U.D.O. – Steelhammer – CD review

U.D.O.
Steelhammer
AFM

Aiiiieee!!!! For sure, but it’s Udo Dirkschneider and his heavy metal cohorts bashing out their 14th studio album. And, amazingly enough, it’s one of their best. Now me and Udo go all the way back to Accept and the London Leather Boys, but the less said about that the better. After all, there is nothing more manly than chaps dressing up in tight leather and chains singing about how their balls are to the wall.

It may not be related to how metal thrashingly mad this album is, but Herr Dirkschneider has brought a couple of new guitarists along for the ride in the shape of Kasperi Heikknen and Andrey Smirnov. And they know how to riff and widdle with the best of them. It also helps that the songs on this album are a division above the good but not great tunes that graced the likes of “Dominator” and “Rev-Raptor”, something that surprised me when I realised it was bassist Fitty Wienhold who’d stepped up to the plate as co-writer with Dirkschneider.

Whatever, this seems to have regurgiated Udo both as a writer and vocalist, and UDO the band as a powerhouse metal machine. Vocally, Dirkschneider can’t reach the notes that he hit thirty years ago, but he’s in his sixties now and has learned to compensate in other ways. You only really notice on the one album duffer, which is the big ballad ‘Heavy Rain’. It’s not good, But you let it slide because it’s surrounded by crushing metal beasts like ‘A Cry Of A Nation’, ‘Metal Machine’, ‘Devil’s Bite’ and ‘Death Ride’. The album highlight for me is the aforementioned ‘Metal Machine’ which is as good a song as he’s ever recorded.

Metal heads will be able to rid themselves of dandruff with ease on one of the best metal albums of the year so far, one that is also out as a limited edition digpack with bonus track.

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