by Justin Gaines
– Sr. Columnist —
Another year, another U.D.O. live set, right? Well, it seems that way at least, what with three separate live packages in the past four years. Navy Metal Night is the latest, and if nothing else you have to give U.D.O. and the AFM label credit for putting together another very nice package. The physical release of Navy Metal Night comes in a large gatefold digipack and features the full concert on DVD as well as on two audio CDs, and has a nice booklet as well.
And to be fair, Navy Metal Night isn’t just another live set. This was a special show featuring The Marinemusikkorps Hordsee, which is the German Naval Orchestra. Symphonic U.D.O. isn’t something we see every day. Udo and company put on their best Trans-Siberian Orchestra-worthy outfits and proceeded to deliver expertly arranged versions of several U.D.O. classics as well as some deeper cuts. And surprisingly enough, they didn’t do any Accept songs, which you have to give them some credit for. Udo is decades into his solo career, and doesn’t need to trot out “Balls to the Wall” to make a show memorable.
Navy Metal Night is a really solid performance all around. The band sounds great, as does Udo himself, and the orchestra worked perfectly as an enhancement to the songs, not as a distraction. It did soften the songs a bit, and there are some instrumental interludes, so this isn’t quite the headbanging extravaganza that Steelhammer: Live From Russia was. We even got a guest appearance from Doro Pesch. Everyone on stage and in the crowd seemed to be having fun too, so the energy is high and contagious.
At this point it’s hard to call yet another U.D.O. live set an essential release, but Navy Metal Night is something special that any serious U.D.O. fan will want to own. You’ve never seen Udo and company quite like this.
Genre: Heavy Metal
Lineup:
Udo Dirkschneider (v)
Fitty Wienhold (b)
Andrey Smirnov (g)
Kasper Heikkinen (g)
Francesco Jovino (d)
Corvin Bahn (k)
Track Listing:
Disc 1
1. Intro (Das Boot)
2. Das Boot
3. Future Land
4. Independence Day
5. Animal Instinct
6. The Hall of the Mountain King
7. Heart of Gold
8. Man and Machine
9. Dancing With an Angel
10. Faceless World
Disc 2
1. Ride
2. Days of Hope and Glory
3. Cut Me Out
4. Trainride in Russia
5. Stillness of Time
6. King of Mean
7. Book of Faith
8. Animal House
Label: AFM Records
Website: www.udo-online.de
Hardrock Haven Rating: 8/10
