Hellryder – The Devil Is A Gambler Review

7 June 2021 – Dublin

“HELLRYDER HAD JUST PROVED THAT AFTER 40 YEARS IN BUSINESS CHRIS IS STILL ON THE TOP OF HIS GAME”

All of us know Chris Boltendahl and Axel Ritt from Grave Digger, at least if you are familiar with the German metal scene. Recently, they have started a new band called Hellryder. Reason enough to check them out and see how the two seasoned musicians are handling a totally new band.

To give the most in depth review we have discussed Hellryder with Chris and Axel. This gave us not only a valuable insight about the creation of the debut album, but also an understanding how this enablemend helped the musicians to reach their fullest potential.

As Hellryder have just released a debut album and are a new band I will shortly introduce the band. Afterwards, I will discuss the music, lyrics, artwork and the videos which were released with the album.

Who is Hellryder?

Chris and Axel founded Hellryder as a way to express their creative and musical side that they weren’t able to do in Grave Digger. The problem which they were facing with Grave Digger was a well established band with a particular sound and lyrics. As a result, they had to create a new band that dealt with the origins of metal, and gave them freedom to go in any musical direction they wanted to. The concept they had for Hellryder in their own words “straightforward, metallically hard, diabolical and uncompromising traditional Heavy Metal and all signs point to a true assault”… With this in mind they founded a new genre called “dirty kick ass heavy metal”.

In my opinion, a terrific idea. I certainly agree the band had created something entirely new, because if you compare Hellryder and Grave Digger they are totally different on vocals, instrument and lyrics wise. Exactly, this is why I love Hellryder and both guys so much as they create music out of passion. The band could have been just reproducing the music, instead they choose to create something new and being basically”newcomers” as Hellryder doesn’t have the same sound as Grave Digger has.

”HELLRYDER IS A BOLD MOVE AS CHRIS AND AXEL ARE BASICALLY NEWCOMERS. HOWEVER THAT’S ALL WHAT METAL IS ABOUT: CREATING MUSIC OUT OF PASSION ”

Music

Whereas Grave Digger is melodic, Hellryder is much more aggressive. The first time I heard Hellryder I was quite impressed and quite in disbelief that Chris is singing the way that Lemmy did. Don’t get me wrong, I love both singers in their own unique way, it’s just I never thought I would hear such a raspy voice after Lemmy died. And Chris is doing an excellent job. This style of singing suits him very well. According to Chris to get a more brutal and add deepness he sang 5 and a half tones lower than Grave Digger. Also, Axel did a great job as the guitars needed to be tuned down to produce lower frequency. He was also in charge of the mix and sound which sounds really professional and everything is blended in nicely.

However, I would say this music isn’t for everyone. To be honest, I had to get used to the low frequencies and raspy voice as it was so specific and unheard. But for those who are listening to pure heavy and trash metal would be a must buy. After hearing the album a few times I can follow the lyrics, sing along and pierce the walls with a sound that is diabolical and dirty kickass heavy metal.

”HELLRYDER BROUGHT A GENRE ALIVE THAT HAD DIED WITH LEMMY”

Lyrics

Regarding the lyrics Chris took a different approach than Grave Digger. This time he didn’t write about history, but the darkest desires we all have. For example, he mentioned that we as people have had the thought to kill something at some stage in our lives. For this reason Chris brings aggression to the people in his lyrics. Chainsaw Lilly is a perfect example of this. Inspired by the cat Tilly who gets on Chris’ nerves by jumping around as well as having a voice like a chainsaw, he wrote this song. I really enjoyed the song as it has indeed some aggression in it, but also has a personal vibe to it.

Another song I quite like is “Faceless Jesus”, because this song has so much aggression. What’s more, after listening to the song I am stuck with the sentence “Kill Jesus”… And if you listen more carefully you’ll just discover it’s about humanity killing off Jesus. In my opinion this is the reason why the song is so personal as we have all these kinds of dark desires.

The Devil is a Gambler album also contains a bit lighter topics. For example “Faster, harder, louder” is a roar to the band’s music style. It’s a song that gives you a small break of reflecting on the dark desires inside us. I think this song proves again that Chris is an excellent lyricst as this song is catchy, but does not lose the brutal sound which I have discussed above.

Another great song on the album is “Hellryder”. This song is a roar to the band’s name. It is a very powerful song as it has the brutality of the other songs, but at the same time is catchy and memorable enough to remember the name after listening to it for the first time.

In a nutshell, I love the lyrics, due to brutality without any compromise. It’s also my favourite type of lyrics as music gives you the possibility to let your anger out, but also explore these topics without going into violence. Moreover, Chris writes in such a way you’ll remember the lyrics word by word.

”IN MY LYRICS I CAN KILL EVERYBODY – CHRIS”

Artwork

I love the artwork of Hellryder as it represents the genre: dirty kickass heavy metal, perfectly well. It’s just plain and simple, straight to the point what old school metal is. The back of the t-shirt is brilliant, these 3 words you’ll remember easily. It also represents the band, because the music could be characterized as faster & harder. Furthermore, the music is all about our deepest desires and the sound is very brutal and I think it really connects with the promo pictures as well as the t-shirt of the band. Even the name matches “hell and rider”.

”THE ARTWORK REPRESENTS WHAT THE BAND IS ALL ABOUT – DIRTY KICKASS HEAVY METAL”

Videos

The first video which really hooked me into Hellryder was – “Hellryder”. In this video Chris holds the microphone like Lemmy did when he roars “Hellryder”. I felt really awestruck by seeing this video as the outfits were different from Grave Digger, they were more school. Also the fire helped a great deal. It represented the diabolical element of the music and the name itself of course. After listening to the song I knew instantly what the name of the style was. I knew as well this will be music I am going to love.

The second video released was “Night Rider”. This is a great song as well. The video is quite dark due the colors used, as well as the underlying topic: somebody is getting killed in the video… The darkest desires which are represented in the lyrics are displayed.

The latest video release is “The Devil is A Gambler”. This video is great, despite being a lyric video. The video starts with the band being introduced and it looks like they are straight from hell. One recurring theme in the music is “devil himself”. In my opinion a great approach as you get familiar with the style the band is aiming for: “diabolical and uncompromising traditional Heavy Metal”. Of course, it represents the name as well as you just feel like inside hell with this video.

In short, the videos are well done. The video helps you to immerse what the band is about, what the focus is lyrics wise and what style the band is aiming for. As a result, Hellryder is a band you won’t forget easily.

”THE VIDEOS BRING HELLRYDER ALIVE AS YOU FEEL IN HELL AND YOU FEEL CONNECT TO YOUR DARKEST DESIRES”

Conclusion

Hellryder had just brought back alive “dirty kickass heavy metal” genre which I thought had died with Lemmy… However, Hellryder has its own unique sound and lyrics. In my opinion, it is much better as the sound is more brutal and diabolical. The lyrics are great due to the focus on our darkest desires and are easy to remember too.

Regarding the artwork, it connects very well to the band itself. The videos are a great contribution, because they help you to immerse into the music and understand what the band is all about.

One thing that is noteworthy is the fact that Hellryder gave the possibility to explore a different musical direction. I think, overall it’s a great idea, because it shows how diverse and excellent musicians can be. And I confirm that this album explored different kinds of sound and lyrics than Grave Digger. It is also a bold move that I approve, due to the fact that they are newcomers with Hellryder.

”THE DEVIL IS A GAMBLER IS A PERFECT ALBUM FOR SEASONED LISTENERS WHO ARE NOT AFRAID FOR SOME DIAOBLICAL UNCOMPRISING DIRTY KICKASS HEAVY METAL”
MAIr