CD Review: U.D.O. – Decadent

CD Review: U.D.O. – Decadent
AFM Records
All Access Rating: B+

U.D.O. - Decadent 2015

Udo Dirkschneider is, once again, spoiling for a fight. Lined up in his crosshairs on Decadent, album No. 15 from his long-running post-Accept band of battle-scarred, traditional metal warriors, are greedy, cigar-chomping fat cats given to spitting on the less fortunate.

Waging class warfare with torrential, tight-fisted riffs, galloping rhythms and growling, impassioned, teeth-gnashing vocals, U.D.O. takes on corruption and Capitalism run amok, questioning whether societies with such wide divides between the rich and poor can, or even should, survive.

On point and on message, the team of Udo, Mattes and Fitty Wienhold – the same threesome that produced the titanic Steelhammer release a year ago – have a clear vision for Decadent. The thrashing toxic waltz of a racing "House of Fake" snarls and lashes out, while the rugged, down-and-dirty groove of "Breathless" is a caged animal pacing impatiently. An uprising of big hooks and bass thumping that sounds like cannons going off, "Pain" is melodically tumescent, its growth unchecked as riff blitzkriegs "Speeder" and the philosophical "Meaning of Life" – fast-fingered guitar leads flying underneath the tumult – carry the fight with focused aggression.

Oddities like the bi-polar, deliciously sinister and heavy "Mystery" and a directionless acoustic number entitled "Secrets in Paradise" are strangers in this land of U.D.O., but Decadent rarely deviates from its righteous path of honest indignation and designing sharp-clawed metal constructs that are so familiar, yet so undeniably compelling. Though a somewhat less powerful statement of purpose than Steelhammer, Decadent has more to say and it does so in a more varied manner. still slamming its battering ram of a head against the wall and hoping for the betterment of human kind. Let's hope U.D.O. won't ever water down its ideals or its sonic assault.
– Peter Lindblad

Dead of winter: New music to warm your cold bones

What upcoming releases are we dying to hear?
By Peter Lindblad

Venom will release 'From the Very
Depths' on Jan. 27, 2015

January can be a cold, barren time in the music business, such as it is.

After the frantic run up to Christmas, with a fall full of notable releases from high-profile artists singing for their holiday suppers, the whole industry often seems to go dark at once – at least temporarily.

The silence doesn't last long, however. Soon, the factories that feed the music-consumer beast will begin humming again, and in no time, a steady stream of news regarding upcoming albums, EPs, DVDs and tours will flood an already well-saturated market.

Even now, though, in this very bleak mid-winter, there's a trickle of news coming out regarding some hotly anticipated releases and other events for 2015. Just this week came word from the Nuclear Blast label that metal heavyweights Slayer, Testament and Meshuggah will all be issuing new material in 2015, as well as new tour dates for Helmet's 20th anniversary celebration of their landmark LP Betty. At the end of "Wilma's Rainbow" is a pot of gold, and this is it.

Here are some more upcoming releases we're salivating over:

Venom - From the Very Depths 2015

Venom – From the Very Depths: Satanic imagery and punk-fired black metal will bring the thaw, as Venom returns with From the Very Depths on Jan. 27, coming via Spinefarm Records.

Front man Chronos has a message for his followers.

"This album is perfect," he said. "All three members are totally over-the-top confident with the new songs and the production. We had a great atmosphere in the studio while we were recording – Dante created pure thunder from his drums, while Rage tears the flesh off your face with his riffs, making everything fall into place so well ... it's a strong release and really shows the band maturing into an unstoppable force of pure Black Metal. We can't wait to play the songs live for the legions ... Hell yeah!"

Having just recently received an advance copy – expect a review very soon – my initial reaction is From the Very Depths sounds like classic Venom. It's fast, dark and rugged, an incendiary hell broth of seething guitars and explosive rhythms.

Revolution Saints - S/T 2015

Revolution Saints – Revolution Saints: Super groups seem to be a dime a dozen these days, what with your Rated Xs and your Kings of Chaos all doing their thing.

Here's another one, featuring guitarist Doug Aldrich – fresh off his leaving Whitesnake – and Night Ranger's Jack Blades, as well as Deen Castronovo, the drummer from Journey. A self-titled LP is due Feb. 24 from Frontiers Records.

There won't be any EDM found here or any of that bearded folk-rock melancholy that all the kids seem to love. Expect melodic hard-rock of the highest order from industry pros, with an emphasis on songs that are all heart and soul and top-notch musicianship. And, on top of that, Castronovo will be handling lead vocals. Didn't see that coming, did you?

U.D.O. - Decadent 2015

U.D.O. – Decadent: U.D.O. is preparing for class warfare, and Decadent drops a bomb of hard-charging traditional metal and blistering social commentary on the wealthy and the entitled.

Keeping up with his old band Accept isn't easy, considering what an unbelievable roll they're on with their last three records. Still, Udo Dirkschneider and those legendary teeth-gnashing vocals of his take a backseat to no one, and his most recent studio effort, the titanic Steamhammer, was simply unstoppable, a unsinkable battleship of a record that found glory in tumult. A live release that followed brought to bear all the power and majesty of this version of U.D.O.

The hope is Decadent, album No. 15 from U.D.O. and the second since the departure of longtime collaborator Stefan Kaufmann, will make Steamhammer seem like child's play, as Dirkschneider looks to eat the rich – metaphorically speaking, of course.

"Decadent behavior by privileged society exists in the whole world in completely different shades," says Udo. "Decadence is almost like a universal language. What bothers me the most is the egocentrism that goes along with that. People who have everything seem not to really care about the world around them anymore; it's like they use their own privileged status as an absolution for that. Also they do not seem to see that there's a correlation between their own luxury and the poverty of others."

Those are, indeed, fighting words. Decadent drops Feb. 3 via AFM Records.

Toto - Toto XIV

Toto – Toto XIV: On the softer side of things, there's Toto. Some may scoff, but we've missed their sterling musicianship, their ability to craft memorable pop-rock ear candy and their grandiose arrangements. And quite frankly, we all could stand some romance, some adventure and some positivity in our lives. I do sorely miss the rains down in Africa.

It's been almost 10 years since Toto's last opus, Falling in Between. A date's been set for the release of Toto XIV (they do love their roman numerals, don't they?), with the glorious event taking place March 24, courtesy of Frontiers Records Srl. It'll be coming out in all kinds of different formats, a two-LP vinyl set among them.

Guitarist Steve Lukather can barely contain his excitement. "When you put us in a room, and everybody brings in their pieces, the next thing you know it all fits together," says Lukather. "Everybody's performances are top-notch. We are really bringing our best out, forcing ourselves to make personal best choices, what's best for the music. I'm really excited to hear what people think."

Lord Dying - Poisoned Altars 2015

Lord Dying – Poisoned Altars: Time to restore some street cred. Poisoned Altars is the second outing from Lord Dying, one of the most fearsome and powerful new doom-metal outfits out there. Its churning riff magma will undoubtedly cause fiery, blackened, aural devastation and destruction on an apocalyptic level.

Will Lord Dying be able to avoid the sophomore jinx, after 2013's monstrous Summon The Faithless? That's a given, considering Toxic Holocaust's Joel Grind is handling the production end of things. Let's just go ahead and give Lord Dying a spot on the Best of 2015 list right now. Poisoned Altars comes out Jan. 27 on Relapse Records. Great cover by the way. Lord Dying, you've really outdone yourselves.

Short Cuts: Saga, U.D.O., Michael Sweet

CD Review: Saga – Sagacity
earMusic/Eagle Rock Entertainment
All Access: B+

Saga -Sagacity 2014

"These are the days of the improbable," sings Saga's Michael Sadler in "The Further You Go," suggesting perhaps that modern technological advancements are the stuff of miracles.

Just in case they don't lead to the fulfillment of mankind's hopes and dreams, Saga hedges its bets with this piece of sage advice: "Might want to leave a trail of crumbs for the future." Likewise, with Sagacity, the Canadian progressive-rock code breakers' newest album, Saga looks forward, while holding fast to past triumphs.

Engineering some of the most innovative and intricately layered arrangements of their career, Saga combines Ian Crichton's brilliant guitar riffs and sparkling solos with the dazzling keyboard theatrics of Jim Crichton and Jim Gilmour on a collection of songs that trades some of the powerful immediacy of 20/20, their last LP, for deeper, richer sonic experiments and unpredictable melodic movements, such as those found in shape-shifting pieces "Vital Signs," "Luck" and "It Doesn't Matter Who You Are." While the funked-up, heavy grooves and muscular guitars of opener "Let It Slide" have a metallic edge, the bulk of Sagacity is not so straightforward, showing more devotion to the more imaginative, maze-like designs of "Don't Forget to Breathe" and "The Further You Go" – all of it produced to sound as clean and clear as of Saga's recordings, each song a city of tomorrow unto itself.

Throw in a nine-track bonus disc with thrilling, expansive live renditions of classics such as "Wind Him Up," "On the Loose," "Mouse in a Maze" and "Humble Stance," and the topical, thought-provoking Sagacity – exploring themes of modern alienation in age of social media, the satirical, customer-service lament "Press 9" being a prime example, even if it does feel utterly disposable – is a pretty good value for your prog-rock dollar. http://www.eagle-rock.com/

CD Review: U.D.O. – Live From Moscow
AFM Records
All Access: A- 

U.D.O. - Steamhammer:
Live from Moscow 2014

It's a new era for U.D.O., and the revamped lineup, missing Udo Dirkschneider's longtime collaborator Stefan Kaufmann, delivered the goods on 2013's sizzling Steamhammer, a thunderous expression of Udo's vision of what traditional metal is supposed to sound like.

Losing such a vital organ as Kaufmann, a dual threat as a musician and songwriting partner, put U.D.O.'s long-term health in doubt. Working closely with bassist Fitty Wienhold in Kaufman's absence, while bringing aboard young and hungry guitar-shredding transplants Andrey Smirnov and Kaspari Heikkinen, only seemed to invigorate the former front man for Accept, however. And now, with this electrifying two-CD/DVD live release under their belt as well, U.D.O.'s prognosis is excellent.

A 10:52 version of "Mean Machine," with its dynamic drum and guitar solos, highlights Steamhammer: Live in Moscow, recorded with perfectly mixed sound in a place that's always warmly embraced U.D.O. Hard-nosed, brass-knuckled maulers "King Of Mean," "Stay True" and "Burning Heart" sound even tougher and more aggressive in this setting, as does the surging, fully engorged title track, while the dark, enthralling melodies and tight hooks of "Future Land," "Cry of a Nation" and "Never Cross My Way" come into sharper focus, as U.D.O. galvanizes its flock. Worship the head-banging riffs, witness in awe the scintillating dual-guitar dogfights and let Udo's gravelly growl send shivers down your spine. This is U.D.O. at their best. http://www.afm-records.de/

CD Review: Michael Sweet – I'm Not Your Suicide
Big3 Records
All Access: A-

Michael Sweet- I'm Not Your Suicide 2014

Now an author, too, Stryper's Michael Sweet goes solo on I'm Not Your Suicide, and from the heavy, serrated riffing and wailing vocals of opener "Taking On the World Tonight," it's clear Sweet has some inner demons to exercise.

Just as his autobiography, "Honestly: My Life and Stryper Revealed," pulled no punches and candidly copped to a surprising array of weaknesses, I'm Not Your Suicide is at once defiant and strong, but also emotional and raw. And where Stryper's glorious last album, No More Hell to Pay, was, in all respects, a satisfyingly heavy, if more straightforward, juggernaut of Christian metal, I'm Not Your Suicide showcases Sweet's wonderful diversity and creativity as a songwriter.

On this, his seventh full-length studio effort of melodic hard rock, Sweet's ever-evolving mastery of melody and pop songcraft is on full display, as uplifting sermons like "The Cause," the title track and "All That's Left (For Me To Prove)" soar on emboldened, sweeping choruses, like the one that also raises the riff-mongering "Taking On the World Tonight" to such dramatic great heights. And if it's great hooks you're looking for, "Anybody Else" has a bag full of them. Never has Sweet's songwriting seemed this organic or soulful, and that's especially prevalent in the album's rousing vocal treatments, so well-plotted and yet completely free of artifice. So is the introspective ballad "This Time," Sweet baring his soul to the world and yearning for salvation.  

Not one, but two, nicely rendered covers of Neil Young's world-weary classic "Heart of Gold," one featuring an engaging duet with Electra Mustaine, perhaps reveal a folk influence that, prior to this release, had rarely manifested itself previously in Sweet's work, as does the countrified "Country Home." Guest spots from Chris Jericho, Doug Aldrich, Tony Harnell and Kevin Max give rise to the notion that Sweet is tired of being pigeonholed. I'm Not Your Suicide makes damn sure that'll never happen again. http://www.big3records.com/
– Peter Lindblad

CD Reviews: U.D.O. – Mean Machine and Man and Machine

U.D.O.

Mean Machine: Anniversary Edition

AFM Records

All Access Review: A-

U.D.O.

Man and Machine: Anniversary Edition

AFM Records

All Access Review: B+

U.D.O. - Mean Machine Anniversary Edition 2013

Cutting the cord with Accept proved to be more difficult than Udo Dirkschneider imagined. In 1987, this short, stocky, powder keg of a singer announced his separation from a metal band that’s always been “balls to the wall.” Intending to go solo, he assembled a band of mercenary gunslingers to make his new project, U.D.O., the scourge of true German heavy metal.

Parting ways on the friendliest of terms, the two parties divorced. Only Udo wasn’t quite prepared to go it alone right away with his new playmates, seeing as how his former Accept songwriting partners created and crafted the content for U.D.O.’s debut LP, Animal House, which sounded a lot like classic Accept – intense, aggressive, engorged with testosterone and defiant, with just a hint of melody to sweeten the deal and hooks galore.

Interestingly, by the time U.D.O. set about recording their sophomore outing, Mean Machine, Dirkschneider had sent packing three-fourths of the original U.D.O., leaving only guitarist Mathias Dieth to forge ahead with Dirkschneider and newcomers Andy Susemihl on guitar, Stefan Schwarzmann on drums and Thomas Smuszynski on bass. This time, the remaining members of Accept stayed out of it. With fresh troops having arrived, U.D.O. was ready was battle.

U.D.O. - Man and Machine Anniversary Edition 2013

Their first salvo was 1988’s Mean Machine, a solid, workmanlike effort propelled by brawny riffs, searing guitar solos, hard-nosed, pulverizing rhythms, shouted backing vocals and Udo’s menacing wildcat howl. Part of a massive 2013 reissue campaign initiated by AFM Records to unearth U.D.O.’s entire back catalog – meant to coincide with U.D.O.’s 25^th anniversary – Mean Machine was included in the second wave of re-releases that hit U.S. shores on Feb. 12, along with Animal House, Faceless World and Timebomb. And it may be the best of the bunch.

Forging straight ahead, with the emphasis on power, violence and excitement, Mean Machine practically spits nails, offering a series of vicious, bloody-knuckled traditional metal attacks like the electrifying “Don’t Look Back,” “Dirty Boys” and “Break the Rules” – these brawls of blistering hard rock, where lead pipes and chains are perfectly acceptable weapons and Udo is orchestrating the fighting with his feral utterances and ferocious delivery. Simmering with tension, “Streets of Fire” explodes into thunderous choruses, while “We’re History” goes on a curb-stomping spree of metal riffage that effectively, and in no uncertain terms, ends a relationship built on lies. A dark, melancholic ballad, “Sweet Little Child” floats in on tendrils of piano and makes for wonderful, almost Gothic drama, but it’s only a short layover of tenderness and mercy before the sonic crunch of “Catch My Fall” bites down hard.

Like the rest of them, Mean Machine gets a graphic makeover and comes with a bit of bonus material. In this case, it is packaged with a live version of “Break the Rules” that is meaner and nastier than the original, plus the video for the song of the same title. Meanwhile, Man and Machine, initially put out in 2002, is not nearly as raw as Mean Machine, but it is a more polished, if less consistent, piece of work. Augmented by a punishing concert version of the title track and a remix of Udo’s original duet with Doro Pesch on the dream-like “Dancing with an Angel,” this cringe-inducing astral projection of softly melodic incandescence, Man and Machine begins with the pummeling, dystopian industrial nightmare of a title track and and its high points are more glorious than those of Mean Machine.

Sweeping epics “Like a Lion,” “Animal Instinct” and the exotic “Unknown Traveller” build on the instrumental grandeur of Led Zeppelin and the roaring emotions of power metal, while a churning, meaty “The Dawn of the Gods” growls and snarls with primal, animalistic fervor. Along with Solid, No Limits, and Holy, the re-released Man and Machine arrived in late January in the first batch of reissues, representing U.D.O.’s later period. Why some of these anniversary editions feature more bonus tracks than others is puzzling, and you wish each album would include liner notes that might shed additional light on the inner workings and history of U.D.O., although at least Man and Machine has a plethora of behind-the-scenes, studio photos of bassist Fitty Weinhold, drummer Lorenzo Milani, and guitarists Igor Gianola and Stefan Kaufmann, both of whom recently announced their departures from U.D.O.

Some of these records have been out of print for a while now, and while U.D.O. hasn’t really distinguished itself from Accept over the years in any meaningful way, it’s nice to have them back. Still, had more thought been put into the packaging of each reissue, the word “essential” might apply here. (www.afm-records.de)
  –    Peter Lindblad

The year in heavy metal - The best of 2012

Van Halen, Judas Priest, High on Fire and others make our list

By Peter Lindblad

Overkill - The Electric Age

It was a bull market for heavy metal in 2012. Any bears who predicted a downturn after a very strong 2011 were quickly proven wrong when Overkill’s The Electric Age was released early this year and it served notice that the East Coast thrash-metal kingpins were back and better than ever.

And then, the new Van Halen record came out, and it didn’t suck. In fact, it stunningly good, and even if it was pieced together with leftovers from the good old days, their ability to pull it all together and make something coherent – and oh so powerful – out of all those scraps certainly made everybody stand up and applaud. Were that all to 2012, we could have suffered through the rest of it without whining about the state of heavy metal, but there was more, much more, to this year than two electrifying releases.

It was a great year for grizzled veterans like Kreator and Testament and younger acts like High on Fire, Pallbearer, The Sword and Whitechapel – all of whom unleashed hell in 2012 with stunning albums. Saxon and Ozzy Osbourne’s band received their just due with amazing DVDs; in Saxon’s case it was a captivating documentary while Ozzy came out with a thrilling concert video from the “Diary of the Madman” tour, where Brad Gillis had just replaced Randy Rhoads following Rhoads’s death. And then there was Iron Maiden, showing everybody just how it’s done onstage with an incredible world tour, supported by none other than Alice Cooper. So, with 2013 just about upon us, it was time to reveal our best of 2012 heavy metal selections.

Metal Artist of the Year/Comeback of the Year: Van Halen

Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth 2012

Expectations couldn’t have been lower, especially after the release of that lead trial balloon known as “Tattoo.” Underwhelming in almost every possible way, from its awkward verses to choruses as glitzy and smarmy as a Las Vegas lounge lizard, the 2011 single had everyone talking – only most of that conversation revolved around how historically awful “Tattoo” was. The bar wasn’t just lowered. It had crashed through the floor. And then, A Different Kind of Truth arrived, and it was magnificent – aggressive and heavy, with Eddie Van Halen putting on an awesome fireworks display of dazzling solos and dynamic riffs. Of course, the triumphant tour that was supposed to vault them back to the top of the hard-rock heap ended rather abruptly, and Eddie’s health problems were a buzz kill, so it wasn’t the best of times for Van Halen. Still, in 2012, Van Halen redeemed itself mightily with A Different Kind of Truth, and that was no mean feat, considering how far they’d fallen.

Best Metal Album: High On Fire, De Vermis Mysteriis (Entertainment One)

High on Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis 2012

This could just as easily go to Kreator’s Phantom Antichrist or Over Kill’s The Electric Age, but the tumultuous De Vermis Mysteriis is such an intense, churning maelstrom of ragged, crazed thrash and pulverizing sludge metal that it simply boggles the mind. His throat shredded almost beyond repair, Matt Pike rages maniacally about Jesus’ cursed, time-traveling twin brother and the devastation he has wrought in an epic concept album engulfed in thundering drums, pile-driving bass and roiling guitar riffs. Mother Nature may have met her match.

Best Metal Song: Testament – “Native Blood” (Off of the album Dark Roots of Earth on Nuclear Blast Records)



Testament - Dark Roots of Earth 2012

Rightly proud of his Native American heritage, a battle-scarred Chuck Billy belts out the lyrics to “Native Blood” with the full-throated roar of a runaway freight train. Impassioned and defiant, Billy’s booming, resonant voice adds gravitas and emotional depth to a powerful song of independence and self-reliance that stirs the soul, a modern-day anthem for indigenous peoples everywhere who feel the weight of oppression upon them. And while the words that steam out of Billy’s fiery mouth carry both a political and social significance for those he’s trying to rouse to action, it’s the deliriously infectious riffs and terrific momentum “Native Blood” gathers – not to mention a blast-furnace chorus that even Metallica would kill to call its own – that make it the standout track on one of the finest albums of Testament’s glorious career.

Best New Hard Rock Band: World Fire Brigade

World Fire Brigade - Spreading My Wings 2012

World Fire Brigade is not just some reasonable facsimile of Fuel, even if its degrees of separation from those ‘90s alternative rockers are way fewer than six. See, Brett Scallions has teamed with Smile Empty Soul’s Sean Danielsen and producer Eddie Wohl on a new – well, fairly new, having actually been hatched in 2009 – project that is full-on metal … cross my heart, it is. Of course, it helps to have Wohl, who has worked as a producer for none other than Anthrax, onboard. And then there’s the presence of Anthrax’s Rob Caggiano and closet metalhead Mike McCready of Pearl Jam fame to add sonic heft to the proceedings. In interviews prior to this release, Scallions said World Fire Brigade was heavier and more metallic than Fuel, and he wasn’t kidding. Thick with dynamic, serpentine riffs, World Fire Brigade’s surprisingly powerful debut, released this past summer, is chock full of gripping hooks and compelling songs that would be commercially viable were it not for radio’s aversion to comeback stories.

Best Concert DVD: Ozzy Osbourne Speak of the Devil (Eagle Vision)

Ozzy Osbourne - Speak of the Devil 2012

On June 12, 1982, Ozzy Osbourne’s “Diary of a Madman” tour rolled into Irvine Meadows, California, having only recently buried guitarist Randy Rhoads, the man primarily responsible for reviving the career of one of metal’s greatest frontmen. With heavy hearts, and a new guitarist in Brad Gillis, Ozzy and his band put on an electrifying performance for the ages, as they plowed through a set list heavy on selections from Ozzy’s two solo records – plus a doom-laden medley of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man,” “Children of the Grave” and “Paranoid” to close the show. Of great historical importance, “Speak of the Devil” captures all the madness with varied camera work, their lenses focused mainly on an enthusiastic Ozzy imploring the crowd to go nuts and Gillis’s fiery fretwork. Backed by a dark, gothic castle and a huge drum riser for Tommy Aldridge, a reinvigorated Ozzy seems hell-bent on proving to everyone that Rhoads’ death will not send him into another tailspin like the one that nearly killed him after being summarily dismissed from Sabbath. This is a fantastic entry in Ozzy’s journal of rock ‘n’r roll insanity.

Best Documentary DVD: Saxon Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie (UDR/Militia Guard/EMI)

Saxon - Heavy Metal Thunder 2012

Sex, tea and rock ‘n’ roll? Evidently, at least until bassist Steve Dawson dabbled briefly with cocaine, substance abuse wasn’t part of the equation for working-class heroes Saxon, one of the bands that spearheaded the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Abstaining from alcohol and drugs, these teetotalers preferred less powerful brews, but they did indulge in other forms of debauchery offstage – namely, doing groupies in the back of a cramped touring van, where privacy wasn’t an option. Inside the venue, they were all business, rocking as if their lives were at stake in blazing live shows that became the stuff of legend. And yet, at least in America, Saxon never really hit the big time, despite the patronage of Lars Ulrich and the respect of everybody from Motorhead to Doro. That is a damn shame. Incapable of putting on airs, Saxon pushed their records into the red more often than not. Appropriately enough, this thoroughly engrossing, warts-and-all documentary is a no-frills, completely candid oral history, with some narration from Fastway’s Toby Jepson, of the band from stem to stern – augmented by rare concert footage that confirms their reputation as one of the hottest running engines ever built by heavy metal. Here’s hoping the long arm of the law – and time – won’t ever catch up with these hard-rock veterans.

Best Live Album: U.D.O. – Live in Sofia (AFM Records)

U.D.O. - Live in Sofia 2012

The greatest live albums don’t just make you feel as if you were there, front row, experiencing the show up close. They make you suicidal over the fact that you missed it. Such is the case with U.D.O.’s Live in Sofia, a thundering, electric performance fueled by the raucous energy of a salivating crowd. Surveying material from Udo Dirkschneider’s days with Accept and his grossly underappreciated solo career, Live in Sofia is a captivating listen, with Udo growling and screaming like a caged animal and his band charging through a tantalizing set list with technical brilliance and pure adrenaline. Bulgaria’s capitol is probably still burning.  

Best Metal Reissue: Judas Priest – Screaming for Vengeance Special 30^th Anniversary Edition (Columbia Legacy)

Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance 2012

No other metal reissue had a chance in 2012, not with the bonus DVD version of Priest’s historic 1983 US Festival concert – the one everyone’s been lusting after for years – added onto it. One of the truly great albums in heavy metal history, Screaming for Vengeance goes through a revved-up remastering that packs on the sonic muscle and makes it gleam like chrome. As with the 2001 reissue, this edition includes the Turbo outtake “Prisoner of Your Eyes” and “Devil’s Child,” but this time around, scorching live versions of “Electric Eye,” “Riding on the Wind,” “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming,” “Screaming for Vengeance” and “Devil’s Child” – all culled from a stirring 1982 performance in San Antonio, Texas – fill out this absolutely essential reissue. Alone, the US Festival footage would be worth its weight in gold, as Priest delivers the goods and then some with a hammer-and-tong performance that is absolutely scintillating. Packaged together, this reissue is a must-have.

Best Book: Randy Rhoads by Steven Rosen and Andrew Klein (Velocity Books)

Randy Rhoads - 2012

Yes, the price tag is a bit steep. These days, who in their right minds is going to shell out around $99 for a book? This one just might be worth it. An extravagant package, overflowing with colorful and rarely, if ever, seen photos of the late guitarist and a plethora of memorabilia, the 400-page Randy Rhoads is a work of outstanding journalism. Exhaustively researched, with the authors interviewing seemingly almost everyone who ever came in contact with Rhoads, this fully loaded, bulging biography takes readers into studio sessions with the Blizzard of Ozz band, pieces together the events leading up to Rhoads’s tragic death and the sad aftermath, and relates, in detailed fashion, Rhoads’s unusual childhood and his rigorous musical education. And that’s just a small taste of what’s inside this extraordinary biography.

Best Tour: Iron Maiden, Maiden England World Tour, 2012

Iron Maiden - Maiden England Tour 2012

Supported by shock-rock superstar Alice Cooper for a smashing double bill, Iron Maiden stampeded through North America and points abroad as if sitting atop fire-breathing steeds and whipping them into the fog of battle. Two elaborate stage shows, one the product of Cooper’s nightmarish imagination and the other an ambitious fantasy merging historical and scientific references with dazzling technology and the ever-present Eddie, gave concertgoers an unforgettable thrill, but it was Iron Maiden who stole the show. Still possessing a strong voice that climbs to places few singers can ever hope to reach, Bruce Dickinson again leads the charge through a play list reminiscent of the “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son” tour, and the rest of the gang plays with vim and vigor, clearly relishing the nostalgia and warm embrace of frenzied, almost obsessive, crowds. Iron Maiden rides again.

CD Review: U.D.O. - Live in Sofia

CD Review: U.D.O. - Live in Sofia

AFM Records

All Access Review: A

U.D.O. - Live in Sofia 2012

Any examination of Udo Dirkschneider’s metal heart would have to conclude that it’s as healthy as it was a quarter of a century ago, when he started his titanic post-Accept project U.D.O. Pumping furiously, even after all these years, it is the engine that still drives U.D.O., and when the band that bears his name storms the capitol of Bulgaria on the occasion of this concert recording, it seems as if it could explode from his barrel chest at any second – not that such a calamity would silence the indestructible Udo, still one of the most electrifying frontmen metal has ever seen or heard.

Unwilling to concede the upper hand to his former band, even with the roll Wolf Hoffmann and the boys have been on of late, releasing not one, but two nearly flawless, riff-heavy mazes of old-school metal, U.D.O. stakes its claim as Germany’s most potent power-metal force with a relentless, devastatingly heavy double CD/DVD live package, titled Live in Sofia, that celebrates the band’s 25^th anniversary. Initiating the launch sequence of a massive U.D.O. reissue campaign slated for 2013, Live in Sofia is a visceral, thrilling document, enlivened by a roaring crowd lending its full-throated support and unified chants to what is an absolutely ferocious performance from U.D.O. Intense and breathtaking from the first note, Live in Sofia only adds to the fiery mythology of Udo, the well-chosen, 23-track playlist working as a survey of the veteran singer’s long and storied career, its choice of songs running the gamut of Accept classics and U.D.O.’s most flammable material.

Muscles clenched and veins popping, as he seethes with rage and emits spine-tingling screams and animalistic growls, Udo means business every time he opens his mouth, spearheading this invasion of overwhelming sonic weaponry. Setting the attack-dog riffs of lid-lifter “Rev-Raptor” on an audience eager to riot, U.D.O. then rolls into an inferno of guitars in “Dominator,” which dies out just before the shark-like thrashing of “Thunderball” begins and the snarling, sinister menace of the slow-burning “Leatherhead” grows hot – Udo prowling through the thrilling mob violence of each track like a hungry predator. And amazingly, we’re only four songs in, with such adrenaline-fueled action as the rampaging “Break the Rules” and “Two Faced Woman” – both of them boasting tight, clawing hooks – still to come.

A warrior for traditional metal, dressed in his familiar military fatigues, Udo tips his cap to Accept’s glory days by whipping his renegade charges through grinding, writhing versions of “Metal Heart” and 11:10 of the ubiquitous rock-and-roll monolith “Balls to the Wall” – this after sharpening their knives in “Screaming for a Love – Bite,” a prickly nugget of pop-metal poison ivy. Udo can’t escape his past, but then again, why would he want to?

As with U.D.O.’s “Vendetta” and “Man and Machine,” the surging dynamics and crushing power chords of Accept’s “Princess of the Dawn,” co-opted at Sofia by a tighter-than-leather U.D.O., testify to the rugged, fierce instrumental prowess of both bands. On the other hand, the darkly melodic “I Give as Good I Get,” the dramatic sweep of “The Bogeyman” and Stefan Kaufmann’s unexpectedly atmospheric electrical storm “Kokopelli” – basically, 11:27 of interesting and diverse guitar soloing – speak to U.D.O.’s versatile musicianship. Passion and precision are U.D.O.’s calling cards, and Live in Sofia is the kind of controlled burn that U.D.O. excels at. There’s nothing excessive about Live in Sofia. Trimmed of fat, parts are played with calculating brutality, and yet is it fair to call U.D.O. regimented? Maybe that’s the right word after all, although there seems to be a mandate for the pack of rabid dogs known as Kaufmann, Igor Gianola (guitar), Fitty Wienhold (bass) and Francesco Jovino (drums) to make their own statements as vociferously as they can, even as they work up a frothing lather as a lean, mean unit. Udo would accept nothing less.

-            Peter Lindblad