U.D.O. & Das Musikkorps Der Bundeswehr – We Are One (2020)
There comes a time in nearly every veteran metal musician’s life when the urge to collaborate with an orchestra becomes irresistible. It’s actually quite surprising that Udo Dirkschneider waited so long to conjure a project as unashamedly overblown as his new effort “We Are One”, but if anyone has earned the right to tick off the few remaining goals from his to-do list, it’s the none-more-metal ex-ACCEPT frontman.
Admittedly, the appeal of U.D.O. — Dirkschneider’s titular crew, on and off, since 1987 — has always been noticeably narrower than that of his former band, but he is one of metal’s most adored vocalists nonetheless, with a towering legacy and some of the genre’s greatest ever anthems on his CV.
Teaming up here with DAS MUSIKKORPS DER BUNDESWEHR (the official Concert Band of the German Armed Forces), and with former ACCEPT colleagues Peter Baltes and Stefan Kaufmann involved in the creative process, they created an interesting spin-off: this isn’t excatly a ‘metal band with orchestra’, but a ‘metal band with a military band’.
While “We Are One” is rooted firmly in the unapologetic catchiness and punch of traditional melodic metal, there’s a similar attention to detail and organic fluidity to the MUSIKKORPS’s contributions that makes everything sound wholly natural.
The fact that these are all original songs, rather than fluffed-up renditions of old classics, means that “We Are One” stands or falls on its own merits.
Assuming that you do enjoy the sound of a German heavy metal legend shrieking majestically over some thunderous, symphonic hard rock anthems, it’s really hard to find fault with it.
Vocally, I give Udo full credit. At 68 years of age, he can still rasp and croak, sometimes sounding as nasty as he did back in the salad days of Accept.
Everything from cast-iron crowd-pleasers “We Are One” and “Children Of The World” through to the stately grind of “Rebel Town” and the razor’s edge bombast of instrumental “Natural Forces”, Udo’s perfectly justifiable self-indulgence has led to an explosive and wildly entertaining celebration of unity, strength and deafening crescendos.
Yes, there are moments that are so unapologetically cheesy you may feel like you are teetering on the abyss of a giant, iron-plated fondue, but therein lies the joy. We are one. Udo gets it. Now with added trumpets. And bagpipes.
I’m not the biggest fan of Udo’s post-Accept career, but you could always count on getting a few fun songs on every album. Same apply to ‘We Are One’.
01 – Pandemonium
02 – We Are One
03 – Love And Sin
04 – Future Is The Reason Why
05 – Children Of The World
06 – Blindfold (The Last Defender)
07 – Blackout
08 – Mother Earth
09 – Rebel Town
10 – Natural Forces
11 – Neon Diamond
12 – Beyond Gravity
13 – Here We Go Again
14 – We Strike Back
15 – Beyond Good And Evil
Udo Dirkschneider – lead vocals
Tilen Hudrap – bass
Dee Dammers – guitars
Andrey Smirnov – guitars
Sven Dirkschneider – drums
Guests:
Stefan Kaufmann (Accept) – drums, songwriting
Peter Baltes (Accept) – bass, songwriting
Das Musikkorps der Bundeswehr Band
Pre Order:
www.amazon.com/We-Are-One-U-D/dp/B087R5NKDS
