It came as no surprise when Udo Dirkschneider resurrected his namesake band after an uninspired and ill-fated second go-round with Accept, nor was it surprising that U.D.O.’s first album in 6 years featured an almost entirely new lineup (only Stefan Schwarzmann- who briefly drummed in Accept during its final year with Udo- returned to the band, though Stefan Kaufmann had produced and written much of U.D.O.’s two previous records). But what was surprising was that Solid turned out far better than expected- not only was it one of U.D.O.’s best records, it felt urgent and riled up in a manner that was almost completely missing from those ‘90s Accept reunion albums. Udo the man sounded crankier and far more than cantankerous, and U.D.O. the band sounded the way Accept should have played when they got back together for Objection Overruled. Solid featured everything we loved about peak Dirkschneider: frenzied and strangely panicked aggression, catchy and chugging riffs, pounding and precise drums, and the man frantically screeching missives about kicking ass and apocalyptic scenarios in awkwardly phrased English. “Desperate Balls” had all of this, plus the added hilarity of a title that Udo was probably dead serious about. The tune moved with unrelenting momentum thanks to Schwarzmann’s locked-in timekeeping, while former Accept drummer Kaufmann (apparently recovered from the health issues that kept him from playing with the band) turned out to be a highly capable guitarist and bandleader. Even with its pseudo-electronic pulsing in the background, “Desperate Balls” was no-frills traditional metal that didn’t give a shit about fashion and only wanted to rock out and kick some ass, making it another winning entry in the ever-lovable Udo Dirkschneider’s discography.
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