2013 CD Review - U.D.O. - Steelhammer

After the just okay but somewhat disappointing 2011 release of the album Rev-Raptor, U.D.O. saw the departure (for health reasons mainly) of guitarist and producer Stefan Kaufmann. This opened things up for singer Udo Dirkschneider to change the environment of recording their album, moving to more of a live feel rather than a coldly constructed studio production.

For the most part, I would agree that the change in recording styles worked, with Steelhammer having a markedly different sound and vibe than Rev-Raptor. Unfortunately, that doesn't make the album any less challenging to listen to.

Opening up with the high flying title track, something that you will always find instantly recognizable is Dirkschneider's hard, gravelly vocals. When you hear him for the first time you might wonder how the hell he does it, but his unique vocal presence always enlivens his material.

At times, real world concerns filter through the band's lyrics. "A Cry of a Nation" looks at the state of the world from the rich versus poor angle. There was a very interesting "fake news bulletin" in the middle of the song that really drove the point home.

The band plays fast and aggressive on anthemic tracks like "Metal Machine", "Take My Medicine" and "Stay True". Dirkschneider is particularly vicious sounding on "Death Ride" and "King of Mean".

I loved how the band changes things up in a variety of different ways. They blow out on "Basta Ya", a Spanish language song that features Warcry singer Victor Garcia Gonzales in a kind of duet.

The track "Devil's Bite" has what sounds like a synth pop intro and recurs throughout the song. I was particularly impressed with the song "Never Cross My Way". It is, I daresay, a very radio friendly track with big sound.

For a band that makes their bones on powerful, in your face heavy metal, the piano-based ballad Heavy Rain is a short but sweet surprise. The song is just over 2 1/2 minutes long and the vocals from Dirkschneider provide a very cool counterpoint to the soft melodies.When you listen to the lyrics, you find that while the song might sound like a love ballad, the lyrics are completely opposite to that notion:

"Bleeding from the arrow to my heart / You did the dirty deed, you tore my soul apart / Left me like an addict in the dust / You crawled inside my skin / You left me cold and crushed"

Suprisingly, it is still a rather good song.

The more confounding portions of the album were found towards the end. "Book of Faith" starts off with a spoken word intro accompanied by a subtle musical background. It is one of the oddest U.D.O. songs I've heard. The tempo picks up as it goes along, but the daft opening is hard to overcome and while a valiant attempt is made, the execution of the song is lacking.

"When Love Becomes A Lie" starts with an in your face delivery but after the vocals enter the picture, the pace slows down and kills the momentum. While it improves during the chorus, it was a disappointment to have a great metallic beginning essentially peter out and become a rather pedestrian track.

When all is said and done, Steelhammer features a number of great tracks, but there are also songs that come off either as simply unworthy or just flat out bad.

I think Steelhammer is an improvement over the band's previous effort and Udo Dirkschneider continues to sound great. The band does craft some very intriguing soundscapes and I suppose with 14 tracks on the album, there was bound to be a downer two.

Still, hope springs eternal for a full album's worth of songs to be one peak after another, skipping over those ever-deep valleys.