the artist's soul will ascend to the heavens among the angels.
Pray - dancing through the night
Prayer is the solution proposed by the artist to combat fear and doubt in the face of death.
Pray - until the morning light
The artist advises to keep praying throughout the night, until the dawn.
Pray - pray for the devil's rite
Pray for protection during the trials of the afterlife, which will be much harder if one aligns with the devil.
Pray - because we'll die tonight
The artist emphasizes the need for prayer in the face of imminent death.
I wake up in the hell of Eden
The singer metaphorically wakes up to the hellish reality of the afterlife, symbolized by Eden.
Guardians taking care of me
The singer recognizes the existence of guardians or guides in the afterlife.
Out of the haze a shadow moves
The singer sees a mysterious figure emerging from the fog of the afterlife.
A unicorn, black and wild
The figure takes the form of a mythical creature, a black unicorn.
I open my eyes and look around
The artist is disoriented, trying to understand their new surroundings in the afterlife.
My hunger is fed by a lonesome child
The singer finds comfort in the company of a lonely child, who provides nourishment and companionship.
It looks like me when I was young
The child resembles the singer in their youth, perhaps implying that the afterlife allows second chances.
I'm buried alive, my life is done, done, done
The artist realizes that they are irreversibly dead, and have entered a new stage of existence.
Contributed by Tristan M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
unclereaper33
Sure miss the Uwe days, but these guys always rock. Been a fan for a loooong time. Need more shows in the US though.
DarioEpic
Wow, i like this change in the style of Grave Digger! It sounds like Ac/Dc and Accept ^_^ the chorus is fantastic! PRAY!!! Rock you!
Jose Moreno
Great song!!!!, Grave digger godfathers of european metal
Rosakaz
Sounds great!
Lucas Fernandes Corrêa
Simply W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L Can't the new albu =)
Burning Metalfreaka
awesome song
WuschelofDespair
yeah, germany has a lot of kick ass bands!!! but scandinavia does as well, not to forget great britain since tyr, alestorm and oakenshield r from that island ;)
Krzysztof Smyl
Special song for GREAT ALBUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
EpuoHg
Niice!! :)
Jens Böhm
....only loud friends, only loud....🎶🎸👍😉