GRAVE DIGGER are true survivors of the early eighties German Thrash Metal boom. Whilst the band was lumped in with the emerging Thrash acts of the day for convenience sake by the Rock media, particularly in the UK, GRAVE DIGGER was in fact always a more sophisticated musical act. Once the Thrash phenomonen had died down GRAVE DIGGER, after a disastrous wayward period of confusion billed as DIGGER, re-invented themselves as an epic, conceptually orientated complex Heavy Metal band, finding renewed commercial fortune in the process.

GRAVE DIGGER formed in November 1980 in Gladbeck and their debut album, 'Heavy Metal Breakdown', with keyboard contributions from Dietmar Dillhardt, sold more than 40,000 copies in Europe, although the band had initially made their recording debut supplying two tracks to the 'Rock From Hell' compilation album.

The original line-up of the band comprised of vocalist / guitarist Peter Masson, bassist Chris Boltendahl and drummer Lutz Schmelzer, a trio that remained stable until 1982 when Schmelzer left and was replaced by Philipp Seibel. The following year a decision was taken for Masson to concentrate on guitar duties and allowing Boltendahl to take over the microphone.

GRAVE DIGGER actually split in mid-1983 with Boltendahl joining CHALLENGER, which featured Willi Lackmann on bass and Albert Eckardt on the drums. However, Noise offered GRAVE DIGGER, a band that technically didn't exist at the time, a deal, so the band regrouped with previous members Boltendahl on lead vocals and Masson on guitar being joined by Lackmann and Eckardt in the new-look outfit to record the 'Heavy Metal Breakdown' debut album.

Alongside Lackmann, one Rene T. Bone (real name René Teichgräber) is credited for playing bass on GRAVE DIGGER's second album, 1985's 'Witch Hunter', a brand new bassist, C.F. Brank had joined the band by the time Noise released the record. Indeed, bass duties were actually undertaken by both Boltendahl and Masson on the record as they had fired Teichmann during recording in March 1985.

GRAVE DIGGER's third album, 'War Games', appeared in 1986 it was something of a disappointment to all concerned in terms of sales and, upon completion of gigs across Europe packaged with CELTIC FROST and HELLOWEEN, led to the departure of Masson from the ranks. Opting to go in a more commercial direction with new guitarist Uwe Lulis in tow the German outfit adopted the new title of DIGGER and recorded an album titled, rather misleadingly in hindsight, 'Stronger Than Ever'. Needless to say, the record flopped and the group split.

In the wake of the DIGGER disaster bassist Brank hooked up with S.A.D.O. whilst Lulis and Boltendahl opted to stay together and formed HAWAII with drummer Jochen Börner and bassist Rainer Bandzus, although the project never got beyond the demo stage.

During 1991 Boltendahl decided to reform GRAVE DIGGER, the new line-up featuring Boltendahl, Uwe Lulis, bassist Tomi Göttlich, ex-ASGARD and IRON ANGEL, and drummer Peter Breitenbach. This group released a four-track promo CD and 1993's 'The Reaper'. However, prior to cutting the album Breitenbach was out, joining WARHEAD, in favour of the well travelled Jörg Michael, ex-AVENGER, MEKONG DELTA, RAGE and HEADHUNTER.

GRAVE DIGGER recorded the six track EP 'Symphony Of Death' before Michael joined RUNNING WILD and new drummer Frank Ulrich, a veteran of MENDACIOUS MESSIAH, X WILD, LIVING DEATH and VANIZE, teamed up with the Gladbeck crew. Ulrich's tenure with the band was to be relatively brief. Although he played on 1995's 'Heart Of Darkness' album he encountered personal differences with his bandmates and departed, being succeeded by former CAPRICORN and WALLOP drummer Stefan Arnold. Ulrich joined X WILD for their third album 'Savage Land'. GRAVE DIGGER played Germany in June 1995 on a touring festival billed the 'Summer Metal Meetings' including ICED EARTH, GAMMA RAY, GLENMORE, RUNNING WILD and RAGE

Returning to action with the conceptual 'Tunes Of War' record in 1996 the band toured Germany in 1997 with support from SINNER, the record having enjoyed several weeks in the loftier regions of the German national charts. GRAVE DIGGER's return to form came courtesy of 'Tunes Of War's ambitious concept. A conceptual piece based upon Scottish history and liberal in its use of that tried and trusted Heavy Metal instrument the bagpipes. The band also novelly invited the German Rock media on a trip through the ancient battlefields of Scotland.

GRAVE DIGGER stuck to the historical theme for 1998's 'Knights Of The Cross', an album based on the exploits of the knights Templar, this album providing further momentum to their revival. Japanese variants of the album saw bonus tracks in covers of BLACK SABBATH's 'Children Of The Grave' and RAINBOW's 'Kill The King'. Despite this welcome reversal of fortunes the man behind the revival Tomi Göttlich decamped and was superseded by ex RUNNING WILD, X WILD and CROSSROADS man Jens Becker.

Touring found the band on the road in Europe with IRON SAVIOUR and American act IMAGIKA. Both Boltendahl and Lulis would both guest on IMAGIKA's '... And So It Burns' album.

GRAVE DIGGER toured Germany in January of 2000 supported by Italians WHITE SKULL. Lulis departed toward the end of the year being swiftly replaced by Manni Schmidt, previously with RAGE. GRAVE DIGGER's tenth studio album, the mediaeval themed 'Excalibur', would once again find the band with a strong presence in the national album charts, giving the band their highest ever placing in Germany at no.21. The band this time taking journalists by bus from Germany to Stonehenge and Tintagel castle for the pre-launch listening party. A limited digi-pack run of this outing would include an exclusive track 'Black Cat' whilst the Japanese release, in keeping with tradition, held one more bonus cut namely a cover of IRON MAIDEN's 'Running Free'. GRAVE DIGGER would delve into cover territory once more in late 2001 cutting a version of LED ZEPPELIN's 'No Quarter'. This latter track was to resurface on the 2002 Locomotive Music LED ZEPPELIN tribute album 'The Metal Zeppelin - The Music Remains The Same'. The band's set at the annual 'Wacken Open Air' in Germany would see the light of day as the 2002 live album 'Tunes Of Wacken'.

GRAVE DIGGER, together with support from BRAINSTORM, undertook European touring to kick off 2002. However, following January dates in Germany and shows in Southern Europe the band's projected Belgian and Dutch gigs for March would be cancelled as Schmidt was incapacitated with a virus the guitarist had caught whilst on the Iberian continent.

Also in March of 2002 ex-members guitarist Uwe Lulis and bassist Tomi Göttlich returned to the fore with the adventurous conceptually based REBELLION, taking on no less than the bard's 'Macbeth' as the theme for their opening shot 'Shakespeare's MacBeth - A Tragedy In Steel'. Joining the ex-GRAVE DIGGER personnel for REBELLION would be WARHEAD frontman Björn Eilen on second guitar, drummer Randy Black from Canadian Thrashers ANNIHILATOR and vocalist Michael Seifert from Osnabruck acts BLACK DESTINY and XIRON. GRAVE DIGGER would set to work on yet another conceptual album for 2002 release as well as an autobiography of the band. A first for the act came in November, GRAVE DIGGER's first gig in Moscow at the 4'500 capacity Luzhniki Small Sport Hall co-headlining with BLAZE.

GRAVE DIGGER plunged deep into ancient German folklore as the subject of their 2003 studio album 'Rheingold', basing their by now expected conceptual story upon Richard Wagner's Nibelungs saga. The band united with SYMPHORCE and WIZARD for European shows in January of 2004. Gearing back into recording mode, the group entered Principal Studios in Münster during September to record 'The Last Supper', projecting into 2005 by announcing February tour dates utilising ASTRAL DOORS and STORMHAMMER as support act. In keeping with a by now established tradition, GRAVE DIGGER's latest work proved to be conceptually hot on the heels of a blockbuster movie, namely this time 'The Passion Of The Christ'. Putting a new spin on an old convention, the three CD box set 'Das Hörbuch' included not only the expected career retrospective in song form but also spoken passages from Chris Boltendahl.

In May 2006 GRAVE DIGGER contracted a long-term deal with the Spanish record label Locomotive Records. The band entered Principal Studios in Münster on August 14th to commence recording the 'Liberty Or Death' album. In September GRAVE DIGGER launched the 'Yesterday' EP, this headed up by a re-recording of the song from their first album plus exlusive song 'The Reaper's Dance' and a cover version of LED ZEPPELIN's 'No Quarter'. In January 2007 'Liberty Or Death' entered the German Media Control chart at number 30.

The group featured on the TESTAMENT headlined the 'Mezcal Metal' festival taking place 13th September 2009 at Vive Cuervo Salon in Mexico sharing the stage with DEATH ANGEL, DEICIDE, ALCATRAZZ, BELLADONNA, MALIGNO, MISERY INDEX, MORTUARY, SACRED REICH, THE AGONIST, TRANSMETAL and VOIVOD.