At a press conference in the VIP tent of Wacken Open Air, legendary metal singer, Udo Dirkschneider dropped some bombshell news: The 62 year old cult musician announced his definitive farewell to the ACCEPT song library, issues AFM Records.
On a special tour beginning in 2016, he will perform songs by Accept one last time before he retires them for good.
During this Accept farewell tour, he will only showcase songs from the Udo era of the band.
In the early 80´s, the Solingen-raised singer skyrocketed to worldwide acclaim with the band Accept and with his unmistakeable voice he had several hits such as “Balls To The Wall”, „Metal Heart“ and “Princess Of The Dawn”.
“I still love singing these songs live“, Dirkschneider says. “The songs are still an important part of my catalogue and still suit my voice very well. But at some point in your life, it´s just time to close the chapter. There has been so much talk and speculation about Accept, so I just want to give my last definitive musical statement about it and give my fans a chance to see me perform a complete concert of these songs one last time on stage.“
After this tour, Udo will only play songs from his extensive library of U.D.O. material. After being kicked out of Accept in the late 80´s, he garnered many classic hits with his new band in a long and successful career, such as “Animal House”, “Timebomb”, and “Man and Machine”.
„There is enough high quality material to fill a two hour set with no problem,“ says Dirkschneider. „U.D.O. has been the band where I belong for 18 years and I want to pay tribute to them from now on.“
The musician will not perform this farewell tour under the name U.D.O. but simply as DIRKSCHNEIDER.
Russia has a special meaning for Udo Dirkschneider and his band U.D.O.. They were one of the very first international artists to tour the huge country of Russia – and their fans are still very thankful until this day.
So recording a LIVE DVD to highlight the “Steelhammer” tour was an opportunity the band didn’t want to miss. It is the first LIVE release of U.D.O.’s new line-up which easily convinced fans and critics alike on recent festivals and headlining gigs. The band comes up with an exceptional setlist, incl. many classics that haven’t been played for a long time, fan favorites and tracks from the recent success album “Steelhammer”. U.D.O. once again prove why they are hailed as one of the best European live bands. “Steelhammer – Live From Moscow” will be available as DVD/2-CD, Bluray/2-CD and triple-Vinyl in Russian national colors (tricolor), via AFM Records.
German Metal Icon Udo Dirkschneider (U.D.O.) signs a long term contract with AFM Records. The new deal includes the release of 3 albums plus 3 dvds.
“We feel very comfortable with AFM Records and we appreciate the good vibes” says Udo Dirkschneider. “The mutual understanding is perfect and our individual wishes and ideas are respected and converted. This is obviously hard to find in the music business nowadays”
Jochen Richert is very proud that U.D.O. remains part of the AFM family. “We wanted such an extensive deal with U.D.O. because the cooperation has proved fertile in the past. U.D.O. is one of our biggest acts, sales figures have grown constantly; this proves that – together – we are successful!”
Nuclear Blast Records have reported that When Rock legend DORO celebrates her big anniversaries, she will traditionally welcome several true heroes of the Rock- and Metal scene. The SCORPIONS, MOTÖRHEAD or SAXON – all of them have been on stage with DORO in front of thousands of fans.
And this will also be the case for her 30-years stage anniversary. DORO will be playing two shows on May 02 and May 03, 2014 at CCD-Stadthalle, where her fans can look forward to seeing many superstars.
Hansi Kürsch of BLIND GUARDIAN has already confirmed his appearance. As of today it is also confirmed that Miland „Mille“ Petrozza of KREATOR and Udo Dirkschneider, the former ACCEPT shouter, will come to Düsseldorf to celebrate DOROs anniversary together with her.
Udo on this: „Of course! For DORO I will always be up front. Actually I was planning on being part of her show in Wacken this summer, but I could not make that date.” Thus there will be a return visit on May 02 and May 03, 2014 – as DORO has been sharing stages with Dirkschneider and his band U.D.O. at their stage anniversary in 2012.
„I have the most awesome friends and colleagues“, DORO bursts out about the Teutonic trio. With this, the guestlist for the celebratory events won’t be closed.
DORO-Fans that can hardly wait till May 2014 have the chance to see the Metal queen this very year. The DORO Christmas tour starts on December 14, 2013 and will feature the following dates:
14.12.2013 GER Karlsruhe Knock Out Festival
15.12.2013 SWI Pratteln Z7
16.12.2013 GER Nürnberg Hirsch
17.12.2013 GER Saarbrücken Garage
19.12.2013 GER Hannover Capitol
20.12.2013 GER Leipzig Haus Auensee
21.12.2013 GER Magdeburg Factory
U.D.O. / ex-ACCEPT frontman Udo Dirkschneider recently spoke with Mark Dean at Myglobalmind.com. An excerpt from the interview is available below:
Q: There are many bands of the eighties which was when your former band Accept achieved their success that have reformed and reunited in recent years. Is that something that you have ever been approached about doing, is it something that would interest you?
Udo: “That’s a very long story. Of course I have certainly been asked. Unfortunately, Wolf is telling everybody that he has never been in touch with me, though I can show you tons of emails. I have been asked about rejoining for a reunion and didn’t directly say no. I did it already once and there was a lot of shit happened. I then said ‘OK guys if I do this then I want to have this and this…’ Wolf then said that he didn’t want to do it, so I said ‘Goodbye, thank you very much and good luck (laughs).’
Q: Do you then prefer to focus on U.D.O., and the future for that band rather than looking back to your legacy with Accept?
Udo: “Yes. The problem is if I did Accept again and it doesn’t work, then there was an issue regarding the name with Wolf. He was stealing the name in the eighties. He was also doing interviews to promote Blood Of The Nationsand talking so many bad things about me with so many lies. I don’t know why he did that. However that is history now. I will be 61 in a couple of days on 6th of April when I am in New York.”
Q: How do you maintain your energy particularly on stage?
Udo: “Many people ask me that, I try to live healthily as possible. I do nothing special exercise-wise or whatever. I walk a lot, and in the summer time I do a lot of swimming and running. The shows are fun for me to do and I like to be on tour and that also keeps you fresh.”
Q: You have been in the music business a long time, do you still have dreams and goals?
Udo: “Of course you always have to have those, one day maybe I would like to do an album with an orchestra perhaps…”
U.D.O.’s new album Steelhammer – produced by Udo Dirkschneider and Fitty Wienhold – will be released on May 21st in North America and May 24th in Europe via AFM Records.
The band are now streaming the album track, ‘Basta Ya’, which is not only U.D.O.’s first song in Spanish ever, but also one with a very important message: the youth is the future, they need perspectives! Victor Garcia from WARCRY guests on this track.
U.D.O. previously released a video for the Steelhammer album track, ‘Metal Machine’:
“Our new album is a real battering ram,” Udo says. “That’s why we have chosen this cover. It really shows best that U.D.O. is pure heavy metal! U.D.O. is back!”
The editions and tracklistings of the album are as follows:
Standard CD:
‘Steelhammer’
‘A Cry Of A Nation’
‘Metal Machine’
‘Basta Ya’
‘Heavy Rain’
‘Devil’s Bite’
‘Death Ride’
‘King Of Mean’
‘Time Keeper’
‘Never Cross My Way’
‘Take My Medicine’
‘Stay True’
‘When Love Becomes A Lie’
‘Book Of Faith’
Digi-Pack:
‘Steelhammer’
‘A Cry Of A Nation’
‘Metal Machine’
‘Basta Ya’
‘Heavy Rain’
‘Devil’s Bite’
‘Death Ride’
‘King Of Mean’
‘Time Keeper’
‘Never Cross My Way’
‘Take My Medicine’
‘Shadows Come Alive’ (bonus track)
‘Stay True Stay You’
‘When Love Becomes A Lie’
‘Book Of Faith’
Japanese Version:
‘Steelhammer’
‘A Cry Of A Nation’
‘Metal Machine’
‘Basta Ya’
‘Heavy Rain’
‘Devil’s Bite’
‘Death Ride’
‘King Of Mean’
‘Time Keeper’
‘Never Cross My Way’
‘Take My Medicine’
‘Stay True Stay You’
‘When Love Becomes A Lie’
‘Book Of Faith’
‘Dust And Rust’ (bonus track)
A new audio preview can be heard below:
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