Grave Digger
Scotland Revisited

21.12.2010

The past few years have not been easy for Germany’s Grave Digger. Two guitarists leaving the band in a period of less than 12 months is more than enough to undermine any team, especially if one of them, Manni Schmidt, was a team member for about 10 years. But the mighty Germans led by ever-present singer Chris Boltendahl came out of the troublesome time as strong as ever, and with a new guitarist, Axel Ritt (also long-time leader of Domain), the band created a record that can rightfully considered their best work since “The Grave Digger” (2001). We got in contact with Chris to find out more about the new record, the hardships his band had gone through, and prospects of the upcoming Russian tour that is about to start in a couple of months…

We tried to arrange an interview with you about a month ago, but your label said that you were busy in the studio. What have you been doing since the release of “The Clans Will Rise Again”?

We’re really busy at the moment because we’re doing a DVD of our 30th anniversary where we played a special show at Wacken Open Air with a lot of guests, performing the complete “Tunes Of War” album (1996). It takes a lot of time at the moment, but I think we’re gonna finish it over the weekend, and from next week we will have some more time. Anyway, it’s not a problem to make interviews.

“The Clans Will Rise Again” debuted on the 28th position in the German charts, which is the second highest chart entry you have ever had in your home country. What is the secret of this success? Is making a good album enough to hit the charts?

I think there are a lot of reasons for that. First you have to do a good album, and on the other side, people have to buy it, and the record company also has to do a good job with marketing and promotion. This time everything was right on the point, and it was the reason why we had a very good chart entry. Overall, the new album went great, people like it that we are a little bit back to the 90s, when we played more classical metal stuff.

According to the press release, the album is set to be “a loose sequel” of “Tunes of War”. What does “a loose sequel” mean? In what ways are the two albums connected?

The main topic for both albums is Scotland. The difference is that “Tunes of War” had more of a historical concept, we sang about the history of Scotland from the year 1000 to 1800, and the new one is more about the legends of Scottish people, the legends about mystical highlands. It’s not particularly about history. For sure, there is also some history on the new album, but not like on “Tunes Of War”. Mostly the songs are about fighting for freedom, how the people are connected to their home country, about the mystical gene of the highland and so on.

How has the songwriting and recording process in the band changed since the addition of Axel Ritt?

It’s been a long time since we had such relaxed songwriting. We discussed what we’re gonna do on the new album last Christmas. By that time Manni Schmidt let the band, and we got replacement guitarist Axel Ritt. Shortly before Christmas we decided to have Axel as a fixed member of the band. Then we sat together at a band meeting in my home town, we discussed the new album and said, “Alright, it’s time to sing about Scotland again. This is something that people liked, so the will of people is the law”. On the other side, we didn’t want to copy ourselves. In January we started composing the songs, and on the first day of songwriting we felt there was some magic among the band members. It was really easy to write all the songs, after three months we had it all together, and we started the pre-production.

How is Axel going to combine his activities with Domain and playing with Grave Digger?

I think he has already planned to do something with Domain, but that will only be possible in his free time. He will do some shows with Domain next year, but we have a lot of touring plans, and we want to start composing a new record from mid-2011 and go to the studio at the end of 2011. We are very busy, so Domain will be on hold, but he is not going to give it up.

You also have a side project now, it’s called Fyredogs. Can you say a few words about it?

That is really some kind of hobby. All the guys are from my home town Cologne, everybody in the band has a dayjob, family and children, and we don’t meet every week. We actually have to meet again to discuss what we do with Fyredogs, but I don’t think I will have the time for it. From mid-February we are on tour again, we start the tour in your country, and I don’t have the time to keep the fire for Fyredogs. Anyway, let’s see what we decide at that meetig.

We remember that some time ago you had a promotion company called Flying Dolphin and you also worked for Locomotive Records. Do you do anything apart from singing for Grave Digger at the moment?

Not yet. I gave up my business with Flying Dolphin in the middle of the year, it wasn’t very successful to say the least. At the moment, I’m only doing Grave Digger, that’s my main job, I’m working on it five or six every day. I also do some photography and some paintings, and in a couple of weeks I will open my own website, where everybody will be able to see my photos and paintings. I’m a really creative guy outside music, too.

And what actually happened to Locomotive Records? We have heard that it went bankrupt, and its website is now said to be “under construction”…

Yes, they are really bankrupt. The guys from Locomotive started a new record company called Continental Records. They owe me a lot of money, so let’s see how they are doing.

As a person who worked for a record label, how do you assess prospects of the music business and record labels in particular under current conditions, when people are not very willing to pay for albums?

I think heavy metal bands have a really strong fanbase. While all the people are downloading stuff from the Internet for free, there are many people who are buying CDs, because they want to have the full covers and special editions. We’re looking very positive into the future, even though people are downloading stuff from the Internet. On the other hand, there is a real market for live shows, and people are visiting live shows more. I think we will survive! (laughs)

Most of the record labels you have worked with are no longer active – Noise Records, G.U.N., Locomotive. Is there any chance to see reissues of classic Grave Digger albums from the 1980s and 1990s some time soon?

That is really true. Our first records were released by Noise Records, then Noise Records were sold to Sanctuary, and Sanctuary is now Universal. Universal owns the rights to those records, but nobody takes care of them at the moment. We tried to find the right people at the record company who are responsible, but it turned out really difficult. G.U.N. Records are now Sony… The only record company I have a really good relationship with is Nuclear Blast. I will get my license for “Liberty Or Death” (2007) back from bankrupt Locomotive, that’s for sure, and I’ve also got some licenses back from Nuclear Blast. As to the other ones, I don’t have any influence. I can only pray to God that some day I will meet the right guy from whom I can buy back my own rights. It’s my life’s work, and nobody takes care of it, it’s really a shame.

We won’t ask you about Manni Schmidt, because this story has been discussed in detail many times. But if we go one step back and recall Thilo Hermann – how did you come up with the idea to have a second guitarist in the band? Grave Digger never played with two guitarists before, and Manni never played with a second guitarist before…

After “Liberty Or Death” we felt some stagnation in the band. Manni and I didn’t work so good together anymore. I realized that and I told Manni, “Hey, what do you think about a second guitar player?” He said, “Yes, good, let’s do it”, and we invited Thilo Hermann. But in the end, Thilo didn’t fit that well with the other band members and left the band. And then after many personal problems Manni left as well, it’s totally weird. (laughs) We are really happy with the current line-up, I don’t look into the past, we’ve been with Axel Ritt for a year playing live, and we can see a future for what we’re doing. The band is much stronger than people expected after Manni left. We’re a cool metal band again!

Now can you say a few words about your latest video “Highland Farewell”? How did you like the shooting process? Who are all the people who are acting in the video?

That is something we did with a production company in England. They chose people, they shot the actors, and we only flew to England and did our job in the video. The story is by a guy from Napalm, and the rest was done by the production company. We didn’t have so much influence on it.

You mentioned the DVD that you’re currently working on. What will it contain apart from the anniversary show? Will there be any bonus materials?

We have a lot of bonus materials. We have a photo gallery from the Wacken show, which contains about 270 pictures, we have two interviews, one with me is in German and about 40 minutes long, and the other one is about the history of Grave Digger, it is 25 minutes. Then we have a section with a lot of short movies that Axel shot on his iPhone, which is also 30 minutes, and then we have the video and “the making of” the video.

And what about old promotional videos such as “In The Dark Of The Sun”? Is there any chance that they will be released on DVD one day?

The problem is the same as with the old records – the license owner is Sony Entertainment, and they are not really cooperative. But all these videos are on the Internet.

One of the special guests for the anniversary concert was Doro Pesch, and you also participated in her anniversary concert a couple of years ago. How long have you known Doro? How did you get this idea to exchange guest appearances?

I’ve known Doro for a long time, I first met her in 1983 when she was with Warlock. Since those days we’ve had a really good relationship. I did a guest appearance on her 25th anniversary two years ago, and when we decided that we were going to do “Tunes Of War” completely live at Wacken Open Air for our 30th anniversary and that we have a song there called “Ballad Of Queen Mary”, we thought it was a very good part for Doro. I asked her, and she was totally excited, she said, “Great, let’s do it!” It was a magical moment when she went on stage dressed like a queen. By the way, we did new versions “Ballad of Mary” and “Rebellion” in the studio, in the same way as we did on the live DVD with Doro and Hansi Kursch respectively.

Among other guests that you had at the show was a very interesting band called Van Canto. What do you think of the guys and their music?

Their music is very special, and I like it a lot, because it’s something really outstanding. When they first contacted me, they said, “Hey, we wanna do a cover version of your track “Rebellion” without guitars or bass, with only voices and the drum kit”, and I was like, “Oooh…” (with the expression of confusion) It was a bit weird, but I said, “OK, let’s try it”. That was really funny to do, it was the first time that I did a metal song without guitars! (everybody laughs) On the side, I said, “Hey, you also do background vocals, will you join us at the Wacken show?” They said, “Yeah, great!”, because a couple of them are Grave Digger fans. Two guys from Van Canto are also on “The Clans Will Rise Again”, so we have a very good friendship now.

Speaking about special guests – we’ve noticed than when other bands arrange anniversary concerts they usually invite people from previous line-ups. But you didn’t have any former members of Grave Digger at the anniversary show in Wacken. Does it mean that you have no contact with any past members?

I don’t have any contact with the past members. I am not really fighting with anybody, but most of them left the band without positive feelings. I look into the future, I don’t want people from the past. I wanna play my music with the guys I like and who are actually the band. I’ve never thought about bringing Uwe Lulis or Manni Schmidt to the stage again. There was no need for this, because with the special guests and the new line-up we did a fantastic show. You will see it on the DVD.

Do you have a tentative release date for the DVD already?

It’s March 5.

We remember that back in 2002 you posted a very strong statement on the Grave Digger webpage criticizing George W. Bush for his actions in the Middle East. Are you still interested in politics? What do you think about Barak Obama?

I’m really interested in politics, but I think the Grave Digger website or the Facebook page are not the right platforms for my own opinions. If people ask me, I tell them, but I will never do it again on a Grave Digger platform. Grave Digger is not a political band, we’re playing heavy metal because we like heavy metal, and for us heavy metal is entertainment. We don’t have any political background for that.
But on the other side, everybody knows that I’m not a big fan of the U.S. Barak Obama is not George Bush, George Bush was a piece of shit. Obama… Again, you have to see that Obama is only an auxiliary, he is a representative of the U.S. political elite, he has so many people in the background doing the daily political life. It’s not really his politics, he is a representative of the politics which are conducted by a lot of people in the background. But it’s the same with Russia, your current president is, in my opinion, a marionette of Putin. (laughs)
For me the most important thing is that people living in these countries should be happy, that human rights are protected, you should be treated right, and if you are not, it’s something I don’t like. This makes me really angry.

You will start playing live in support of “The Clans Will Rise Again” in February next year, and the first gigs will take place in Russia. This time you will play in more Russian cities than ever before. What are your expectations?

It’s a really good question. As you told me, it’s very cold there! (everybody laughs) On the other side, I think there will be a lot of fans in Russia, and we will be able to come to certain cities where we’ve never played before. I think we will add one or two or three shows to this tour, we’re in discussions with Yekaterinburg and some other cities in Urals and Ukraine. I think it will be a really cool heavy metal tour, and a lot of people will show up. In the first half of the show we will play only songs about Scotland off “Tunes Of War” and “The Clans Will Rise Again”, and the second part of the show is a best-of set.

What are your brightest memories about Russia? Is there anything special you can recall about the gigs you played and the places you visited here?

Whenever we play in Russia, I feel that people are really lovely and at times very patient about bands and about Grave Digger in particular. I enjoy it a lot, because sometimes you have aggressive fans and sometimes you have excited fans, but people in Russia are always excited to see a band like Grave Digger. After the show we do some signing sessions, and people are very nice to the band. We like the people there, it’s very cool.

You have celebrated the 30th anniversary of Grave Digger this year. Where do you see the band in, say, 10 years from now?

I see the band in 10 years still alive! On the one hand, it’s very important that people like the band and stay behind the band, because we need the fans. But on the other hand, we are really creative and with this line-up we still have the potential for a couple of more records. We like to play metal, we like to compose metal, and if the people like it, we can do 10 years more!

Grave Digger on the Internet: http://www.grave-digger-clan.com

Special thanks to Alexei Morozov for arranging this interview

Roman Patrashov, Natalie “Snakeheart” Patrashova
December 2, 2010
© HeadBanger.ru