U.D.O. the band and Udo Dirkschneider the man is somewhat of a metal music institution worldwide, coming to the scene via Accept, I myself have been guilty of laying many Accept references at this bands door over the years and I see it as a constant battle to stand out alone without having to refer to one members former band (other members were involved I know, although since this recording Stefan Kaufmann has left U.D.O.). U.D.O. represents German heavy metal that is thoroughly enjoyable via a lot of hard work which has justifiably bore fruit and having personally spoke to Dirkschneider a few years back, he is right on target with his metal credentials!
This DVD was recorded in Sofia, Bulgaria, a part of the world this band has toured consistently over the years, along with many other former Eastern Bloc countries. Judging by the size of the venue and crowd numbers, U.D.O. are well liked and well supported and with over two and a half hours of live material alone without the bonus material ‘Live in Sofia’ represents real value for money. Filmed and recorded in 2011, U.D.O. starts with a hit from their current release, the title track ‘Rev Raptor’ whilst flowing immediately into ‘Dominator’ from the 2009 album of the same name. Heads are down, fretboards are blitzed and the sound and vision is as perfect as you would expect from digital media in these times. Camera angles work and they capture Kaufmann’s eccentric “metal” facial expressions, especially during his solo parts quite remarkably.
With no less than eight Accept covers in this 22 track set list, U.D.O. do play to Dirkscheider’s former band heritage, it is something they cannot deny, but I am not complaining, especially as two of my favourite songs ever ‘Metal Heart’ and ‘Balls to the Wall’ are included and executed in style. U.D.O’s other material should not be forgotten, there is a massive catalogue available and there are a few gems hidden amongst this release. Their 1991 ‘Timebomb’ album was something special and I am a bit disappointed that no tracks are included (nor tracks from ‘Animal House’, ‘Mission No. X’, ‘Holy’ or ‘No Limits’), however 1997’s ‘Solid’ album is represented with ‘Two Faced Woman’ and ‘Independence Day’ and 1990’s ‘Faceless World’ comes up twice, more so after the drum solo with ‘Living on a Frontline’, I won’t go into drum solo’s…I don’t like them! With such a vast back catalogue, you cannot please everyone all the time but this will do very nicely thank you very much especially the sword like guitar solo duelling!
Bonus material is included, this is almost a requirement nowadays, and this is in a few parts. Video’s to ‘Rev-Raptor’ and ‘I Give As Good As I Get’ are simple but effective, the latter is very haunting with simply Dirkscheider’s face lit by a spotlight showing much facial expression save for the guitar solo that does the same for Igor Gianola. The making of the video’s is a little disappointing as the interviews with Dirkscheider and bassist Fitty Wienhold are in their native German language but the entertainment still continues with photo slides of Udo’s day out tank driving!
U.D.O. is all about the fans, this DVD is the only one I have seen by the band but fan loyalty is truly reciprocated by the energy and quality of the live tracks played before this large excited crowd. If you want to know what U.D.O. are about, this DVD (and there is a live soundtrack, blu-ray and box set available too) is a perfect companion both as a retrospective and also as an introduction to this German bands vast wealth of material and you may also wish to check out the many re-issues coming this year from U.D.O. too.
Paul Maddison
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