U.D.O. – Mission No. X

So all, are you ready for some doggy-style Heavy Metal? For those of you barking a raunchy “hell, yeah!” you are hereby introduced to the new U.D.O.-album, entitled Mission No. X. Mysterious, right?

After releasing such 90s Heavy Metal classics as Man and Machine, and especially 2004’s enormous Thunderball, the expectations for this album are high… maybe too high. There’s no way of denying that this is the barkster’s poorest release in several years, maybe so far back as 1991’s Time Bomb.

The sound – both in terms of playing and production – is basically identical to the last four or five albums, and the album basically offers everything you’d expect it to offer. So why all this whining? All in all, the quality of an album comes down to the quality of the songs, and although the album features several smashers that will ravage Europe’s Metal Clubs for years to come, the overall level of songwriting isn’t good enough this time around.

The opening title track is awesome – a true riffer with awesome punch and a great chorus – and completely lives up to the aforementioned expectations. “24/7” also holds the flag of headbanging high and one can basically smell the rabies when the silver-haired one growls his way through the rather simple but very … err … charming lyrics.

After such a thundering start, “Mean Streets” comes out as a rather double-edged sword. The intro riff and verse part is downright lame – boring and way too modern sounding for both the band and Udo’s voice – but then the track grows when the bridge enters and the chorus is great indeed, with some very good guitar going on from Mr.’s Kaufmann and Gianola.

After these three the main negative aspect with this album hits you in the face like a wet dog thrown out the window after it hid in your grandma’s attic to dry up after playing in the pond where it’s really not allowed to go at all. The fact that, except for the ballads, both “Eye of the Eagle” and “Cry Soldier Cry” are quite good – very little of the music between the opening trio and the closing “Mad for Crazy” (what a title!) really fastens to the brain, the big hooks and attention capturing melodies aren’t really there. It’s not that the songs are bad, but just not up to Udo’s usual standards. But still, every self-respecting Metalhead should buy the album – just consider it a donation to Dog’s Trust…