Line #91 Music/GraveDigger


1	[[quoteright:319:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/grave_digger_-_symphony_of_death_a.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:319:That psychopomp plays some mean violin, I tell ya.]]
3
4	->''"Metal invasion that's all what we need''
5	->''Metal dominion that's all what we want"''
6	-->-- '''Heavy Metal Breakdown'''
7
8	Grave Digger is a HeavyMetal[=/=]PowerMetal band from Germany. Formed in 1980, they are one of the first bands, along with Music/{{Accept}}, Music/RunningWild, Music/{{Helloween}}, Sinner, Cutty Sark and Music/{{Rage\|Band}} on the German metal scene.
9
10	They are characterized by their singer Chris Boltendahl's singing style, which ranges from a polarizing screech to surprisingly clean.
11
12	Their early work emphasized on typical metal imagery of constant rocking and gritty reality. In 1987 the band changed their name to Digger and changed their sound to appeal the mainstream. This didn't work out, so the band disbanded. In the early 90's, the band was put back together and it took a [[DarkerAndEdgier darker approach]] and never looked back since.
13
14	Not to be confused with {{Music/Gravediggaz}}, a {{Horrorcore}} rap group based in the U.S.
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16	-----
17	!!Discography:
18
19	Full-length albums:
20
21	* ''Heavy Metal Breakdown'' (1984)
22	* ''Witch Hunter'' (1985)
23	* ''War Games'' (1986)
24	* ''Stronger Than Ever'' (1987, released under the name Digger.)
25	* ''The Reaper'' (1993)
26	* ''Heart of Darkness'' (1995)
27	* ''Tunes of War'' (1996)
28	* ''Knigths of the Cross'' (1998)
29	* ''Excalibur'' (1999)
30	* ''The Grave Digger'' (2001)
31	* ''Rheingold'' (2003)
32	* ''The Last Supper'' (2005)
33	* ''Liberty or Death'' (2007)
34	* ''Ballads of a Hangman'' (2009)
35	* ''The Clans Will Rise Again'' (2010)
36	* ''Clash of the Gods'' (2012)
37	* ''Return of the Reaper'' (2014)
38	* ''Healed by Metal'' (2017)
39
40	Singles and extended plays:
41
42	* ''Shoot Her Down'' (1984)
43	* ''Symphony of Death'' (1994)
44	* ''Rebellion'' (1996)
45	* ''The Dark of the Sun'' (1997)
46	* ''The Battle of Bannockburn'' (1998)
47	* ''The Round Table (Forever)'' (1999)
48	* ''Silent Revolution'' (2006)
49	* ''Yesterday'' (2006)
50	* ''Pray'' (2008)
51	* ''Ballad of Mary'' (2011)
52	* ''Home at Last'' (2012)
53
54	----
55	!!Associated Tropes:
56
57	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: "Divided Cross" from ''The Last Supper''.
58	* AxCrazy: "Here I Stand" from ''Witch Hunter'' is about a man who causes chaos just to "leave his name in history".
59	* BadassBoast: "Shadowmaker", "The Grave Dancer" (both from ''Heart of Darkness''), "The Bruce (The Lion King)" (''Tunes of War''), "Morgana Le Fay", "Mordred's Song" (both from ''Excalibur'') and the "The Terrible One" (''Liberty or Death'').
60	* BalladOfX: "The Ballad of Mary (Queen of Scotts)" (''Tunes of War'') and "Ballad of a Hangman" from its namesake album.
61	%%* ChildSoldiers: "Warchild" from ''Heart of Darkness''.
62	* ConceptAlbum: ''Tunes of War'' is based on wars waged by UsefulNotes/{{Scotland}} and England. And it features bagpipes.
63	** ''Knights of the Cross'' is based on the [[UsefulNotes/TheCrusades crusades carried out in Middle-East]]. Also features bagpipes.
64	** ''Excalibur'' is based on [[Myth/ArthurianLegend Arthurian legends]]. Has a different set of bagpipes.
65	** ''The Grave Digger's'' songs are based on the works of Creator/EdgarAllanPoe (except two, "Son of Evil" and "Sacred Fire").
66	** ''Rheingold'' is based on Music/RichardWagner's ''Theatre/TheRingOfTheNibelung''.
67	** ''The Clans Will Rise Again'' is about Scotland in general. Bagpipes return triumphantly.
68	** ''Clash of the Gods'' is based on the Myth/ClassicalMythology.
69	* ConvenientEclipse: "Dark of the Sun" from ''Tunes of War''.
70	* CoverVersion: They have covered [[Music/TheRollingStonesBand "2000 Lightyears From Home"]], [[Music/AliceCooper "School's Out"]], [[Music/BlackSabbath "Children of the Grave"]], [[Music/IronMaiden "Running Free"]], [[Music/{{ACDC}} "Sin City"]], [[Music/{{Rainbow}} "Kill the King"]], [[Music/LedZeppelin "No Quarter"]], [[Music/{{Motorhead}} "Overkill"]], [[Music/RonnieJamesDio "We Rock"]], [[Music/{{Accept}} "Starlight"]] and [[Music/ThinLizzy "Jailbreak"]].
71	* DrivenToSuicide: "Massada" from ''Liberty or Death'', which is about titular fortress' inhabitants performing a mass suicide during a Roman siege in the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masada first Jewish-Roman war]].
72	* EpicFlail: Used by Grim Reaper on the cover of ''[[http://www.katehizis.com/news/images5/grave_digger2010-the_clans_will_rise_again.jpg The Clans Will Rise Again]]''.
73	* EpicRocking: "Demon's Day", "Heart of Darkness" (both from ''Heart of Darkness''), "The Bruce (The Lion King)" (''Tunes of War''), "Silence" (''The Grave Digger''), "Twilight of the Gods" (''Rheingold'') and "Crucified" (''The Last Supper'').
74	* EverythingsLouderWithBagpipes: As mentioned above, bagpipes are featured heavily on ''Tunes of War''. They can also be heard on "Battle of Bannockburn" on ''Knights of the Cross'' and "Highland Tears" on ''Liberty or Death''.
75	* EvilLaugh: Featured on "Wedding Day" (''The Reaper) and "Symphony of Death" from its namesake EP.
76	* EvilOverlooker: Grim Reaper on the cover of ''[[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/73/Grave_Digger_Knights_of_the_Cross.jpg Knigths of the Cross]]''.
77	* ForgingScene: "Sword" from ''Rheingold''.
78	* GladiatorGames: "Forecourt to Hell" from ''Liberty or Death''.
79	* GratuitousPanning: The bass intro for "Demon's Day" on ''Heart of Darkness''.
80	* GreatestHitsAlbum: They have several, but ''Best of the Eighties'' and ''Lost Tunes from the Vault'' are the ones to look for their inclusion of several wasted songs.
81	%%* GreenAesop: "Dolphin's Cry" from ''Heart of Darkness''.
82	%%* GriefSong: "Silence" from ''The Grave Digger''.
83	* TheGrimReaper: Their mascot since the reformation in the 90's.
84	* HeartbeatSoundtrack: On the background of "The Madness Continues", the outro of ''The Reaper''.
85	* HeavyMeta: "Headbanging Man", "Heavy Metal Breakdown", "We Wanna Rock You", "Get Ready for Power", "Under My Flag", "Back to the Roots", "Shout It Out".
86	* HeavyMithril: Hints of it in ''Excalibur'', but ''Rheingold'' is a straight example.
87	* HorribleHistoryMetal: The albums "Tunes Of War" (about the first Scottish War of Independence and the Jacobite uprisings), "Knights of the Cross" (about the Crusades), and "The Clans Will Rise Again" (again about Scotland).
88	* {{Instrumentals}}: Every album either opens or closes with a small instrumental piece. Sometimes both.
89	* LighterAndSofter: Their brief apperance as Digger.
90	* LoudnessWar: ''The Last Supper'' album.
91	* MerlinAndNimue: "The Spell" from ''Excalibur'', based on the {{Trope Namer}}s themselves.
92	* MundaneMadeAwesome: "(Enola Gay) Drop the Bomb" from ''War Games'' portrays the nuking of Hiroshima as an epic HighAltitudeBattle.
93	%%* MurderBallad: "Shoot Her Down" from ''Best of the Eighties''
94	%%* OpeningChorus: "Tristan's Fate" from ''Excalibur''.
95	* PowerBallad: Every album has at least one. Ones on earlier albums are [[{{Narm}} rather silly]].
96	* RearrangeTheSong: Only way to know that "2000 Lightyears From Home" is actually a cover of Music/{{The Rolling Stones\|Band}} is to look at the lyrics.
97	* RecurringRiff: There's are certain guitar riff that has appeared on many albums since ''The Reaper''.
98	* UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionHeart: "Lionheart" from ''Knights of the Cross'' is based on him.
99	* "Music/RideOfTheValkyries": Can be heard on "Heart of Darkness". Sadly, it's not a metal rendition.
100	* RockMeAsmodeus: "And the Devil Plays Piano" from ''The Reaper''.
101	* SelfTitledAlbum: With a self-titled song.
102	* SlouchOfVillainy: Mixed with AtopAMountainOfCorpses on the cover of ''[[http://images.uulyrics.com/cover/g/grave-digger/album-liberty-or-death.jpg Liberty or Death]]''.
103	* SopranoAndGravel: "Lonely the Innocence Dies" from ''Ballads of a Hangman'' features Victoria Freeman of Benedictum as the soprano.
104	* StabTheSky: On the cover of ''[[http://blogsimages.skynet.be/images/000/020/518_Grave%20Digger%20-%20Excalibur%20-%20front.jpg Excalibur]]''.
105	* SternChase: "Get Away" from ''Witch Hunter''.
106	* SubduedSection: "Get Ready for Power" from (''Witch Hunter'').
107	* TearsOfBlood: They have song with the same title and theme on ''Best of the Eighties''.
108	* TitleOnlyChorus: "Heart Attack", "Spy of Mas'On", "Ruler Mr. H."
109	* TragicVillain: Morgan Le Fay's VillainSong takes on a very somber tone at the beginning, talking about her more tragic traits before switching to her more Machievellian deeds.
110	* WanderlustSong: "Night Drifter" from ''Witch Hunter''.
111	* WarGod: They have a song literally entitled this.
112	* WarIsHell: "Into the War" from ''Ballads of a Hangman''.
113	* TheXOfY

Context Music / GraveDigger