CoC : UDO - Man and Machine : Review

UDO - _Man and Machine_
(Breaker/SPV, 2002)
by: Aaron McKay (4 out of 10)

UDO's solo material is mostly tough for me to accept (pardon the pun). This album constitutes an obvious throwback to the long gone glory days with the his former band. UDO (also known as Mr. Udo Dirkschneider) is still as easily recognizable vocally on _Man and Machine_ as RuPaul performing at a taping of the 700 Club. Mostly consisting of horribly unimaginative rhymes put to very predicable metal licks, this disc, needless to say, does little to challenge the listener. This is also about the same effort put into keeping that same listener's attention, by the way. By the same token, UDO has never been a trendsetter, so making the aforementioned comment may be obvious to old fans of _Balls to the Wall_. _MaM_ has a ways to go to be categorized with _Eat the Heat_ -- when Accept employed David Reece in 1989 -- but UDO seems to be blazing a trail in that direction. Without tracks like the deplorably repetitive "Dawn of the Gods", one might almost be able to stomach the ballad with Doro Pesch, "Dancing with an Angel", wishing the entire time it was the toxic waltz instead a vision of Night of the Living Dead on the dance floor. If you can separate the highly cool distinctiveness found within UDO's vocal talents from the drivel spit forth in the unbearable lyrics, the predictability of the songs may very well lull you into acceptance. Man? Machine? Metal? Who knows... If you're into reading the end of a book before tackling the novel itself, this disc may be to your liking, too.

(article published 5/4/2003)