U.D.O. - Dominator

January 8, 2010

Reviewer: The Stream

Mr. Udo Dirkschneider, the troll-like icon of 80's European metal, has recently released Dominator with his solo band, aptly dubbed U.D.O. (although no one is quite sure what the acronym stands for). Dominator continues the trend of album titles that end in “-or”, which U.D.O. began with Mastercutor in 2007 and continued with the DVD Mastercutor Alive in 2008. Dominator's overall sound is very nostalgic and similar to Udo's work with Accept. Two glaring differences are the fact that Udo did not utilize his higher-octave vocals as often as he has in years past on this release, as well as the fact that the guitar solos were not as complex as those found on past U.D.O. releases.

The album opens up with the relatively strong "The Bogeyman," a mid-tempo track that showcases Udo's distinctive vocal style and Stefan Kaufmann's production skills. On the topic of Stefan Kaufmann's production, it is definitely worth noting that Kaufmann, who used to drum for Accept, enjoys mixing the cymbals above all other instruments. This is consistent throughout Dominator and is somewhat irritating at times.

The band's choice to release "Black and White" as a single was a bit curious, as it is not the strongest track on the album, in the humble opinion of this insignificant reviewer. Regardless, the music video was pretty metal. It featured the legendary Udo, scantily clad women, and blood.  You should check it out if you have four minutes of free time and want to laugh. "Infected" was a great choice for a single. This track is shorter than most of the tracks on the album at under four minutes, and it has a decent guitar solo break. I hope this song makes U.D.O.'s setlists, as it would probably be a lot of fun to hear/see live. The Mastercutor Live DVD reminded us that Udo still has a great stage presence, regardless of his height and age.

Dominator's balance between fast songs like "Infected" and "Speed Demon" and slower songs like metal anthem "Heavy Metal Heaven" and ballads "Stillness of Time" and "Whispers in the Dark" is not equal. Udo's uniquely strident vocal style is not well-suited for "Stillness" and "Whispers". I could see a vocalist like Tony Martin or, dare I say, David Reece (Udo's replacement vocalist for Accept) making these ballads more enjoyable. This has been an alarming trend; the presence of slow songs on U.D.O. albums has been slowly increasing since 2005's Misson No. X.

There were two bonus tracks, "Pleasure in the Darkroom" and "Bleeding Heart," which were not included on the US Release of Dominator. Both of these exclusive bonus tracks are enjoyable and definitely worth checking out if you can get your hands on a limited edition Digipack or the Japanese import version of Dominator.

Dominator is a mediocre release from a living legend of heavy metal. Udo Dirkschneider can still make good music. Several tracks prove this statement. Unfortunately the majority of the tracks on the album are lackluster and rather weak. I'm confident that eventually U.D.O. will come around. If Motörhead is still making albums we can definitely expect more U.D.O. material down the road!

Release Date: October 6th, 2009
Label: AFM Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  The Bogeyman
2.  Dominator
3.  Black And White
4.  Infected
5.  Heavy Metal Heaven
6.  Doom Ride
7.  Stillness Of Time
8.  Devil's Rendezvous
9.  Bleeding Heart
10.  Pleasure In The Darkroom
11.  Speed Demon
12.  Whispers In The Dark

Total playing time: 49:08

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