Dirkschneider (supp. The Madcap, Flesh)
Tuesday, 25 February 2025, from 7:30 PM to 11:30 PM
Zagreb / Boogaloo / Croatia
Udo Dirkschneider! A name that follows any true-blooded old-school heavy metal fan through virtually every single day. This is a man who has been on the scene so long he probably witnessed the genesis of the Earth itself — a man with enough jaw-dropping stories in his pocket to fill a whole chapter of heavy metal history. A man, a myth, a legend. Nothing more, nothing less. Whichever way you slice it. His singular vocal, alongside the names Ronnie James Dio, Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Halford, and Lemmy Kilmister, is one of five foundational — let’s just call them essential — voices that define classic heavy metal. And when Accept and Udo were together, they were writing the story of metal. Vivid, singular, one-of-a-kind, and eternal. The kind that never freezes over. It shakes you to the core. Again and again and again. As such it stays, in all its magic, evergreen, astonishing, and eternally inspiring.
As you already know, the one-of-a-kind Mr. Dirkschneider has been running his band U.D.O. since 1987. That outfit, with a string of fantastic studio records, was carved into the mountain range of metal in capital letters long ago. But the man had a very clever idea a good ten years back: to occasionally rename the band from U.D.O. — after his own surname — to Dirkschneider, and take those tours out playing exclusively Accept classics. Strictly. Apparently that works better than a mixed repertoire of U.D.O. and Accept classics, and he gets to earn twice — with two separate tours. But hold on. If his voice at nearly 73 years of age weren’t still serving him with undiminished power — like an angry wasp, or rather a deafeningly piercing angle grinder, the kind we’ve known since the Accept album “Balls To The Wall” onwards — none of this would add up to anything.
Udo remains the voice on those ultimate Accept classics — the legendary album “Balls To The Wall” very much among them. Someone of this writer’s generation wouldn’t even have dared to dream it. Right? Late last March, Edita and I were roaming the wide open spaces of the Czech Republic, catching U.D.O. concerts in Prague (20 March 2024, RockLine review of the concert) and Brno (22 March 2024, RockLine review of the concert). Over the last decade it has become our practice to chase U.D.O. concerts very far from Slovenia. And yes — the best place to experience this band’s shows is right there in the Czech Republic! The Czech Republic is, first and foremost, for beer and U.D.O. concerts. But neither of us had dreamed, not even in the wildest fantasies, that we’d get the chance to catch Udo and crew less than a year after the last U.D.O. tour, right there in Croatia. Udo and company landing in Zagreb was even a premiere on the soil of our southern neighbor. And what a show it was. We can say that this time the Croatians and Slovenians saved it together, like brothers! But hold on — we’ll get there.
Right during the tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of Accept’s classic album “Balls To The Wall”, Dirkschneider released a freshly re-recorded version of the album. Front to back. Udo is joined on all ten tracks by guest vocalists — and believe it — the legend leaves every single one of them in the shade! No matter how big the guest’s name. One after the other. This release gives the man extra legitimacy to pull off a tour performing the entire album live. Something even Accept themselves have never done. And when we talk about Udo Dirkschneider and compare him to Accept from 2009 onwards, Dirkschneider’s voice remains the definitive article — sorely missed and untouchable. For all their studio and live excellence, the current ‘post-Udo’ Accept simply can’t match it.
The Boogaloo show was added to the schedule later on. The band had confirmed the new tour dates back in mid-May last year. Then, at the end of November 2024, news broke that one more date had been added at the head of the tour — Zagreb. But with different support acts than those traveling with Dirkschneider through the rest of the new tour (All For Metal, Crownshift). In Zagreb, the warm-up duties fell to local act Flesh and Turkish metallers The Madcap! A dose of exclusivity all round, and Dirkschneider’s stop should in some ways be seen as a kind of opening ‘calibration’ — a test of how the new tour’s production functions, responds, and comes across overall! But don’t be fooled — this was no cheap workout or public rehearsal. They played flat out, taking no prisoners!
But let’s get to Boogaloo. Boogaloo is a Zagreb club that is, simply and in a single word, one of the best things that has ever happened in Croatia. In terms of character and capacity it’s comparable to Ljubljana’s Cvetličarna (though CUK Kino Šiška is, let’s be honest, just a bit too upscale). We’ve always loved going back there, time and again. And this time was no different. For my part it was mildly euphoric, even though this was already my fifth Dirkschneider show. But this old horse just won’t settle down.
At half past seven in the evening, Flesh took the stage. They stormed onto a stage they know very well. No compromises. No holding back, full force. All the ferocity and power. The fire, the fury, the joy, the drive. You could feel it. Half an hour flew by in an instant, and the band fired off six tracks through which they proved their top-notch tightness. The sound at the mixing desk: very good. But if you stood up front, you couldn’t make out the vocals too clearly. So Flesh hit the stage and in a good half hour delivered a feisty brand of heavy metal that also leans on hard rock characteristics, with a healthy dose of pomp and bombast. The trio was tearing it up. The crowd was sending signals right back, which only confirmed that the locals are already very well known and well-received on their home turf. After all, these are former members of Animal Drive, where their hometown star Dino Jelusić sang (we spotted him at the venue, just as he slipped through the backstage door). Rok Nikolić’s red Rickenbacker
may have been spotted by some at Zagreb’s ŠRC Šalata on 3 July 2019, when Animal Drive opened for Whitesnake (RockLine review of the concert). Well, now they’re just Flesh. And they’re doing well. They presented some new tracks, along with classics from their 2014 debut “Flesh”!
The Madcap brought a real dose of exclusivity to the evening. These are classically trained metallers from Ankara, Turkey, who rarely manage to break through north of their home base. They’ve been active since 2015 but are mostly known on home soil, though they’ve also managed to push eastward into Ukraine. This quartet radiated a special kind of enthusiasm all evening. It made them genuinely likable. The band’s two lead figures are guitarist and frontman Deniz Sayman and vocalist İzgi Gültekin, who pulled every last bit of hell out of her voice during the show. The quartet delivered a real standard — performance-wise, certainly. The routine and experience are there. And in terms of owning the stage too. That runs through them damn well! Tightness is not something they lack. Vocalist İzgi even fired up the crowd with a “Hajde Zagreb!” Exceptionally listenable metal drawing inspiration from the old school — most definitely including Maiden, among others. Center stage, however, was stolen by İzgi with a staggering vocal showcase. I was standing at the mixing desk. No assistance from up there. The occasional echo delay for greater artistic effect — let’s call it atmospheric. Incredible voice. Devastating power. It’s a shame the band struggles to break through to wider recognition in our neck of the woods, or further north. They have enormous potential. They sound top-notch! They’re not reinventing the wheel, but they tick every box that many of their generation of bands based in Western Europe manage to tick — just with a bit more wind at their backs. The band released their album “Beat the Destiny” in November 2023, which they also showcased generously. We’re waiting for the next one, of course. The Madcap brought a very welcome addition to the Boogaloo evening.
And then there were Dirkschneider. This is a crew you know will go all in. Full tilt. Both support acts had great sound (for support-act level). But Dirkschneider offered sheer perfection. Sound-wise. German flawlessness. Like their cars. And the crowd? By the time Dirkschneider came on, Boogaloo had filled up nicely. Excellent. Not overpacked — just right, so you could breathe throughout. Let’s say there were around 400 people in the club. And the lion’s share of that was a whole contingent of devotees from Slovenia. Old-timers. Those who vividly remember the concert fiasco from way back on 25 May 2004 (RockLine review of the concert), when U.D.O. performed to a handful of people in the middle of Ljubljana’s Cvetličarna as part of the “Thunderball” tour. There were fewer than 100 attendees that night. And that evening, Udo reportedly swore to himself he’d never play in Slovenia again. Well, this time around we can say that the Slovenians and Croatians joined forces in the finest brotherly spirit and together conjured a fantastic atmosphere. The band felt it. And loved every second of it. From the very first moment to the very last. Bear in mind that the bulk of the crowd was 40 and up, with many attendees well past the age of Abraham. But those on whose shoulders the world rests — the much younger fans of distorted sounds — were of course firmly planted in the front rows.
Udo Dirkschneider remains an incredible figure. Not only has his voice stayed untouched through all these years — which gives him every right to perform Accept classics — but recently he’s also managed to recruit another great elder statesman of heavy metal and lure him into his ranks. This elder statesman is at least as ‘heavy’ as Udo himself. That is bassist Peter Baltes — Udo’s inseparable Accept companion! An exceptional musician. Refined. Polished. A bassist without equal. And just on the strength of that partnership, today’s Dirkschneider carries more classic Accept DNA than today’s Accept. Alongside the indestructible vocal range of Udo Dirkschneider, which no one can touch, and the granite statue of Peter Baltes, there’s also the ‘mad’ — genuinely ‘mad’ — Russian guitarist Andrey Smirnov, without whom U.D.O. and Dirkschneider have been practically unimaginable for the past two decades. A fantastic musician, quite literally in the form of his life, at his creative zenith. He’s proved it time and again. In the studio and on stages alike! Rounding it all out are Udo’s son, the fantastic drumming machine Sven Dirkschneider, and the potent young guitarist Fabian “Dee” Dammers, who locked in brilliantly with Andrey a good while back and who also takes on a fair share of the guitar solos himself.
The band is known for their razor-sharp, meticulously polished performances. Over the years the band’s performance recipe changes very little, if at all. The rule is that whoever is taking the initiative at any given moment gets planted front and center. If that’s not Udo, it’s either both guitarists or Baltes partnered with one or the other — with Udo joining in too, naturally. There’s an almost expected moment when Andrey launches into his first guitar solo. That’s when patriarch Udo steps up alongside him up front on the right, eyeing Andrey with a bag full of funny faces — and the guitarist gives as good as he gets with the grimaces. The same goes for the first mid-eight passage, where both guitarists take it together. Simple! All in the name of a good time! And this band is truly slathered with every trick in the book when it comes to winning a crowd over in an instant! During those stretches when both guitarists step forward, Udo plants himself at the base of the drum kit and calmly waits for his moment to reclaim the front position. Everything fits like a glove.
The band started destroying from the opening note. In the first section they loaded up with “Restless And Wild” and “Metal Heart” classics — curiously, the title track from the “Restless And Wild” album had dropped out of the repertoire, but never mind. The fire ignited instantly with Fast As A Shark, followed by the excellent mid-tempo yet ferocious Living For Tonite. Fuel was poured on the fire by one of the finest tracks in the entire Accept catalogue — naturally, the one and only Midnight Mover! With one of the most powerful choruses in the genre — classic heavy metal included! There’s always something special at any concert (whether Dirkschneider or Accept) when the brilliant Metal Heart lands in the first third of the set. The crowd was going to pieces. But the main surprise was still to come. Udo leaves the stage. Vocals are taken over by Peter Baltes. The band tackles the melancholic ballad Breaking Up Again from the “Breaker” album (1981). Just as the original demands — with Baltes on vocals. For the most die-hard Accept fans, undoubtedly a mini highlight of the show.
And now the central part. The essential one. The complete “Balls To The Wall” album. Dirkschneider didn’t opt to play it in reverse order. You might think they would, given that the title track — sitting at position one on the album — is in many ways its pinnacle; playing it backwards, you’d build toward the biggest moment. But Dirkschneider didn’t lose any sleep over that. People were losing their minds. Everyone was singing along. That chorus — one of the most memorable in the history of metal! Then came some tracks that Dirkschneider haven’t performed live before, and that Accept haven’t played in at least 40 years either. Losing More Than You’ve Ever Had, Guardians Of The Night, Love Child, Fight it Back…. Insane. For an Accept fan, simply insane. With a vocal that sounded like it was lifted straight from the album — from 1983. In that regard, Udo is something else entirely. The album has an exceptionally powerful closing track, one of Accept’s strongest ballads: Winter Dreams! Extraordinary. Emotional, passionate. As if they were playing it for the first time, even though it has found its way onto previous tour setlists before. A brilliant closer that simply demands more. More.
And so, the obligatory encore. Everyone knew what was coming. Princess Of The Dawn. Extended well past ten minutes, it squeezes the maximum out of the crowd. Udo and crew simply know how to do this. They work a room with effortless ease! Udo is, as always, very direct. He doesn’t waffle — he goes straight to the point: the performance! Udo calls on the crowd one last time to shred their vocal cords to the absolute limit. What follows is the crusher Up To The Limit! The concert is already two hours in. It feels like the end — and yet. The fan-favorite metallic rock’n’roller that Udo likes to save for the close of his sets is back! Burning! With a drawn-out exit and several repetitions of the main riff and chorus, he had everyone moving until the very end! So much fiery energy and lightning flashing from everywhere. In the ideal club setting for this kind of show! You simply can’t ask for anything better than this. Right here, all in one place. Words just aren’t enough. You have to be there!
So that was the very first Dirkschneider concert on the long marathon adventure of celebrating 40 years of Accept’s classic album “Balls To The Wall”! Already at the first stop — their premiere performance in Zagreb — Dirkschneider proved their unbreakable spirit, laser focus, perfect professionalism, and hair-splitting precision of delivery, with not a single weak moment to be found. One word: outstanding! Everything you could want from a concert. No tricks with effects or pre-recorded segments. Everything genuine, direct, and no-holds-barred. What you see and hear is exactly what you get. And the incredible Udo Dirkschneider — that one-of-a-kind raging uncle with a circular saw lodged in his throat — maintains extraordinary vocal vitality. It is frankly astonishing that his voice keeps that kind of explosive power from start to finish through a two-hour show. Udo still convincingly leaps across octaves with no trace of wear, vocal strain, or fatigue. Everything — from the first to the last second of a two-plus-hour concert — executed to the maximum. As Dirkschneider themselves say: “Up To The Limit!” Udo remains, to put it modestly, the one and only! A man, a myth, a legend! Long may it stay that way!
Author: Edita Klemen & Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Flesh – setlist:
1. Hammered Down
2. Kings
3. Hellfire
4. Seasons
5. Banners Will Fall
6. Easy Rideth – Heavy Striker
Dirkschneider – setlist:
1. Fast As A Shark
2. Livin For Tonite
3. Midnight Mover
4. Breaker
5. Flash Rockin’ Man
6. Metal Heart
7. Breaking Up Again
8. Balls To The Wall
9. London Leatherboys
10. Fight It Back
11. Head Over Heels
12. Losing More Than You’ve Ever Had
13. Love Child
14. Turn Me On
15. Losers And Winners
16. Guardians Of The Night
17. Winter Dreams
—encore—
18. Princes Of The Dawn
19. Up To The Limit
20. Burning
