Dirkschneider & The Old Gang – Arising

Dirkschneider & The Old Gang
Arising
AFM Records
August 27, 2021
Playing time: 15:26

A new all-star band. Just reading the names of the members makes metal fans click their tongues. First and foremost, Udo Dirkschneider, Peter Baltes and Stefan Kaufmann, long-time companions (Accept, U.D.O.). We can’t pin down an exact founding date, but it happened in the run-up to the production of the album “We Are One”, so sometime in 2019. We also know singer Manuela Bibert from this album, among others. The whole thing was a flowing process. The first three songs are finished and were released at the end of August. And the good thing about it is that anyone who buys the single supports the arts and culture sector, which has been hard hit because of Corona. The entire income from the single will be donated to artists in economic hardship.

You can hear immediately that DATOG have a somewhat different musical orientation than U.D.O. or the earlier Accept, although Udo often uses his characteristic raspy voice. “Face Of A Stranger” is finest melodic metal. With three quite different singers. And they harmonise perfectly. Of course, with this line-up you can expect heavy riffs and excellent guitar solos. This continues with “Every Heart Is Burning”. Finally, “Where The Angels Fly” is a great melodic metal anthem.

Have you ever heard bad albums by Udo Dirkschneider? I at least can’t remember. This continues with “Arising”. Beautiful melodies embedded in hard metal riffs and drumming (or vice versa). One is curious about further releases of this project.

Dirkschneider & The Old Gang – Every Heart Is Burning: https://youtu.be/R-txUwRfoLY

Lineup:

Udo Dirkschneider – Vocals
Peter Baltes – Bass, Vocals
Manuela Bibert aka Manuela Markewitz – Vocals
Stefan Kaufmann – Guitars
Mathias Dieth – Guitars
Sven Dirkschneider – Drums

Track list:

• Face Of A Stranger
• Every Heart Is Burning
• Where The Angels Fly