Gravedigger is the first and only album by Janus, a band consisting of six English musicians who lived in Krefeld, Germany. It was founded in 1971 by guitarist and songwriter Colin Orr together with Bruno Lord (voc), Derek Hyatt (voc), Roy Yates (g), Mick Pederby (b, voc) and Keith Bonthrone (dr, perc, voc). Thanks to their energetic live performances, Janus soon made a name for themselves on the scene. The Cologne-based record company EMI took notice and offered them a record deal with their progressive sub-label Harvest, which also had big names like Pink Floyd under contract. In January 1972, they recorded their debut album at EMI's own studio, which was released just one month later, but only in Germany. They played a mixture of hard, guitar-heavy psychedelic rock (side 1) and soft, acoustic progressive rock (side 2), enhanced by German sound engineers with psychedelic effects from the 1960s. Overall, it was an album with a wide variety of styles and a broad sound palette.

Due to its lack of success, EMI terminated the record contract and the musicians left Germany. They continued to perform live for a few more years in the Netherlands and then in England before finally splitting up in 1974. Over the years, Janus became a cult band and their debut album became a sought-after collector's item.