CD review U.D.O. "Decadent"

(8/10) Udo Dirkschneider; the name stands for powerful German metal since decades. Regardless if it was with Accept for many years or with his own band U.D.O. the man from Wuppertal, Germany always released records that have been from great quality and razorblade sharp.

This doesn't change with his newest album. "Decadent" is the name of the studio album, by the way number 15 so far. The band went through some line-up changes in 2012. Andrey Smirnov and Kasperi Heikkinnen are the two new guitarists of U.D.O.. Both couldn't contribute a lot to "Steelhammer" but they had been fully involved in the songwriting process for "Decadent". It seems that the impact of the two guys added something extra to the sound of U.D.O..

"Decadent" sound fresh and energetic. All songs on the album; twelev in total, are excellent metal anthems and there is no single filler on "Decadent". That's the high quality I mentioned in the beginning.

The main trademark of the band is doubtless the voice of Udo. His rough vocals are still unique in metal and you recognize his songs immediately. This goes also for "Decadent".

The starting package with "Speeder", "Decadent" and "House of fake" couldn't be chosen better since it reflects almost everything you can get from the band. The fast opener is a real wake-up call before the title track, a real headbanger with an spoken words middle section, takes over. The pounding "House of fake" rounds off this triple that refelcts heavy metal in a brilliant way.

A song that stands out a bit from the rest is "Mystery". The track has a menacing vibe and can be seen as the 'psycho song' on the album. The atmosphere of a maniac running around is captured very well.

"Secrets in paradise" is a silent number with accoustic guitars only in the first half. The song can be seen as a ballad even though it gets quite heavy in the chorus. But the following melodic guitar solo brings back the quite mood from the beginning.

And U.D.O is more than only crunchy metal songs. The lyrics are important too. In "Rebels of the night" the band refects on their experience they made during their shows in the Ukraine while "Pain" is about all the mad things happening in this planet right now, which leads to the question "How much pain can we take?"

"Decadent" is an U.D.O. album that refelcts all the trademarks of the well-known band. The songs sound fresh and vital, which supported by a strong production. The new longplayer contains an hour of pure headbanging stuff and you should check it out. Good stuff.

(8/10)

Tracklist:

1. Speeder
2. Decadent
3. House of fake
4. Mystery
5. Pain
6. Secrets in paradise
7. Meaning of life
8. Breathless
9. Under your skin
10. Untouchable
11. Rebels of the night
12. Words in flame

Label: AFM

Genre: Heavy Metal