Twenty-four years after the band's most popular output Tunes of War and ten years after its spiritual successor The Clans Will Rise Again, German heavy metal veterans Grave Digger conclude their Scottish trilogy with the very good new output Fields of Blood. This album has the same trademarks as the other two releases with melodic heavy metal guitar play, vibrant rhythm section, expressive vocals, historically inspired lyrics and an appropriate use of bagpipes, choirs and keyboards to evoke an epic atmosphere. Instead of sounding tedious, repetitive and predictable, the twelve new songs are performed with conviction, creativity and energy and offer fifty-four minutes of excellent heavy metal entertainment.

Several elements stand out very positively. First of all, this release is more melodic, epic and memorable than the immediate predecessors which is a welcome change. The outstanding ballad ''Thousand Tears'' featuring guest singer Noora Louhimo of Battle Beast fame in her best career performance so far is a spiritual successor of ''The Ballad of Mary (Queen of Scots)'' twenty-four years ago and convinces with heartfelt vocals and excellent guitar play. Title track ''Fields of Blood'' cracks the ten-minute mark and is the band's second longest tune ever. The song features sound effects, radio play passages, majestic bagpipe melodies, traditional heavy metal trademarks and detailed lyrics that keep entertaining through the song's ambitious running time. This album also features many truly catchy songs with the highlight being the energizing ''Lions of the Sea'' with its melodic chorus and powerful choirs.

The exotic instruments are used with care throughout the album. While they were only used in a handful of a song on previous records, they are a recurring device on Fields of Blood. This starts with the cinematic opening instrumental ''The Clansman's Journey'' that brings the listeners spiritually back to the band's beloved Scottish Highlands, continues in the soulful power ballad ''Thousand Tears'' and culminates in the almost progressive title track and album highlight ''Fields of Blood''.

Another element that stands out is the excellent guitar play by Alex Ritt. Fields of Blood might be his finest hour yet because he can really push his boundaries here. Harmonious acoustic guitar passages meet energetic heavy and power metal riffs as well as unchained guitar solos that combines passion and skills. Every song except for the instrumental opener and closer showcase absolutely outstanding guitar play that should please any fan of heavy and power metal.

In the end, Grave Digger is still going strong forty years into its career and combines past trademarks with fresh ideas on the very good Fields of Blood. This album grows with every spin thanks to its cohesive style that is best enjoyed from start to finish. This is easily the band's greatest hour since Clash of the Gods eight years ago. If you have lost track of the band's career and wonder whether the four Germans can still live up to their classic material from the mid-nineties, give this album a few spins and you might be very positively surprised.

Final rating: 84%

Ladies and gentlemen!

Here is a playlist of my favourite new songs released in May 2020 on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6NsFmcp0UFYtGzwYKuDLeQ

1. In Extremo - Kompass zur Sonne

2. Ensiferum - Rum, Women, Victory

3. Alestorm - Wooden Leg Part 2 (The Woodening)

4. Soilwork - Death Diviner

5. Primal Fear - Along Came the Devil

6. Grave Digger - Lions of the Sea

7. Axel Rudi Pell - Bad Reputation

8. Paradise Lost - Hear the Night

9. Alice Cooper - Don't Give Up

10. Ginette Reno - Ça va bien aller

It's difficult to believe that Alestorm's debut record Captain Morgan's Revenge was only released twelve years ago. It feels like the quirky quintet with its international members that plays a vibrant mixture of folk and power metal with funny lyrics has been around forever. The band's sixth studio album Curse of the Crystal Coconut doesn't reinvent anything but is very entertaining as usual.

''Treasure Chest Party Quest'' opens the record with much power. The stomping guitar riffs are joined by a vibrant rhythm section and epic keyboard fanfares. The tongue-in-cheek lyrics praising the band spirit based upon having fun and drinking alcohol are performed in a memorably melodic but slightly rough way as usual. The chorus is catchy right from the start and is going to be shouted by thousands of fans in concert once the coronavirus pandemic is going to be over. The hilarious music video portrays the band members as gangster rappers in expensive clothes driving fancy cars but that shouldn't come as a surprise anymore. 

The record's other party anthem ''Tortuga'' works the other way around. The song flirts with flashy keyboard sounds that could also come from a contemporary K-pop band, mildly flirts with hip hop vocals performed by Rumahoy's Captain Yarrface and is overall filled with exaggerated sound effects. The music video on the other hand focuses on the band's pirate image including old-fashioned costumes, an idyllic island and traditional weapons. Despite those efforts, the song is only memorable upon first discovery but fails to leave a deeper mark with its repetitive patterns and weak chorus.

The record's highlight is undoubtedly ''Wooden Leg, Part 2 (The Woodening)''. The first part from Sunset on the Golden Age wasn't a highlight but is briefly referenced quite humorously towards its sequel's conclusion. While the predecessor didn't even break the three-minute mark, its sequel is over eight minutes long. The cinematic keyboard sounds, funny lyrics and creative narrative parts performed by guests and friends of the band in Spanish and Japanese make the song stand out. It's not the band's most memorable tune but highly entertaining from start to finish.

If compared to its two immediate predecessors, the song material on Curse of the Crystal Coconut is a little bit less convincing and more by the numbers than ever before. That doesn't make Alestorm's sixth output a bad album however. Fans of old date will get exactly what they can expect from the band in form of epic keyboard melodies, serviceable guitar riffs, powerful rhythm section, raw but melodic vocals and plenty of amusing lyrics. In dark times when people feel more sinister than necessary, Alestorm's superficial, lighthearted and entertaining approach actually comes as a welcome change. Forget about police violence, mass murders and care facilities for forty-four vivid minutes and discover a world of pirates, parties and alcohol.

Final rating: 75%