I'd never really heard much 'Grave Digger' before this release, but my motto now is "If it's Power Metal and it's German you can't go far wrong", and this has again been proven with 'The Last Supper', as it's another cracking piece of European Metal. I must admit 'Chris Boltendahl's' vocals do take a bit of getting used to, he's a little reminiscent of 'Jon Oliva' with this menace and gravel, but does not however possess his range. That said it all comes together very well, 'Manni Schmidt' formally of 'Rage', is as impressive as always, while 'Stefan Arnold' and 'Jens Becker' lay down some thunderous rhythm. As with many other 'Grave Digger' albums, there is a strong theme running throughout, this time around it's seems to reflect upon Christ's last days, although the accompanying booklet gives nothing away.

Things start off very melodically with the instrumental intro 'Passion', a haunting, atmospheric piece, that nicely flows into the first full song. The title track ensues subtly only to re-launch it's self as a vigorous plodder, the chorus stands out for me, as it's catchy and powerfully sung with plenty of sharp backing vocals- overall a potent song. The pace picks up further for the slashing Power Metal of 'Desert Rose', a brisk uncompromising cut, that's fuelled by thunderous rhythm work, cutting guitar riffs and menacing 'Chris Boltendahl's' vocals to add depth to this quality blazer. Even better is the pulsating ripper 'Grave in the No Man's Land', a riff and rhythm driven jewel, that's lyrically strong, very catchy and extremely foreboding- going to be one of the songs of the year. Less impressive is 'Hell to Pay', although the instrumental intro is superb, the song goes downhill and descends into a crude thrasher, 'Chris's' vocals do nothing to enhance matters and it's only the instrumentation that saves the day. Improvements are quickly made with the brisk groover 'Soul Savior', there's shades of classic early 'Savatage', while the rhythm work is reminiscent of 'Motörhead's best- a great rocker with 'Manni Schmidt' pulling out all the stops. The tempo falls for the dark plodder 'Crucified' a powerful track, that regrettably does seem to drag, again the vocals don't flatter the song and it ultimately turns out repetitive. Plenty of development is shown with 'Divided Cross' a catchy song, which features glimpse of 'Iron Maiden' influence on the instrumental breaks, lyrically impressive and overall enjoyable. Following in fine form is the pulsating rocker 'The Night Before', which rides on a sublime grooving melody and is further enhance by sweet guitar licks from 'Manni Schmidt' and plenty of forceful vocals. 'Black Widows' also fails to disappoint, as another sublime rhythm is laid down from the outset and further enhanced by quality lyrics and inventive guitar work. The last two tracks just take the edge off the album for me, 'Hundred Days' has potential, as the excellent rhythm work is reminiscent of 'Iced Earth' but the song just ends up plain repetitive, while the sluggish balladsy 'Always and Eternity' does not work with 'Chris Boltendahl's' vocals and comes off sounding awkward and disappointing for a final song.

Two bonus tracks accompany the DigiPac version which I own, the first is 'Sleepless' a tough, riff driven rocker, while 'Jeepers Creepers' is a rugged but catchy track, complete with strong chorus and solid instrumental break- both could have made it onto the album proper, but they don't fit in with the album's theme.

A couple of cuts don't quite come off in my opinion and just take the edge off a very fine release, despite this there's still a wealth of solid material present for any Power Metal fan.