My relationship with U.D.O. has been a rocky one these past few years. The symphonic metal of We Are 1, a collaboration with Das Musikkorps der Bundeswehr (AKA the German Military Band), did little to impress me, although that can be said for the symphonic metal subgenre as a whole. Unfortunately, nor did Game Over, which despite its promising moments, was plagued by its hour and 8 minute runtime. A few months ago, a promo for the latest U.D.O. album, Touchdown, made its way to my mailbox. I remained cautiously optimistic ahead of first listen.
A conversation with the man himself helped paint a vivid picture of the circumstances surrounding the 19th installment in his solo canon. From war and natural disaster, to a global health crisis and personnel shakeup, it seemed that all the cards were stacked against U.D.O. Yet through it all, they weathered the storm (pun fully intended), coming out of it with their heads held high and what I’m thrilled to brand as their finest album since Steelfactory (2019), Touchdown. If the old saying is true that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, U.D.O. are absolutely ripped with pure metal muscle!
For one, Touchdown benefits from being shorter than its predecessor. Yes, it’s only 3 songs and 15ish minutes shorter, but that does make all the difference. Instead of half a dozen ragers scattered amongst a handful of decent songs and a couple headscratchers, we’ve got a solid 10 stone cold stunners, with maybe 3 that I’d leave on the cutting room floor. These songs aren’t even “bad” per se, but rather explorations in the modern metal realm, which is largely give or take for me (i.e. the 21st century era Ozzy-esque “Punchline, violent groove thrasher “The Betrayer”, etc.) Aside from these questionable moments, the rest of Touchdown is indeed a touchdown.
“Isolation Man”, “Sad Man’s Show”, and “Better Start to Run” channel the go big or go home ethos of classic U.D.O. and Accept for that matter. Big riffs, big drums, big hooks: Everything your band does, U.D.O. does bigger! The battle march framework of “The Flood” and “The Battle Understood” evoke shades of prime Accept, with their militant Teutonic riffing and warrior spirit. “Forever Free” and “Fight for the Right” are masterclasses in euro melodic metal, giving off serious Metal Heart and Russian Roulette era vibes. And we can’t forget the punishing speed of “Fight for the Right” and “Touchdown”! Udo’s son, Sven, really pushes the band to the end zone on this release with his overtly thrash flavored drumming, this being the key element of these faster paced cuts.
I’m not sure how I went this far into the review without mentioning the inclusion of classic Accept bassist Peter Baltes, but his bass playing and backing vocals really do add an extra retro metal kick. I can’t wait to hear what he’ll contribute to U.D.O. in terms of songwriting on subsequent releases. Until then, I’ll put on my helmet and put on my best game face. Touchdown gives me every reason to do so. Perhaps we’ll see U.D.O. grace the Super Bowl stage? With Taylor Swift and Lizzo out of the running, why the hell not? What the world so desperately needs in these trying times are millions of Americans united by the chant of “Balls to the Wall”! A man can dream!
7 out of 10
Label: Atomic Fire Records
Genre: Heavy Metal
For fans of: Accept, Judas Priest, Saxon
Thank you for reviewing this! I’ve always loved Udo with Accept. The Metal Heart album is a classic and my absolute favorite. I’ve heard his solo stuff over the years and the guy still can sing but it just seems very different from the Accept era to me. I’ll have to give this one a shot.