When a band doesn’t come to you, you should go to the band, right? So we took the chance of this mini-Swedish tour (Malmö, Göteborg, and Stockholm) to see GRAVE DIGGER once again after so many years at Surr Arena in Göteborg on March 9th, 2024. It felt long overdue, and it turned out to be a great choice, so the plan was, after all, a success. It was also our first time in Göteborg, although there wasn’t a need tonight as the crowd was significantly smaller. It was also a case of quality over quantity since the hall was filled with passionate heavy metal devotees who were more than eager to see both bands playing here tonight. In fact, when BULLET came on stage, they received a very warm welcome from their fellow Swedes. The band felt like a very appropriate choice to pair with GRAVE DIGGER, and they did an excellent job of energizing the crowd with their groovy, ACCEPT-like heavy/hard rock sound. Most of their show focused on “Dust to Gold,” but clearly, many people found themselves singing along with their fists in the air, especially with the conclusive anthem “Bite The Bullet.”
Time for a brief changeover, and the fans were greeted by The Reaper himself as per tradition, inviting them to make some noise before the band’s entrance. Of course, now we are talking about GRAVE DIGGER, as the Germans began the show with “Lawmaker” (from “Healed by Metal,” 2017). The newest addition to the band, guitarist Tobias Kersting, appeared quite enthusiastic and did a good job of filling a position that, after Uwe Lulis and Manni Schmidt, seemed to have lost a bit of edge in Alex Ritt (given that those of his predecessors were big shoes to fill…). It was also a trip down memory lane for many of the older members of the audience, but there were a few very excited kids as well, which was quite refreshing to see. Covering a large portion of the band’s extensive catalogue, the setlist included some more recent songs, or at least from the past decade, such as “Dias de Los Muertos,” where we got to know the Mexican cousin of The Reaper, or actually both tracks from the latest single, “The Grave Is Yours” and “Back to the Roots” (which does not need explanations). These were mixed with some gems like “Circle Of Witches,” “Lionheart,” or “Excalibur,” as we proceeded through this heated evening.
Chris Boltendahl appeared in good spirits and as energetic as ever in his interactions with the audience, supported by his loyal bandmate Jens Becker as well as the previously mentioned new entry in the band, Tobias. Between sweat, horns up, and furious headbanging, it was already time for “Rebellion,” and the band must have been proud of how the crowd had been singing along, as our favorite Reaper jumped back and forth happily playing the bagpipes and greeting the fans one last time. The grand finale threw us all straight back into the glorious eighties starting with “Headbanging Man,” followed by “Witch Hunter,” and of course, the traditional “Heavy Metal Breakdown.” The guys showed they still got it, and they are hopefully not going to lay their instruments to rest anytime soon, despite a career spanning over almost four and a half decades. The applause of a happy crowd is proof to the success of this somewhat intimate yet great night in Göteborg. Extra points for the schedule: with the headliner’s show ending at half-past ten, there was still plenty of time for people to head back into town and continue partying during the night. The venue also worked very well for this kind of gig, and we would love to be back to see more shows here and perhaps explore more of the town at the same time!
Bullet
GRAVE DIGGER
