''Rheingold'' is the 11th studio album by German heavy metal band
Grave Digger
A gravedigger is a cemetery worker who is responsible for digging a grave prior to a funeral service.
Description
If the grave is in a cemetery on the property of a church or other religious organization (part of, or called, a churchyard), ...
. It is a
concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
based on
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
's ''
The Ring of the Nibelung
(''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the ''Nibelung ...
''. The album was released in 2003. Many lines of the lyrics are quoted or paraphrased from (an English translation of) Wagner. The music also has occasional references to Wagner, the most obvious one perhaps being the intro to the song "Dragon", which is the "Siegfried's Horn Call"
leitmotif
A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is an anglici ...
.
Track listing
All songs are composed and arranged by Boltendahl/Becker/Katzenburg/Schmidt; all lyrics by Boltendahl.
Album line-up
* Chris Boltendahl - vocals
* Manni Schmidt - guitars
* Jens Becker - bass
* Stefan Arnold - drums
* H.P. Katzenburg - keyboards
{{Authority control
Grave Digger (band) albums
2003 albums
Concept albums
Nuclear Blast albums