Grave Digger is a legendary German heavy metal band formed by Chris Boltendahl (vocals), Peter Masson (guitar), Willi Lackmann (bass guitar) and Albert Eckardt (drums) in 1980 in Gladbeck, a small town in Germany. Grave Digger's famed debut album "Heavy Metal Breakdown" in 1984 already produced some undying classics, such as the true Grave Digger anthem "Heavy Metal Breakdown" and the powerful ballad "Yesterday". After their second studio album "Witch Hunter" (1985) was completed, Eckardt left the band and was replaced by C.F. Brank. ...show more

Grave Digger is a legendary German heavy metal band formed by Chris Boltendahl (vocals), Peter Masson (guitar), Willi Lackmann (bass guitar) and Albert Eckardt (drums) in 1980 in Gladbeck, a small town in Germany. Grave Digger's famed debut album "Heavy Metal Breakdown" in 1984 already produced some undying classics, such as the true Grave Digger anthem "Heavy Metal Breakdown" and the powerful ballad "Yesterday". After their second studio album "Witch Hunter" (1985) was completed, Eckardt left the band and was replaced by C.F. Brank.

After the third studio album "War Games" was released in 1986, the guitarist Peter Masson departed from the band, his place to be taken by Uwe Lulis. In addition, the band changed their name from Grave Digger to Digger and their style changed from heavy metal to hard rock according to such bands as Scorpions, Bon Jovi and Van Halen. This concept, however, was a drastical flop, hence why the frontman Chris Boltendahl announced the end of their career as a band after Digger's album "Stronger Than Ever" was released in 1987. However, the band returned in 1993 with the comeback album "The Reaper".

Grave Digger now consisted of Chris Boltendahl, Uwe Lulis and two new members, Tomi Göttlich (bass) and Jörg Michael (drums). "The Reaper" was a "back to the roots" album with the band's name being Grave Digger again and the style being heavy metal. On the top of that, a compilation entitled "The Best of the Eighties" was released along with the new album to represent the earlier songs of Grave Digger. The EP "Symphony of Death" been released in 1994, Jörg Michael left the band and was replaced by the new drummer Frank Ullrich for the upcoming tour. ...show less