Label: AFM Records
Release date: 28.10.2016
Album length: 129.45
Genre: Heavy Metal
There’s no turning back for Accept’s former frontman Udo Dirkschneider. Last year the man decided to temporarily rename U.D.O. as Dirkschneider and hit the road for a tour on which he’d play strictly Accept classics, and only from the era when he was fronting them. Across two discs and 24 tracks in total, we’re in for a return to Accept’s golden age. This was supposed to be the kind of tour after which Udo swore he’d never play Accept songs live again. I’m sure that after U.D.O.’s reaffirmation he’ll end up eating plenty of his own words. But let’s wait and see what the future brings. The European tour of Dirkschneider with a pure-blooded Accept catalog ran through the spring of 2016. Udo Dirkschneider and his crew managed to sell out thirty-one of the forty-five European shows. This live document comes from one of them, on 02.04.2016, when Dirkschneider played the Kamminwerk hall in the German town of Memmingen.
With U.D.O., Udo has released a bunch of live albums over the years, and every single one of them is considered excellent. He always mixed the live set between U.D.O. material and Accept classics. And that was always a winning formula, one that every live release only strengthened, cementing his reputation and standing in the metal world.
After this recording it’ll be immediately clear to you that Udo really isn’t just the original voice of Accept, but the primary, elemental one. There’s no other option. Udo is Accept. All those Accept classics that Dirkschneider hammer through Memmingen with relentless vehemence ring out vocally far more confidently with Udo at the mic than with current Accept singer Mark Tornillo. Tornillo is certainly a worthy replacement for Udo, but Udo is Udo. Where Tornillo struggles with the high registers on the older Accept classics, Udo still sings them without any trouble whatsoever. And that’s despite his age. Effortlessly. When he lets out a roar, he’s so convincing that any further debate on the subject is pointless. Your skin crawls, shivers race down your spine. Now we have to ask: why isn’t Udo singing with Accept if his voice is still in such phenomenal shape at this age? Because he feels very comfortable and safe with U.D.O. And because the old boy is cunning. He knows he can earn more by himself playing Accept than he would by joining or returning to Accept. Even if the Dirkschneider story wraps up after this year’s fall European tour, Udo can revive it whenever he likes. Anytime. For another tour or two. Maybe in a few years.
With all that, he’s naturally stirred up a real mess, because the quality of this release is so good that it makes your mouth water while listening and leads you to »blasphemous« wishes and thoughts along the lines of: »Udo, go back to Accept!« The man hasn’t lost a speck of the vocal charisma that gives him his special place in the metal world. What’s more, the more years pass, the more mature Udo’s voice gets. Like good old wine. Across this live document he doesn’t falter for a second (performance-wise). Lest this read as too perfect: Udo is vulnerable too. A few vocal slip-ups sneak onto the release, which is only logical given the vocal contortions that his screechy, guttural and piercing performance involves. One example is the rendition of Winterdreams, where he runs out of breath toward the end. It’s nice that these Udo blunders were kept in. They’re proof that this document went through little or no studio »beautification« in post-production. It’s raw and 100% authentic. Straight from the hall onto the audio carrier!
There’s no need to waste words on the backing crew. They’re a hair-splitting approximation of the originals. Sure, there are deviations in the soloing (Hoffmann’s »touch« remains unique and elusive), but otherwise it’s incredible how precise Dirkschneider are in executing the Accept material. All the harmonic passages played on both guitars, a detonating rhythm section of filigree precision, over which crushing guitar riffs of primal Teutonic metal origin run wild. Udo recently gave his U.D.O. crew a serious youth injection. He kept longtime bassist Fitty Weinhold in the lineup, and brought in Finn Kasperi Heikkinen and Russian Andrey Smirnov on guitars (the latter plays most of the solos), while sitting behind the drums is none other than Udo’s son, Sven Dirkschneider. Udo and the gang sound fierce and, like an extremely well-oiled, bloodthirsty machine, don’t let up for an inch. They bite down relentlessly, as if they want to deliver the best show of their careers. The album almost unintentionally comes across as a slap in the face to today’s Accept, who since reactivating in 2008 and releasing three albums (a fourth is in the works) still haven’t put out a live document.
What else is so good about this release? The setlist, of course. It’s made up of Accept classics. Besides the obligatory ones that belong in the iron repertoire of every Accept show, there are also songs that Accept haven’t included in their live sets for quite a while: Flash Rockin’ Man, Head Over Heels, Winterdreams, Wrong is Right, T.V. War, Son Of A Bitch, Starlight, Midnight Highway and Burning.
If you haven’t caught Dirkschneider on stage yet, this fall is your last chance. Given the huge success that took Udo and the crew completely by surprise, Dirkschneider have extended their stay with one more tour. This one will deliver exactly what »Live – Back to the Roots« stands for: Accept material, still unleashed in the best possible way. By the one and only Udo Dirkschneider.
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
rating: 9.0 / 10
Track list:
CD 1.:
1. Intro
2. Starlight
3. Living For Tonite
4. Flash Rockin’ Man
5. London Leatherboys
6. Midnight Mover
7. Breaker
8. Head Over Heels
9. Neon Night
10. Princess Of The Dawn
11. Winterdreams
12. Restless And Wild
13. Son Of A Bitch
CD 2.:
1. Up To The Limit
2. Wrong Is Right
3. Midnight Highway
4. Screaming For A Love-Bite
5. Monsterman
6. T.V. War
7. Losers And Winners
8. Metal Heart
9. I m A Rebel
10. Fast As A Shark
11. Balls To The Wall
12. Burning
13. Outro
Line-up:
Udo Dirkschneider – vocals
Andrey Smirnov – guitar, backing vocals
Kasperi Heikkinen – guitar, backing vocals
Fitty Weinhold – bass, backing vocals
Sven Dirkschneider – drums
