U.D.O. – Game Over

U.D.O.
Game Over
AFM Records
October 22^nd, 2021
Playing time: 01:08:59

He’s a real workaholic, “The German Tank” Udo Dirkschneider. You can hardly count the number of releases he’s been significantly involved in. In the last few years alone, “Steelfactory” (U.D.O. 2018), “We Are One” (together with the Bundeswehr Music Corps, 2020), “Live In Bulgaria 2020” or “Arising” (“Dirkschneider & The Old Gang”, 2021) were released. And now, with “Game Over”, the next work from the house of U.D.O. is ready to bring Teutonic metal out into the wide world.

U.D.O. go full out. Sixteen songs with more than one hour playing time. But I think I read somewhere that three of them are bonus tracks that are only supposed to be on the limited box set, the digipak or the double vinyl. Anyway, the creativity of Udo Dirkschneider and his comrades-in-arms seems to be unbroken. And so the album starts right away with the speedy neckbreaker “Fear Detector”. Also with “Holy Invaders” you can’t sit, stand or lie in silence. In addition, you are encouraged to sing along with the chorus. It continues with the midtempo rocker “Prophecy” and “Empty Eyes”. If you like it faster, here comes “I See Red”. The anthem “Metal Never Dies” is a very clear statement. Exactly. And we can also rely on that in the future. The metal scene sticks together. The bands on the stages that animate us fans to sing along over and over again. They show how versatile U.D.O. are with “Kids and Guns”, with AC/DC attitude. “Like A Beast” starts with a twinkle in the eye (the beast on the phone) before you can headbang like crazy again.

You rarely hear Udo this soulful. “Don’t Wanna Say Goodbye” is a beautiful piano ballad. And what a brilliant solo, the guitar seems to literally sing. Lighters out, smartphones out and illuminate a dark room (or concert venue) with the soft lights! Why this song is (presumably) only one of the three bonus tracks is not really clear to me. In contrast to this is the following smasher “Unbroken”. That must also be the motto of the singer from Wuppertal. And once again you can sing along loudly to the chorus. In contrast, “Marching Tank” seems autobiographical. With Manowar memory riffs. Another great Metal anthem. U.D.O. celebrate variety to perfection. “Thunder Road” really goes off again. Although you can hear lyrics like, “This is war”, there is an underlying positive mood. Also with “Midnight Stranger” you can enjoy the perfect mixture of metallic heaviness and great melodies. The two other bonuses “Speed Seeker” and “Time Control” follow, but they are not a bit worse than the “regular” songs. Here I especially like the second one, another Metal anthem. The album then ends with the speed smash “Metal Damnation”.

Please do not blame me if I am wrong about the three bonus songs. This is information that I have gathered from the worldwide web. But if you buy the Digipak or the current download version, you are on the safe side. You can enjoy “Game Over” in all its beauty. And I mean “enjoy” in all seriousness. U.D.O. have once again succeeded in producing a true Metal gem. This album has what it takes to become a classic. And is a hot candidate for the title “Album of the Year”.

U.D.O. – Metal Never Dies: https://youtu.be/sv29zn_gXY8

Lineup:

Udo Dirkschneider – Vocals
Andrey Smirnov – Guitars
Fabian Dee Dammers – Guitars
Tilen Hudrap – Bass
Sven Dirkschneider – Drums

Track list:

• Fear Detector
• Holy Invaders
• Prophecy
• Empty Eyes
• I See Red
• Metal Never Dies
• Kids And Guns
• Like A Beast
• Don’t Wanna Say Goodbye
• Unbroken
• Marching Tank
• Thunder Road
• Midnight Stranger
• Speed Seeker
• Time Control
• Metal Damnation