U.D.O. ~ Rev-Raptor (album review) ... Udo can do no wrong!

Style: heavy metal, speed metal
Label: AFM
Year: 2011
Home: Germany

Members: Udo Dirkschneider ~ vocals
Stefan Kaufmann ~ guitars/keyboards
Igor Gianola ~ guitars
Fitty Wienhold ~ bass/keyboards
Francesco Jovino ~ drums

I recently reviewed U.D.O.'s release just before this one, Dominator, & after days of non-stop listening declared: "This is a perfect slab of metal ... This is the album I've wanted so many bands to make." Having earlier listened to the classic Accept albums Restless & Wild & Balls To The Wall, which I agree are classics, I pretty much am feeling Udo has the midas touch. So, did U.D.O. follow up the perfection of Dominator? Pretty darn close to it. I'm just going to say it really does feel Udo can do no wrong, or at least in the early 2000's he is making music most metalheads would die to have their name associated with. Rev-Raptor, which is one of the strangest names for an album I've heard in a while, doesn't veer far from the template set by Dominator. At times the albums feel almost interchangeable. They both have heavy as fuck speed metal, amazingly original sounding rhythms, great singing, soaring solos, plus a few keyboard heavy power ballads. Its raw, powerful & technically intense & the energy is high for both albums. I do feel that there's less musical variety on Rev-Raptor. At times the songs seemed to blend together a bit more. That might also be to the fact I was so shocked by the power of Dominator I found myself listening a bit more closely. Here the shock has worn off. Yet, the album makes up for this weakness by cranking things just a bit harder & still retaining a perfect mix of soft & hard, calm & fury. If you like metal dripping with distortion guitar attacks & power drill rhythms than Rev-Raptor needs to meet your ears. I do think the ballads are stronger on this release, as they have an anthem-like quality that gives them a little edge. Okay, I'll confess "I Give As Good As I Get" has a great careening guitar solo that fits the song perfectly without going over the edge or taking over. That is an art in itself. The producer of these 2 albums needs kudos & your metal band should call him immediately. He finds that perfect balance between letting songs breath & creating a wall of sound that will clobber your brain. That producer is, for the record, also the co-composer & guitarist, who first joined up with Udo as the original drummer of Accept. I particularly like "Leatherhead" which features a menacing thick guitar riff, think early Marilyn Manson or Rob Zombie, but then has this almost light-weight solo that provides great contrast & gives the song added depth. U.D.O. knows how to put the pieces together perfectly. Rev-Raptor is another slice of how to do metal right.

U.D.O. ~ Dominator (album review) ... Metal perfection!

Style: heavy metal, speed metal
Label: AFM
Year: 2009
Home: Germany

Members: Udo Dirkschneider ~ vocals
Stefan Kaufmann ~ guitars/keyboards
Igor Gianola ~ guitars
Fitty Wienhold ~ bass/keyboards
Francesco Jovino ~ drums

Guest: Mathias Dieth ~ lead guitar

This is a perfect slab of metal. Listen to it. Tell me if you disagree in the comments. End of story. I've listened to this multiple times over multiple days, actually more like non-stop over multiple days, & I've yet to hear anything that isn't perfect about this album. This is the album I've wanted so many bands to make. This is the album I was expecting to hear from bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Kiss & others, but got something that everyone has rightfully forgotten. This stomping beast reminds me a lot of Halford & Judas Priest at their later day best, but with more emphasis on groove than screaming vocals & thunderous riffs & atmospheric moments. It has all the ingredients right for some heavy as fuck melodic metal, whether driving rockers or lush power ballads: interesting lyrics, great singing with lots of variety, backing vocals that sound fierce vs the typical big gang vocals, riffs that are more than just notes but actually are moody & scary, addictive melodies & stomping rhythms that sound like giant robots walking, thick guitars that don't ever get too muddy or try to out riff each other, & even just the right amount of atmospheric keyboards. Even the 1930's-esque cabaret of "Devils Rendezvous" is delightful, though it shouldn't work & likely wouldn't on any other album. It provides a breathing moment before the album closes with some moody speed metal & a big keyboard heavy power ballad in "Whispers In The Dark" that feels a bit like some of Ozzy's work. Dominator keeps your interest from start to finish with a masterfully produced thick wall of sound full of little nuances that will have you head-banging or listening in for the details. I listened to this following writing the reviews of Accept's classics Restless & Wild & Balls To The Wild. I chose the album because it got decent reviews on allmusic. I haven't heard anything else from Udo solo, but can he do no wrong or am I just listening to the best of his catalog? I could go on, but I really have no words to describe the beauty & wonder of the beautiful album. Just listen. If you think I'm wrong put it below, but I likely won't be persuaded by anything but the most detailed arguments that this isn't perfection.

Accept ~ Restless & Wild (album review) ... Thrash before thrash!

Style: heavy metal, speed metal
Label: Portrait
Year: 1982
Home: Germany

Members: Udo Dirkschneider ~ vocals
Wolf Hoffmann ~ guitars
Peter Baltes ~ bass
Stefan Kaufmann ~ drums

Balls To The Wall is the most commercially successful Accept album. Yet, their fourth album, Restless & Wild, that came just before had already made waves in the metal community & holds classic status among many. Restless & Wild might be called the lesser known wilder younger brother, that is forgotten only due to timing & not charting in the U.S.. It is an in-your-face wild messy ride along the lines of Judas Priest, Motorhead & NWOBHM bands. Brutal power metal that might be considered proto-thrash. Part of this lays in the face melting opener "Fast As A Shark" which features some of the first speed metal double bass drumming. Also of note, there was a change in membership with guitarists. All the guitars on the album were by Wolf Hoffman, though a second guitarist was credited on the album. Wolf needs credit for crafting a great album churning out excellent rhythms & leads. The guitars just growl & drool with thick distortion, while Udo screams like Rob Halford. I do feel like the emphasis here is more on the guitars, whereas the vocals took a bit stronger role on the next album. While Balls To The Wall has a different guitar approach that relied more on the dual guitar sound, whereas this feel often more like rhythm with lead over it. Both albums are 2 sides of the same coin & show a band musically in their prime just before commercial success took things to a new level. Personally, I prefer the later album, as I like my metal a bit slower & melodic, but if you like heavy, fist pumping, headbanging music that will keep your air guitars rockin' for hours, than absolutely do not overlook this forgotten classic. "Neon Nights" has an interesting guitar opening that fuses an acoustic guitar with a guitar with its speed manipulated a couple times. It introduces a mystical power ballad. Usually I don't say such things, but its not needed. The song is strong & the flow of the album is interrupted by this instrumental moment, not accentuated by it. This is the only thing I'd dump on the album, or put it after all the songs as an instrumental coda as its kinda cool. I like the fact the band has power ballads more the flavor of Dio than Bon Jovi. Songs that might be sung by vikings, over syrupy love ballads that the '80's would overflow with to its detriment.

Accept ~ Balls To The Wall (album review) ... Accept this album as your new favorite!

Style: heavy metal, power metal
Label: Epic
Year: 1983
Home: Germany

Members: Udo Dirkschneider ~ vocals
Wolf Hoffmann, Herman Frank ~ guitars
Peter Baltes ~ bass
Stefan Kaufmann ~ drums

I've never heard anything from Accept aside from the MTV hit "Balls To The Wall". I know, that might be a cardinal sin & I will take your horrid name calling in the comments. So, flashback to 1983 with the album of the same name that largely put Accept on the map, though the album before it Restless & Wild also has classic status among metal fans. Balls To The Wall is considered historically a huge album by just about every metal historian. When it was released metal was still largely more underground than not. It wasn't user friendly or mainstream, not popular in the clubs, while the metal community was seen as outsiders, Satanists, maybe even troublemakers. Even though metal had been around for a bit, it was still a fringe scene when the '80's dawned & every parents nightmare. This is one of the albums, alongside works by Quiet Riot, Van Halen, Twisted Sister & a handful of other bands, which helped push metal out of the shadows & into the mainstream. I was 6 yrs old when Balls To The Wall was released, but it would be years later that I first heard the title track as at the time we didn't have but a few channels & none were MTV. When I first saw the video my immediate reaction hearing the lyrics & seeing the cover was that this must be one of those gay songs like Boy George. I know that sounds crass, but this was a world where Ellen DeGeneres was not a household name nor an iconic lesbian, Melissa Ethridge had not yet said yes I am, you could recognize a gay man due to the Freddie Mercury mustache, & Elton John was marrying a woman. Unless you lived in a big city, & I didn't, gays were that uncle you spoke about in hushed tones, or Boy George. I figured any guy singing about his balls must be gay. I didn't know the phrase had any meaning, though for the life of me I couldn't figure out what you did once you put your balls on the wall. What purpose does that serve? All this sounds horrid, & I write it to give you a good laugh, but I also must confess that I thought Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me" was 100% about food. Why would someone pour sugar on someone else? That's a waste of sugar when people are starving in Africa. Adults licked sugar off each other & stood against walls with their pants down. Being an adult was going to be strange! Who know I'd see 2020 ... nevermind. ... So, nostalgia aside, I come to this album not from 1983 but from 2021, where I obviously don't see it as a gay song. I'm hearing it in 2021 after metal is mainstream & I've heard more metal styles & albums than I can ever begin to count. I thus come at it with a big question: is this as good as its legacy makes it out to be? Which leads to other questions. Does it deserve a listen outside the context of 1983, as in as it withstood the text of time? Is there any other good songs on it aside from the title track? Having made you suffer through my bad humor & nostalgia I'm going to just skip to the answers: Yes, yes, yes! I'd put this album up against any metal album from any time after its release, including present day. This is a must have for your collection. It has a sound firmly rooted in classic metal, which every metal fan loves, re: Kiss, NWOBHM, Black Sabbath, Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, Judas Priest. Also, it just totally grooves, which I don't hear enough in modern metal albums that go for walls of sound & lots of flashy playing. Yet, think of all the headbanging albums of classic status. They all groove. Even Van Halen grooves. This grabs you with solid riffs that will have your head pounding from start to finish. I really like the clean guitars. I mean that as in every note can be heard. I tire of these bands that turn the distortion way up & crank things so crazy you can't hear what is being playing. Give me Megadeth, Pantera & bands where its just the riff & the pure air. Too many bands muddy the waters. I also really like the slow burn feel of this album. Its not a speed your face off attack. This is slow, scary, plodding & heavy. I do have to mention the speaking part on the title track. I didn't remember it, so I watched the MTV video & this isn't there. Its too bad, as having the speaking part with the bass just rolling along & some viking-like backing vocals is awesome. I usually don't like talking parts, outside of Elvis where it is somewhat bearable, but this is haunting. It totally makes the song & its too bad they cropped it from the single version. I also really liked "London Leatherboys". This has a great lost NWOBHM-esque sound. Very masculine lyrics of tough guys & wild girls, before the scene went pretty boy cock rock sexy. As for Udo, he may not be a singer everyone gravitates to. I'm sure some have said he's not so good, but he's original, makes up for any scratchy tones with depth & feeling so many better singers don't have. I tire of singers who want to scream to the heights, but have no emotion. Udo is the perfect counterpart to the music in a way not enough singers are, who are singer over or under but not as an equal with the music. I have to also saying sticking the power ballad "Winter Dreams" at the end is a nice touch. The obligatory power acoustic ballad is over-rated. Dump it. We're fine without one. Here it ends the album as a nice coda. I like the fact that this is mystical & almost otherworldly, which is a different feeling for such songs. Yet, it still rocks without getting all weepy. All that being said - take this album & learn from it. Its a classic for good reason.