Clash of the Gods

Personnel: Chris Boltendahl (vocals); Axel Ritt (guitar); Hans Peter Katzenburg (keyboards); Stefan Arnold (drums); Ross Thompson, Van Canto, Hacky Hackmann, Stefan Schmidt (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Jörg Umbreit.
Recording information: Meadow Studios, Weiterstadt, Germany (03/2012-05/2012); Principal Studios, Senden/Münster, Germany (03/2012-05/2012).
Photographer: Jens Howorka.
Arrangers: Chris Boltendahl; Jens Becker; Axel Ritt.
After exploring Scottish motifs on their last few albums, German metal band Grave Digger turn toward ancient Greece on their 2012 album Clash of the Gods. While the lyrics revolve around mythical figures such as Odysseus, Hades, and Medusa, the album's music eschews world music elements and sticks to the group's trademark power metal. In Extremo frontman Michael Rhein guests on the album's first track, a spoken word intro called "Charon (Fährmann des Todes)." Clash of the Gods entered the German charts at number 29. ~ Christian Genzel