 U.D.O.
- "Nailed To Metal (The Missing Tracks)" AFM Records 2003 That's amazing! Another U.D.O. live album! An excellent move to make busy all die-hards! To ease fans hunger while waiting for band's forthcoming studio album, which has been already released by the way ("Thunderball", 2004). This clever move at same time raised some propaganda, too. It's always good when press is occupied with certain band's activities. Many of you might assume when experience miserable booklet design including cover artwork that "Nailed To Metal" is a bootleg. Wrong! This is fuckin' official live album and a straight kick right of a metal terror at it's best, played under true U.D.O. moniker. This excellent live album merely concentrates on revitalisation of Accept legacy. U.D.O. stuff is actually present with only three "Holy" (1999) songs. Starting with title track, Raiders Of Beyond (both songs are included also on doubled phantasmagoria "Live From Russia" released back in 2001), and then also Thunder In The Tower as a ninth track. To explain presence of these three songs, let me rewind back a bit. Live recordings were done on tour during 2001, and "Holy" was U.D.O. current album back then. The rest is Accept. Three songs from "Restless And Wild" (1982) record (galloping heavy beauty caught in the title track, speedy killer and sound terrorizer Fast As A Shark and extended eight-minute version of epic, yet heavily obscured wet dream Princes Of The Dawn) are accompanied with "Eat The Heat" (1989) album's X-T-C, Hard Attack from over criticized "Predator" (1996) and both title songs from Accept classic albums "Balls To The Wall" (1983) and "Metal Heart" (1985). Mixture is fantastic! And album's dynamics and mood changes are really riding on a big wave. Album crackles and explodes throughout of amazing energetic charge. Sound is a bit less dispersed and audience is not so notorious and noise not so huge as on "Live From Russia", but overall created sound is even more precise than on aforementioned double live CD. Let me remind you this is mix of missing tracks, so cuts has to be made. And everything was glued back together from different shows, so basically this is not consistent recording done in one leg, as in case of "Live From Russia". However, "Nailed To Metal" was mixed superbly, sounding so cool, consistent and real that it gives an impression as if recording was taken from the same and only one show. What's most interesting thing on this live album is of course "U.D.O. plays Accept" stuff. Metal Heart contains extra fill in of reworked Bethoveen's Führ Elise arrangement placed right in song's middle making crowd to contribute some huge and very noisy support. Next song with double-faced atmosphere is even more impressive. X-T-C! With raving pivotal chorus suddenly turns into fantastic gutsy solo (real joy for listening) that brings in destructible climax and real fade to black feel of a person who is to weak to find the way out of private Armageddon. This is convincible song from head to its feet with real spine tingling effect. Following powerful punching drum solo that will pulverise your arses detonates hellish loud. Technically it is nothing special. But this is not important. It serves as atmospheric charger and fantastic pre-introduction to Fast As A Shark. What is remarkable is how this drumming fades and breaks via Udo's venomous horrifying scream, as it would really arrive from shark's victim, into fastest song on a record. After "Restless And Wild" chronicles, band offers brand new atmosphere with Thunder In The Tower, quite unusual U.D.O. song. It is very interesting the way in which they put together riffs and main rhythm lines. For U.D.O. song writing style a bit more complex experience. Live album finishes in upper tempo by creation of melting atmosphere with another two Accept songs. Mid tempo songs Hard Attack and hymn Balls To The Wall. Especially last one is heavy metal bible, with impressive and extended classic fade out, hammered with all band's intensity and Mr. Udo shouting to the people: "Oh, c'mon everybody! Show me the sign of victory!" Entire album contains tasteful backing vocals that were done truly splendid and are shining most brightly inside chorus of Restless And Wild and Thunder In The Tower, picturing colourful contrast and harmonies to Udo's pivotal vocal. Whole band works in one word wicked! Irreplaceable unique Udo's shouting and screaming placed always in centre spot; unmistakable and cohere communication between all artists delivers a true perfection of best "word to mouth" metal winning formula. U.D.O. as definite successor of the entire Accept legacy did it again without mistake. This live album is an absolute must for every true heavy metal butt, who wants to break neck and balls under heavy tunes of one of the loudest bands in metal.
|
|
|||||