{"id":24710,"date":"2015-01-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-01-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=24710"},"modified":"2015-03-05T21:09:35","modified_gmt":"2015-03-05T21:09:35","slug":"album-review-udo-decadent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-udo-decadent\/","title":{"rendered":"U.D.O. – Decadent (2015) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.D.O.
Decadent<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nAFM (2015)<\/span>
Rating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Decadent<\/em> is the 15th studio album from German heavy metal legends U.D.O. and continues the sizzling streak of the band, coming hot on the heels of 2013\u2019s excellent Steelhammer<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

This new record offers more of the same, and for a band like U.D.O. that\u2019s not a problem at all \u2013 Udo Dirkschneider and his band of dogs just keeps on ploughing on offering up timeless melodic metal featuring robust percussive slams, searing hot solos of majesty and a bass that rumbles like an earthquake.<\/p>\n

This time round we get 12 songs delivered with such a clinical passion that after one has sat through a U.D.O. album, it\u2019s so difficult to slap on anything else. These guys have marched into the modern age like a bulldozer; a metallic beast happy to strap on extra armour of sheen, but always able to drag its victims back to the times when metal was a truly formidable animal. How U.D.O. has bridged the gap between eras is commendable, and this is showcased on this latest offering by way of some truly fantastic layers of emotion.<\/p>\n

As one would expect from a U.D.O. platter, the opener \u2013 \u2018Speeder\u2019 \u2013 like so many before it, is a leviathan of thrashing menace featuring that customary Dirkschneider spit amidst a sea of battering bass from Fitty Wienhold and that lethal twin guitar rampage from Kasperi Heikkinen and Andrey Smirnov.<\/p>\n

\u2018Speeder\u2019 is just a classy, no frills nodding mammoth featuring nice melodic segments, but it\u2019s the title track which really highlights the band\u2019s expertise and masterful awareness of how a contemporary metal song should sound. As soon as the guitars fizz and the drum begins its brooding march, we\u2019re led through a suspenseful barrage of reflection as Udo Dirkschneider begins to reflect on the major issues affecting the world. \u201cThe world is out of hand\u201d<\/em> he booms, and he\u2019s right as the rhythm section pummels and pulverises with mid-paced aplomb.<\/p>\n

Where this album seems to better the previous opus is with the injection of some truly engaging choruses; blazing with melody but always maintaining that crucial element of weight. The title track marries both, hinting at pensive industrialisation as the bass bubbles menacingly in tandem with Dirkschneider\u2019s mocking snarls, and yet the album\u2019s highest points are yet to come.<\/p>\n

\u2018House Of Fake\u2019 is a churning juggernaut of anguish, showing Exodus et al how to really thrash with ominous nuances; the vocal warbles weaving their way through the thick wall of sound as the leads meander with precision. \u2018Pain\u2019 comes in at the other end of the scale; big on melody, it marches with a great metallic heaving harmony and injects our brain with one of the year\u2019s catchiest choruses as Dirkscneider barks, \u201cHow much pain can we take, No more for God\u2019s sake, It\u2019s enough for everyone\u201d<\/em>. The track is both bruising and anthemic, but at the lighter end of Udo Dirkschneider\u2019s metallic scale.<\/p>\n

For booming thunder we still have the charge of \u2018Rebels Of The Night\u2019 and the galloping \u2018Under Your Skin\u2019, but one cannot escape the melodious magic of \u2018Secrets In Paradise\u2019 and the refreshing majesty of closer \u2018Words In Flame\u2019.<\/p>\n

Decadent<\/em> is one of U.D.O.\u2019s most intriguing and diverse albums; an experience boosted by the revitalisation suggested on Steelhammer<\/em>, which for me broke away from the slightly repetitive nature of Dominator<\/em> (2009) and Rev-Raptor<\/em> (2011). The boys are back in their old routine of cracking heads, but this time there\u2019s an element of more subtle sadism as they crank up the speakers and tear off the years. In fact, Udo Dirkschneider and company have never sounded so refreshed.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.D.O.Decadent AFM (2015)Rating: 9\/10 Decadent is the 15th studio album from German heavy metal legends U.D.O. and continues the sizzling streak of the band, coming hot on the heels of 2013\u2019s excellent Steelhammer. This new record offers more of the same, and for a band like U.D.O. that\u2019s not a problem at all \u2013 Udo […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-u-d-o"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24710"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24847,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24710\/revisions\/24847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}