U.D.O.: Game Over

The seventeenth album to appear under the UDO banner finds the man who will forever be better known as the ex-singer of Accept in quite imperious form. At the age of 70 you could be forgiven for thinking that Udo Dirkschneider would at least be beginning to slow down, but considering that in recent months he’s also been teaming up with past band-mates n Udo & The Old Gang, nothing could be further from the truth. If Game Over is anything to go by it’s a fact we should all be thankful for, because even if we all pretty much know exactly what to expect from an UDO album - big staccato riffs and gargled vocals all wrapped up in a classic European metal attack - the other thing we can pretty much be assured of is just how consistently good it will all be.

Game Over confirms that ethos and then some as UDO pull from their more expected sources - Accept and Dio era Sabbath - while adding in touches of the likes of Priest and Maiden along the way. It all makes for a bristling assault that truly grabs you with a grip of steel. Dirkschneider himself is in fine fettle, belying his age as he sounds as youthful as ever and from the off we’re taking no prisoners, “Fear Detector� powering along on a stunning beat from Udo’s son Sven Dirkschneider as the guitar duo of Andrey Smirnov and Dee Dammers lock in superglue tight and razor-blade sharp. From the mid-paced “Holy Invaders� to the powernaught of “Evil Eyes� and from “I See Red�, which maybe has the most memorable guitar churn of this whole album, through to the Sabbath intensity of “Marching Tank�, the eye really is never taken off the prize.

As more recent outings from UDO have, this album also offers a few deviances from the blueprint, “Kids And Guns� the best AC/DC soundalike you’ve heard in years, while “Don’t Wanna Say Goodbye� (one of three bonus tracks served up on the sixteen song version of this album) is an acoustic guitar/piano/vocal ballad that I could personally do without. That said it’s the only dip, even if the extended version of this album can feel just a little over-long at times. But when “Midnight Stranger� hits with such pinpoint accuracy and “Speed Seeker� becomes one of those mid-paced grinders that this band revel in, it’s a small gripe and then some.

It’s also worth noting that Game Over isn’t a comment on Udo Dirkschneider’s long distinguished career in music, instead the singer shining a light on where we are going as a species if we don’t pull on the handbrake and rethink what’s important to us and our planet. It’s a strong message backed up by even stronger songs, but then did we really expect any less from UDO the band, or the man that is their lynchpin?

Track Listing
1. Fear Detector
2. Holy Invaders
3. Prophecy
4. Empty Eyes
5. I See Red
6. Metal Never Dies
7. Kids and Guns
8. Like a Beast
9. Don’t Wanna Say Goodbye
10. Unbroken
11. Marching Tank
12. Thunder Road
13. Midnight Stranger
14. Speed Seeker
15. Time Control
16. Metal Damnation

Added: November 5th 2021
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: U.D.O. online
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Language: english

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