{"id":41927,"date":"2014-07-05T08:13:15","date_gmt":"2014-07-05T13:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=41927"},"modified":"2014-07-07T06:57:11","modified_gmt":"2014-07-07T11:57:11","slug":"udo-steelhammer-live-from-moscow-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/udo-steelhammer-live-from-moscow-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"U.D.O. | Steelhammer \u2013 Live From Moscow<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist\/News Editor —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"udo-steelhammer-live-from-moscow\"German heavy metal icon Udo Dirkschneider and his band U.D.O. are back with a new live offering, titled Steelhammer \u2013 Live From Moscow<\/em>. Long time U.D.O. fans can be forgiven if their initial reaction to this set is \u201cagain?\u201d or \u201calready?\u201d It\u2019s only been two years since the last U.D.O. live set (Live in Sofia<\/em>), after all. A cynic might chalk this up to fulfilling an obligation to the label, but according to the man himself (writing in the liner notes), the combination of a new lineup and the fans\u2019 energetic reception was so great they had to capture it on this 3-disc (two audio CDs and a DVD) set. <\/p>\n

Whatever the reason for yet another U.D.O. live offering, what matters is the performance, and the performance captured on Steelhammer \u2013 Live From Moscow<\/em> is pretty terrific. Russian audiences have always been kind to Udo and company, and this is no exception. The band is in great shape here, and Udo works the crowd like the old pro he is, tearing through the better part of two dozen songs, of which only one is from his time in Accept (they close with a rousing version of \u201cMetal Heart\u201d). The set is weighted a bit towards the newer U.D.O. material, but they do reach all the way back to hit all the classics you might expect (though \u201cTrainride in Russia\u201d seems like an odd omission given the setting for the concert).<\/p>\n

Whether Steelhammer \u2013 Live From Moscow<\/em> is truly an essential purchase so soon after Live in Sofia<\/em> is questionable, but it is a very energetic and enjoyable live release. It\u2019s obviously a must-have for the U.D.O. die-hards, but is also ideal for fans who might not have followed the band closely in recent years, since it gives you a great snapshot of the band\u2019s current sound and energy.<\/p>\n

Edition Notes: The physical release of Steelhammer \u2013 Live From Moscow<\/em> comes in a gatefold digipack and includes DVD featuring the full concert performance as well as behind the scenes footage and some related extras. The DVD is \u2013 obviously – the real highlight of the set.<\/p>\n

Genre: Heavy Metal<\/p>\n

Lineup:
\nUdo Dirkschneider (v)
\nFitty Weinhold (b)
\nAndrey Smirnov (g)
\nKasperi Heikkinen (g)
\nFrancesco Jovino (d)
\nUli Kollner (k)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:<\/p>\n

Disc 1
\nIntro
\nSteelhammer
\nKing of Mean
\nFuture Land
\nA Cry of a Nation
\nTrip To Nowhere
\nThey Want War
\nNever Cross My Way
\nStranger
\nStay True
\nIn the Darkness
\nAzrael<\/p>\n

Disc 2
\nNo Limits
\nMean Machine
\nBurning Heat
\nMetal Machine
\nDevil\u2019s Bite
\nGo Back To Hell
\nTimebomb
\nHoly
\nMetal Heart<\/p>\n

Label: AFM Records<\/p>\n

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

Hardrock Haven Rating: 8.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – Senior Columnist\/News Editor — German heavy metal icon Udo Dirkschneider and his band U.D.O. are back with a new live offering, titled Steelhammer \u2013 Live From Moscow. Long time U.D.O. fans […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":41964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[9538,2491,9537,410,490],"class_list":{"0":"post-41927","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-cd-review-afm-records","9":"tag-heavy-metal","10":"tag-steelhammer-live-from-moscow","11":"tag-udo","12":"tag-udo-dirkschneider"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41927","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=41927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}