‘Top 50 Albums Of 2013’ Countdown – #27: UDO – Steelhammer

By Andrew Bansal

Keeping his prolific solo-career going strong and showing no signs of stopping, German heavy metal legend Udo Dirkschneider released the 14th U.D.O. studio album ‘Steelhammer’ earlier this year via AFM Records, a 14-track, hour-long slab of pure old-school heavy metal delivered in a style that’s become somewhat of a trademark of Udo, with his unmistakably distinct singing voice and music that fits in extremely well with it. Even after spanning more than three decades in an illustrious yet underrated career, Udo still has it in him to come up with material as strong as that on Steelhammer, starting off with the title song which is metal at its quintessential best, setting the perfect tone for the rest of the album. Hard-hitting tunes like ‘A Cry For A Nation’, ‘Metal Machine’, ‘Devil’s Bite’ and ‘Death Ride’ decorate the first half of this epic album, and the second half matches up to it with tunes just as solid. The listener gets treated to a healthy dose of Udo’s signature vocal delivery, along with catchy guitar riffs and solos, and a strong rhythm section. Accept may well have moved on and created a successful second-wind for themselves sans Udo Dirkschneider, but with Steelhammer, Udo has proved that he’s well-capable of holding his own. A huge leap forward from the previous album Rev-Reptor, Steelhammer is filled to the brim with metal goodness, and any fan of the genre would be well-served to pick it up. One of the strongest releases in a great year of music. 

Track Listing:
1. Steelhammer
2. A Cry Of A Nation
3. Metal Machine
4. Basta Ya
5. Heavy Rain
6. Devil’s Bite
7. Death Ride
8. King Of Mean
9. Time Keeper
10.Never Cross My Way
11.Take My Medicine
12.Stay True
13.When Love Becomes A Lie
14.Book Of Faith

Duration: 1 hour

Visit UDO on the web:
UDO-online.com
facebook.com/UDOonline
twitter.com/UDOonline
youtube.com/UDOtubeTV

The countdown so far …
#50. Nails – Abandon All Life
#49. American Sharks – Self-Titled
#48. Hatebreed – The Divinity Of Purpose
#47. Helen Money – Arriving Angels
#46. Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats – Mind Control
#45. Ihsahn – Das Seelenbrechen
#44. Church Of Misery – Thy Kingdom Scum
#43. Wolvserpent – Perigaea Antahkarana
#42 . Djinn And Miskatonic – Forever In The Realm
#41. Czar – No One Is Alone If No One Is Alive 
#40. Against The Grain – Surrounded By Snakes
#39. Nekrofilth – Devil’s Breath
#38. Kylesa – Ultraviolet
#37. The Devil’s Blood – III: Tabula Rasa or Death and the Seven Pillars
#36. Kadavar – Abra Kadavar
#35. Purson – The Circle And The Blue Door
#34. Carousel – Jeweler’s Daughter
#33. Kvelertak – Meir
#32. SpiralArms – Freedom
#31. Satan – Life Sentence
#30. Exhumed – Necrocracy
#29. Havok – Unnatural Selection
#28. Mothership – Self-Titled
#27. UDO – Steelhammer 

Check out #26 here.

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