A Few Experiments and a Great Live Album Save This Output - A Review of Grave Digger's Symbol of Eternity

Legendary German heavy metal quartet Grave Digger has certainly been very prolific throughout the past decade, releasing seven studio albums in the past ten years. However, the releases had significant ups and downs with atmospheric, creative and epic highlights such as Clash of the Gods and with old-fashioned, predictable, repetitive albums such as Return of the Reaper. Symbol of Eternity isn't as disastrous as the band's worst offerings but it sadly has more things in common with the band's lowlights than with its highlights.

Opening track ''Battle Cry'' is a very good example for the aforementioned thesis. Upon first contact, the song seems quite decent. The guitar play is fast, fierce and heavy. The rhythm section is precise and thunderous. The verses sound aggressive while the chorus aims to be anthemic. The intense, raw and throaty vocals add oomph to the verses while being complemented by choirs in the epic refrain. The song doesn't overstay its welcome as it clocks in under four minutes. The main issue however is that the band has been recording this type of song time and again. One can't shake the feeling to have heard the song before and yet, it doesn't have any distinctive qualities to make it stand out. Once the song has rushed by, it simply won't stay on your mind and doesn't leave any significant impression.

The same thing could be said about fast-paced heavy metal stomper ''Hell Is My Purgatory''. The song is aggressive, quick and traditional as it recalls material from recent side project Hellryder. While the song might make fans want to bang their heads in concert, it simply can't compete with the group's classic heavy metal anthems from the nineties and early years of the new millennium. Once again, the songwriting sounds rehashed and is by the numbers as it will only please the most traditional fans who don't want this band to experiment and expand its horizons.

Luckily, the album's few more experimental tunes manage to save the day and make an average album at least decent. ''Grace of God'' for instance opens with campfire guitar sounds that lead to symphonic heavy metal sections with epic keyboard sounds. A few creative percussive elements keep the creativity going. The vocals vary intriguingly between slow and melodic sections on one side and aggressive and fierce passages on the other side. This is certainly the record's most versatile, inspired and memorable song.

Closing bonus track ''Hellas Hellas'' is a cover song performed in Greek with original singer Vasilis Papakonstantinou who is already seventy-two years old. This song comes completely out of left field and turns out being a simple heavy metal song with a playful, memorable and almost danceable vibe, therefore combining Grave Digger's trademark style and the song's original tone. This tune is certainly a refreshing tribute to Greek culture and should strike a chord with fans upon the band's next concert in Greece.

At the end of the day, Grave Digger's Symbol of Eternity is a decent heavy metal record with all of the band's classic trademarks such as energetic melodic guitar play, thunderous rhythm section and raw vocals. Sadly, the songwriting is repetitive, predictable and old-fashioned but the band manages to break new ground on a few select successful occasions. Symbol of Eternity can therefore be recommended to adamant traditional heavy metal aficionados and faithful fans of the band but occasional listeners or fans of the band's more creative conceptual efforts should skip this output. On a positive side note, the limited edition includes a decent live record with ten songs and an introduction that is certainly worth the slightly more elevated price and rates this release up by a few points.

Final Rating: 67%