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U.D.O. > Animal House > Reviews > Metal_Jaw
U.D.O. - Animal House

The First Day of The Rest of Udo's Life. - 83%

Metal_Jaw, April 3rd, 2013

I suppose there isn't much that can be said about Udo Dirkschneider that hasn't been said so many times already. Yes sir, he's one of the most reliable figures in all of heavy metal, and his near 50 year commitment to genre is steadfast and admirable. "Animal House" is the first in Udo's long, long line of straightforward solo albums after the guy up and left from the legendary Accept, who were doing their own thing with singer David Reece at the time. But THAT is another story for another day! Today, we're madmen, going crazy, living in an animal house!

First let's get Udo himself outta the way. Well, he as cool as he was in Accept. He shows off his range nicely, from his trademark nasally snarls and howls to his interesting, more clean vocals. Everyone else is, well, just adequate. The guitar duo of Peter Szigeti and Mathias Dieth are energetic and workmanlike, but nothing to note of; don't expect any cameos from Wolf Hoffman-type godliness here. Frank Rittel's bass is largely nonexistent and adds little to the sound, even in the few moments on which his work becomes audible. Thomas Franke rounds things out on the drums, giving, like the guitarists, a solid and energetic performance, if not pretty typical.

The songs, as some may know, were written by the then current members of Accept as a nice sort of good will farewell to Udo as he went out on his own. As such it does often have a sound very much in the vein of classic Accept, albeit maybe at a tad more rudimentary in execution compared to their own stuff. We start off with the interesting title track, which initiates with a nifty, moody intro bit before going straight into being a solid, up-tempo pounder with a pretty fun chorus. The more fearsome and calculating "Go Back To Hell" follows, with a killer main riff and fiery solo; a personal favorite of this album. The dirty, downbeat cruising of the fan favorite "They Want War" is next; pretty good riffs here, with another very memorable chorus, though the odd children's chorus backing vocals (yeah, seriously) is pretty damn off-putting. Some other solid numbers abound, such as the wicked speed metaller "Coming Home" and some mid-paced pounding found with the cheesy yet dark and heavy "Hot Tonight" and the catchy, blazing ass-kicking of "Lay Down The Law". But like any metal album, some tracks don't really click. "We Want It Loud" is rather boring as far as speed metal goes, while a dull attempt at a ballad is made with "In The Darkness", and the bizarrely stripped down anthem "Run For Cover" ends the album; I am a sucker for the chorus though!

Overall, it ain't bad. Nothing special, but not bad either. Some odd choices and a few boring tracks do make the album sigh-worthy at times, but most of the songs work pretty good. The band also performs vigorously if not especially vividly, though Udo stills shines above them all. A good start, but Udo and U.D.O. would go on for many more years to come and release a number of far superior albums to this one. It's only just begun...