After spending some time paying homage to his early success with Accept and classic metal tracks like “Balls To the Wall” and “Metal Heart” with his band Dirkschneider, it’s no surprise that German metal vocalist Udo Dirkschneider was ready to put out some new music. The German metal machine of U.D.O. is back with an all new studio album full of metal anthems, “Steelfactory.”
Produced by Jacob Hansen, the new album is full of traditional in your face, or dare I say it, balls to the wall metal madness. The first two tracks “Tongue Reaper” and “Make The Move” are hard driving metal numbers with U.D.O. firing on all cylinders. I love the eerie feel of “Keeper of My Soul” with its “woah, oh, oh” chorus and the illustrious melodic guitars that open “In The Heat of the Night.” Udo’s vocals still sound strong backed by the rock solid rhythm section of Fitty Weinhold on bass and Udo’s son Sven on drums. Handling guitar duties is the gifted and dexterous Russian sensation Andrey Smirnov who absolutely let’s it rip throughout the record. “Blood on Fire” and “Rising High” are blistering rockers with scorching guitars and thundering rhythms. “Hungry and Angry” is one of the best tracks on the album with a killer melodic riff, a shout out chorus, and a sinister snarl from Udo. Closing the record is “The Way,” a ballad of sorts, which opens with beautiful acoustic guitar before heating up to a true power anthem midway through.
Udo didn’t earn the nickname of the German Metal Tank by accident. He has been proudly waving the metal flag of honor for over forty years. With “Steelfactory,” he adds yet another badass chapter to his growing legacy.
