Touchdown by U.D.O
For the first time I remember we didn’t have any plan what we wanted to call this album, what kind of title we want to give the album. Then we were thinking, we’re at the airport at a sports bar, and American football was going on. Then always came the word, ‘Touchdown, touchdown,’ and then we say, ‘Yeah, touchdown. This is the right word for the album.’ OK, we are not huge American football fans, you know, but also touchdown means we have landed. I think we have landed with this album and make a touchdown with this album, so the whole marketing with the cover is like a football in metal. We were wearing American football dress, and they said, ‘OK, we can use that all.‘
Also, on the other hand, American football now is getting more and more popular in Europe. It’s more and more on TV. I was watching that already two or three years ago. I like the sport, and it fits together with the music we’re doing. So that’s the story why we call this album Touchdown.”
Heavy metal quintet U.D.O. — fronted by legendary singer Udo Dirkschneider and officially completed by former Accept bassist Peter Baltes in April — released their new studio album, Touchdown, on August 25th via Atomic Fire Records. The band have experienced an almost meteoric rise within the last few years. With the arrival of Udo’s son Sven Dirkschneider to the band, U.D.O. has turned into a family business, and since the two guitarists Andrey Smirnov and Fabian “Dee” Dammers have joined as well, it has clearly become rock band spanning over two generations.
Joining Dirkschneider and Smirnov in U.D.O. are Fabian Dee Dammers on guitar, former Accept bassist Peter Baltes, and Dirkschneider’s son, Sven Dirkschneider, on drums. Together they came into the studio — after many delays — and produced a banging album of 13 anthemic metal songs, including the tunes “Isolation Man,” “The Flood” and “The Double Dealer’s Club.” There’s also a song called “Touchdown,” which ultimately the band used for the album’s title.
Tracklist
| 1. | Isolation Man | 4:51 |
| 2. | The Flood | 4:04 |
| 3. | The Double Dealer's Club | 3:34 |
| 4. | Fight For The Right | 4:47 |
| 5. | Forever Free | 4:24 |
| 6. | Punchline | 4:07 |
| 7. | Sad Man's Show | 3:50 |
| 8. | The Betrayer | 4:04 |
| 9. | Heroes Of Freedom | 3:44 |
| 10. | Better Start To Run | 4:17 |
| 11. | The Battle Understood | 4:06 |
| 12. | Living Hell | 4:04 |
| 13. | Touchdown | 4:06 |
Credits
Udo Dirkschneider
vocals
Андрей Смирнов [Andrey Smirnov]
guitar
Sven Dirkschneider
drums
Dee Dammers
guitar
Peter Baltes
bass
Martin Häusler
cover art
Martin Pfeiffer
producer, mixing
Stefan Kaufmann
recording engineer, mastering
