U.D.O.
Decadent

It is certainly impressive to discover that an idol of classic heavy metal, of pure Teutonic stamp, like Udo Dirkschneider at almost 64 years old, can still put out noteworthy albums. The career of his post-Accept band, the U.D.O., to be clear, has never had major flaws; it has always been focused on what I said earlier, pure and simple heavy metal. Never had major experiments, nor employed very famous musicians, but in all this, it has been, and still is, one of the few historical heavy metal bands to produce hellishly beautiful albums. Yes, because this new "Decadent" couldn't be defined better. From the intro "Speeder," which lets us know how things stand, to the powerful "House of Fake," to the strange "Mistery," which in its almost psychedelic cadence, manages to earn the title of one of the best tracks of the album. Beautiful "Pain," a sort of semi-ballad, but with which Udo, and especially his voice which at 64 is perfectly identical to when he was 30, manages to make it seem even more engaging. The headbanging resumes with "Breathless," a compelling song, and with "Words in Flame" a breath of ballad air that I will be honest, moved me.

Udo is this, a little malicious dwarf who surely made a pact with the devil to still be able to churn out albums like this at his age. Every metalhead who wants to define themselves as such, or even just a simple lover of metal (I hate the term metalhead, always hated labels) should have Udo Dirkschneider in their cultural baggage, a small man with a voice that may not appeal at first impact, but will eventually win you over.