{"id":30141,"date":"2013-06-11T16:27:59","date_gmt":"2013-06-11T21:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=30141"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:36:18","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:36:18","slug":"udo-steelhammer-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/udo-steelhammer-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"U.D.O. | Steelhammer<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Jenn Carbaugh<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"UDO\"U.D.O. has released an album that metal heads everywhere will appreciate. This German band, consisting of Udo Dirkschneider and company, has delivered Steelhammer<\/em>. Many expected the album to mirror the work of Udo\u2019s work in Accept, but this is an album that stands on its two heavy metal feet. U.D.O. has created an album that has so much guitar crunch and metal anthems that is sure to please head bangers. <\/p>\n

This may be the band\u2019s 14th studio album, but the music is still pulsating and thriving right off of these tracks. They have been able to dodge the complaints about whether the sound is fresh or not. The unsullied sound can be attributed to a new set of lead guitarists, Kasperi Heikknen an Andrey Smirnov. These two brought more than vigor to the band; they brought guitar riffs and shredding sounds. <\/p>\n

\u201cA Cry of the Nation\u201d encompasses the entirety of metal within the song. The rough anthem vocals are centered around a heavy and steady beat, while there is a magnitude of guitar variation that ranges from simple licks to high paced scales. Sometimes the sound is speedy and other times it is mid-tempo, but the sound is just right for each track. <\/p>\n

Many of the songs have an angry, in-your-face attitude that looks good on this band. It doesn\u2019t just have a metal sound, they have a metal attitude. \u201cDevil\u2019s Bite\u201d starts out less intense but slowly builds into a catchy hook. \u201cKing of Mean\u201d is another song that becomes catchy as Udo compares himself to other examples of what can be perceived as \u201cmean\u201d like a shotgun, chainsaw, and missile. <\/p>\n

Steelhammer<\/em> has more than just hard lyrics and edge in each song. \u201cNever Cross My Way\u201d seems to still have a message of being hard, but it is more melodic and has a sullen tone to the voice. \u201cHeavy Rain\u201d is one of the only songs to seemingly fall short on this album. It is a strained ballad. \u201cBook of Faith\u201d is another odd duck of this album, but it works in a nightmarish type of way. It is creepy and unsettling, but it is still a track that doesn\u2019t disappoint like that of the ballad.<\/p>\n

For the 14th album, U.D.O. is still going and strong. They managed to bring new sounds, and keep the energy where it needs to be to push the album over the standard. Steelhammer<\/em> has so many tracks that will reel you in and never let you stop head banging. Overall, this is definitely a recommended album. <\/p>\n

Genre: Heavy Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nUdo Dirkschneider \u2013 vocals
\nAndrey Smirnov \u2013 guitar
\nKasperi Heikkinen \u2013 guitar
\nFitty Wienhold \u2013 bass
\nFrancesco Jovino \u2013 drums <\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n01. Steelhammer
\n02. A Cry of the Nation
\n03. Metal Machine
\n04. Basta Ya
\n05. Heavy Rain
\n06. Devil\u2019s Bite
\n07. Death Ride
\n08. King of Mean
\n09. Timekeeper
\n10. Never Cross My Way
\n11. Take My Medicine
\n12. Stay True
\n13. When Love Becomes a Lie
\n14. Book of Faith<\/p>\n

Label: AFM Records<\/p>\n

Website: www.udo-online.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven Rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Jenn Carbaugh – Columnist — U.D.O. has released an album that metal heads everywhere will appreciate. This German band, consisting of Udo Dirkschneider and company, has delivered Steelhammer. Many expected the album to mirror […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":30142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[336,2491,334,7479,410],"class_list":{"0":"post-30141","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-cd","9":"tag-heavy-metal","10":"tag-review","11":"tag-steelhammer","12":"tag-udo"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}