Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Dirkschneider
Label: AFM Records
Release: 2017
Rating: 4.5/5
Udo Dirkschneider needs no special introduction. He’s the former frontman of German metal giants Accept, and a while back he came up with the idea of playing a live set made up entirely of Accept classics. The ones, of course, that he co-created with that truly great and legendary German outfit from the city of Solingen during his time in Accept.
To make it happen, Udo (temporarily) changed the name of his band U.D.O. to Dirkschneider, and the tour was a huge success. Thanks to that success, the first live document (a double CD) came out last year, recorded in Memmingen, Germany, in April 2016. And since the demand for Dirkschneider shows is nowhere near over, the band kept confirming new gigs and new tours. Fans wanted a visual record too, not just an audio one. So late last fall, Dirkschneider’s new tour took them to the Czech city of Brno, where they used the show for filming. The result is out on DVD, Blu-ray and of course a double CD (the audio format). Interestingly, AFM Records timed the official release for the very same day that Udo’s former bandmates in Accept dropped their new studio album on Nuclear Blast.
The double audio record from Memmingen already justified everything that stands behind the name Udo Dirkschneider. It’s a live gem that proves the great veteran, a true metal dinosaur, hasn’t lost his voice one bit. Even in his golden years he keeps all the recognizable trademarks of that uncle-style inflamed growl, and above all the big, piercing power of authentic, high-flying shrieking, the thing that carved Udo a special place on the metal map long ago.
Both visually and sonically, this new live document, which also brings the much-wanted DVD and Blu-ray, is a top-quality product, carefully captured from multiple angles, including an extra camera mounted on a »giraffe« that kept swooping back and forth in front of the stage throughout the Brno show. Adding to it is the red-hot crowd of several thousand in a completely sold-out Brno basketball arena, where the band met with incredibly loud support and euphoria. This document, too, shows Udo Dirkschneider and his crew in outstanding form, delivering the very best, which is exactly what fans not only expect from the band but demand. Compared with the Memmingen recording, you can tell the Brno hall is bigger, wider and taller, because the sound has a bit more »echo« to it. Overall, though, Dirkschneider once again deliver with all that restrained quality in their stage take on the Accept classics, including many that Accept haven’t played live in a very long time.
There’s no shortage of authenticity in everything that went down in Brno, then, on this document. The live energy and atmosphere are superbly captured and carried over to both the audio and video formats. It’s also worth adding that Dirkschneider played an identical set in Brno to the one on the Memmingen recording, so the Blu-ray/DVD visuals were a must.
“Live – Back To The Roots – Accepted!” is therefore nothing less and nothing more than a fresh, rock-solid record of Udo Dirkschneider’s hugely successful decision to bring the Dirkschneider band to life. No need to point out that he’d worked it all out down to the last detail beforehand: playing Accept classics earns him more on his own than it did in the company of his Accept colleagues. Accept fans will snap this one up, and meanwhile Dirkschneider have already confirmed new dates across North America and Europe, where they’ll come closest to Slovenia on October 27, 2017, at Vienna’s Szene club. Until then, you can happily bask in the unforgettable, elemental riffs as written in the history of Teutonic metal, recorded with real sincerity and in all its untamed glory on this new, superb release. So go on and get those heads thoroughly rattled!
How RockLine experienced and saw the show on its visit to Brno in the Czech Republic on December 9, 2017, you can read about in our in-depth, expanded live report HERE!
Dirkschneider – Liviin’ For Tonite (official video, December 9, 2016, Brno):
Lineup
Udo Dirkschneider – vocals
Andrey Smirnov – guitar, backing vocals
Kasperi Heikkinen – guitar, backing vocals
Fitty Weinhold – bass, backing vocals
Sven Dirkschneider – drums
Track list
CD1
01. Intro
02. Starlight
03. Living For Tonite
04. Flash Rockin‘ Man
05. London Leatherboys
06. Midnight Mover
07. Breaker
08. Head Over Heels
09. Neon Night
10. Princess Of The Dawn
11. Winter Dreams
12. Restless And Wild
13. Son Of A Bitch
14. Up To The Limit
CD2
15. Wrong Is Right
16. Midnight Highway
17. Screaming For A Love-Bite
18. Monsterman
19. T.V. War
20. Losers And Winners
21. Metal Heart
22. I’m A Rebel
23. Fast As A Shark
24. Balls To The Wall
25. Burning
26. Outro
27. My Way (Bonus)
DVD/Blu-ray:
01. Intro
02. Starlight
03. Living For Tonite
04. Flash Rockin’ Man
05. London Leatherboys
06. Midnight Mover
07. Breaker
08. Head Over Heels
09. Neon Night
10. Princess Of The Dawn
11. Winter Dreams
12. Restless And Wild
13. Son Of A Bitch
14. Up To The Limit
15. Wrong Is Right
16. Midnight Highway
17. Screaming For A Love-Bite
18. Monsterman
19. T.V. War
20. Losers And Winners
21. Metal Heart
22. I’m A Rebel
23. Fast As A Shark
24. Balls To The Wall
25. Burning
26. Outro
