U.D.O.
U.D.O. is a German heavy metal band founded by vocalist Udo Dirkschneider in 1987 following his departure from Accept. The initial lineup included guitarists Mathias Dieth and Peter Szigeti, bassist Frank Rittel, and drummer Thomas Franke. Their debut album, "Animal House," was released on 3 November 1987 and was written entirely by Accept. The band toured with artists such as Guns N' Roses, Lita Ford, and Zodiac Mindwarp. After lineup changes involving the departure of Rubach, Rittel, and Franke, guitarists Andy Susemihl, bassist Thomas Smuzyszki, and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann joined. The follow-up album, "Mean Machine," was released on 10 January 1989.
After Susemihl left, U.D.O. became a four-piece band and released "Faceless World" on 25 February 1990, produced by former Accept drummer Stefan Kaufmann, which became the band's best-selling album at the time. Their fourth album, "Timebomb," was released on 3 April 1991 and had a heavier sound. In 1992, Dirkschneider put U.D.O. on hiatus to reunite with Accept.
In 1996, Dirkschneider reformed U.D.O. with a new lineup including Stefan Kaufmann on guitar, Jürgen Graf on guitar, Fitty Wienhold on bass, and Stefan Schwarzmann on drums. The band contributed the song "Metal Gods" to the 1997 compilation album "A Tribute to Judas Priest: Legends of Metal." Their fifth studio album, "Solid," was released on 24 March 1997 and was followed by "No Limits" on 20 April 1998, which included a cover of Supermax's "Love Machine." Schwarzmann departed after the tour and was replaced by drummer Lorenzo Milani.
The seventh album, "Holy," was released on 18 October 1999 and marked a return to a guitar-driven sound reminiscent of Accept's "Balls to the Wall" era. A world tour followed, with support from Vanize and later Igor Gianola replacing Graf. The live album "Live from Russia" was released on 15 October 2001.
"Man and Machine," their eighth album, was released on 24 July 2002 and featured the duet "Dancing with an Angel" with Doro Pesch. The ninth album, "Thunderball," followed on 29 March 2004, and "Mission No. X" was released on 30 September 2005 with new drummer Francesco Jovino. "Mastercutor" was released on 18 May 2007, with bassist Fitty Wienhold temporarily replaced by Marcus Bielenberg for touring.
"Dominator" was released on 21 August 2009. The twelfth studio album, "Rev-Raptor," was released on 20 May 2011 after delays caused by Stefan Kaufmann's back issues. Dirkschneider's son Sven joined the band in February 2015, and the band temporarily performed under the name "Dirkschneider" for the "Back To The Roots" tour, playing only Accept songs.
In September 2012, Kaufmann departed for health reasons and was succeeded by Russian guitarist Andrey Smirnov on 15 January 2013. Igor Gianola left the band and was replaced by Kasperi Heikkinen. The fourteenth album, "Steelhammer," was released on 20 May 2013. Francesco Jovino left in December 2014 and was replaced by Sven Dirkschneider. The fifteenth studio album, "Decadent," was released on 23 January 2015.
In 2017, Heikkinen departed and was replaced by Bill Hudson, who left in April 2018. Stefan Kaufmann temporarily rejoined for summer festivals. "Steelfactory," the sixteenth album, was released on 31 August 2018 with the single "Rising High." Fitty Wienhold announced his departure in September 2018, and the band recruited guitarist Dee Dammers and bassist Tilen Hudrap.
During the 2019 European tour, Dirkschneider performed despite left knee pain. The band planned to perform Accept's "Metal Heart" at Wacken Open Air 2020, but the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, U.D.O. collaborated with Das Musikkorps der Bundeswehr for the album "We Are One," released on 17 July 2020, which reached number 8 on the German album charts. A live album, "Live In Bulgaria 2020 - Pandemic Survival Show," was released on 19 March 2021. The seventeenth studio album, "Game Over," was released on 22 October 2021.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.D.O.
Studio albums
Animal House (1987)
Mean Machine (1989)
Faceless World (1990)
Timebomb (1991)
Solid (1997)
No Limits (1998)
Holy (1999)
Man and Machine (2002)
Thunderball (2004)
Mission No. X (2005)
Mastercutor (2007)
Dominator (2009)
Rev-Raptor (2011)
Steelhammer (2013)
Decadent (2015)
Steelfactory (2018)
Game Over (2021)
Touchdown (2021)
After Susemihl left, U.D.O. became a four-piece band and released "Faceless World" on 25 February 1990, produced by former Accept drummer Stefan Kaufmann, which became the band's best-selling album at the time. Their fourth album, "Timebomb," was released on 3 April 1991 and had a heavier sound. In 1992, Dirkschneider put U.D.O. on hiatus to reunite with Accept.
In 1996, Dirkschneider reformed U.D.O. with a new lineup including Stefan Kaufmann on guitar, Jürgen Graf on guitar, Fitty Wienhold on bass, and Stefan Schwarzmann on drums. The band contributed the song "Metal Gods" to the 1997 compilation album "A Tribute to Judas Priest: Legends of Metal." Their fifth studio album, "Solid," was released on 24 March 1997 and was followed by "No Limits" on 20 April 1998, which included a cover of Supermax's "Love Machine." Schwarzmann departed after the tour and was replaced by drummer Lorenzo Milani.
The seventh album, "Holy," was released on 18 October 1999 and marked a return to a guitar-driven sound reminiscent of Accept's "Balls to the Wall" era. A world tour followed, with support from Vanize and later Igor Gianola replacing Graf. The live album "Live from Russia" was released on 15 October 2001.
"Man and Machine," their eighth album, was released on 24 July 2002 and featured the duet "Dancing with an Angel" with Doro Pesch. The ninth album, "Thunderball," followed on 29 March 2004, and "Mission No. X" was released on 30 September 2005 with new drummer Francesco Jovino. "Mastercutor" was released on 18 May 2007, with bassist Fitty Wienhold temporarily replaced by Marcus Bielenberg for touring.
"Dominator" was released on 21 August 2009. The twelfth studio album, "Rev-Raptor," was released on 20 May 2011 after delays caused by Stefan Kaufmann's back issues. Dirkschneider's son Sven joined the band in February 2015, and the band temporarily performed under the name "Dirkschneider" for the "Back To The Roots" tour, playing only Accept songs.
In September 2012, Kaufmann departed for health reasons and was succeeded by Russian guitarist Andrey Smirnov on 15 January 2013. Igor Gianola left the band and was replaced by Kasperi Heikkinen. The fourteenth album, "Steelhammer," was released on 20 May 2013. Francesco Jovino left in December 2014 and was replaced by Sven Dirkschneider. The fifteenth studio album, "Decadent," was released on 23 January 2015.
In 2017, Heikkinen departed and was replaced by Bill Hudson, who left in April 2018. Stefan Kaufmann temporarily rejoined for summer festivals. "Steelfactory," the sixteenth album, was released on 31 August 2018 with the single "Rising High." Fitty Wienhold announced his departure in September 2018, and the band recruited guitarist Dee Dammers and bassist Tilen Hudrap.
During the 2019 European tour, Dirkschneider performed despite left knee pain. The band planned to perform Accept's "Metal Heart" at Wacken Open Air 2020, but the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, U.D.O. collaborated with Das Musikkorps der Bundeswehr for the album "We Are One," released on 17 July 2020, which reached number 8 on the German album charts. A live album, "Live In Bulgaria 2020 - Pandemic Survival Show," was released on 19 March 2021. The seventeenth studio album, "Game Over," was released on 22 October 2021.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.D.O.
Studio albums
Animal House (1987)
Mean Machine (1989)
Faceless World (1990)
Timebomb (1991)
Solid (1997)
No Limits (1998)
Holy (1999)
Man and Machine (2002)
Thunderball (2004)
Mission No. X (2005)
Mastercutor (2007)
Dominator (2009)
Rev-Raptor (2011)
Steelhammer (2013)
Decadent (2015)
Steelfactory (2018)
Game Over (2021)
Touchdown (2021)
