Published on Oct 11, 2000
On paper, it seemed to be an interesting marriage of styles – a
German heavy metal band taking on the tale of King Arthur and
Camelot. So much of the metal out of Europe is warrior-style
songwriting that this concept seemed like a refreshing change of
pace. Enter Grave Digger, a hard-rocking quintet who mixed the
legend in with a little warrior music (albeit fitting for the
material) and came up with
Excalibur, a concept-type album that works for the most
part, but it also shows the limitations of the band.
Although all the songs tie together in a similar storyline, I
hesitate on calling this strictly a “concept album” simply because
there is so much going on in the storyline that many of these
tracks could stand on their own without relying on the plot to hold
them up. This alone is a rarity among concept albums, and for Grave
Digger to have successfully pulled it off is no small feat.
The band – vocalist Chris Bottendahl, guitarist Uwe Lulis,
bassist Jens Becker, keyboardist Peter Katzenburg and drummer
Stefan Arnold – themselves are an interesting mix of musical
styles. Every once in a while, you hear the ghosts of thrash rear
their heads up, especially in Arnold’s drum work. And while there
is definitely the European style of metal present in these songs,
they don’t seem to be held back by any stylistic boundaries. Maybe
part of the reason is that they’re tackling a British legend; maybe
it’s because their own musical influences span the globe. Whatever
the case, it works.
The story of King Arthur and the Knights Of The Round Table does
jump around a little bit – then again, you try condensing such a
complex story into an hour-long album. Tracks such as “Pendragon,”
“Morgane Le Fay,” “Mordred’s Song” and “The Final War” all are
powerful songs in and of themselves, and they do help to move the
plot of the story along well. (It should be noted that reading the
liner notes as you listen to the disc is the greatest aid.)
Yet one wonders whether Grave Digger was holding back on some of
their own musical fury in order to keep the story line moving on
Excalibur. Lulis’s solos are good, but I can’t help but
think that he was operating at a fraction of his true musical
power. I’d also have moved Katzenburg’s keyboards up a little more
in the mix.
And though the band admirably tackles different styles of metal,
the pseudo-ballad “Emerald Eyes” shows the group’s greatest
weakness. What should be a gentle ode to a loved one before dying
(Arthur’s deathbed ode to Guinivere) is marred by Bottendahl’s
vocal style. At times on this disc, he delivers the lines
flawlessly, but on this one, it sounds like he gargled with battery
acid before he recorded his vocal line. It’s a flub… and,
regrettably, it’s a big one.
Some copies of
Excalibur include a bonus track, “Parcival,” which is a
decent enough track on its own. I just don’t quite know how this
one fits in with the story line (if indeed it fits at all). It’s
still good enough for me to suggest that if you have the option of
buying either the straight release or one with the bonus track,
splurge on the bonus-track edition.
Excalibur is an interesting album which pushes the envelope
on concept albums, and while it’s not perfect, it’s a very solid
effort. The Lady of the Lake should be smiling upon this disc.