Timebomb

Yeah, it’s hard to tell what the status of the old school veterans was in 1991… were they still the kings of the scene trying to quench the rebellions stirred by the aggro/groovy fractions… or were they already diminished to underground terrorists, trying to restore their domination with angry, speedy outbursts?

I prefer to think of them in former terms, especially after this piece of metal grandeur titled “Painkiller” detonated the foundations that started getting erected by albums like Exhorder’s “Slaughter in the Vatican” and Pantera’s “Cowboys from Hell”… not so fast, groove lads! Stay away some more, the scene is not yours yet for the taking… absolutely, and as a seismic aftermath from Judas’ seminal recording rowdy retro power/speed metal opuses started popping-up in quick succession, both from encouraged old dogs (Running Wild, Gamma Ray, Metal Church, etc.) and over-enthusiastic rookies (Primal Fear, Iron Saviour, Helicon, Brainstorm, etc.), most of those residing in Germany.

But of course they would be there; after all, they need a leader to unite them. And can there ever be a better person for this position than Udo Dirkschneider? I‘ll leave this rhetorical question unanswered. However, does the man still have it in him? This “Faceless World” that he came up with a year prior didn’t sound boisterous enough… a ballads/semi-ballads-only compilation would be a more or less fitting sequel to it… and this may have been an option if it wasn’t for the “Painkiller”, a most lofty example which showed how the old school advocates could re-invent themselves with vigour to spare.

Under the circumstances, Udo didn’t have to think twice as his colleague Rob Halford had shown only too well which the road to salvation was, and boom… this “Timebomb” here was thrown. It mirrors the Judas album pretty faithfully all along, with the rousing hyper-active opener “Metal Eater” eating fire and steel, transferring some of its fierce character to “Thunderforce” and the near-boiling “Burning Heat”. The hard-rockin’ “Back in Pain” is the obligatory respite, the analogue to the ballad-ish “Touch of Evil”, but run for cover on the title-track and “Powersquad”, intense speedsters that eat the meek rock-ish “Kick in the Face” alive, with “Soldiers of Darkness” pouring more fire into the furnace with its restless belligerent riffage, but doing little to stop the sing-along catchiness of “Metal Maniac Master Mind”, Udo not willing to break his penchant for finishing his works in a more anthemic, arguably more memorable manner.

Well, the Painkiller shouldn’t feel dissatisfied with this opus, only that here he’s called “Metal Eater”, his “Hell Patrol” becomes “Powersquad”, the “Metal Meltdown” he instigated is presented as “Burning Heat”, and the “Leather Rebel(s)” have been turned to “Soldiers of Darkness”… Udo has by all means done well, but as is the case with every prototype, this effort can be safely sheltered in the shadow of the original, with no particular aspirations in outgrowing it. It’s way more boisterous than the preceding saga although in terms of a memorable song-writing it doesn’t quite reach the first two. The man has betted on speed and intensity and has gotten the message through: no surrender to the numetal vogues, we’ll fight the new order with anything we have, even if we have to shed our old skin for a more aggressive, speed metal one…

alas, like in the case of Judas Priest, this fiery endeavour was left without a sequel, only for the exactly opposite reason: the Brits couldn’t do it cause Halford left whereas the Udo team failed to come up with one due to the mainman’s reuniting with his old comrades from Accept. Whatever you can do to fight the growing groovy/post-thrashy lethargy, and in this particular case this reformation stint worked to some extent, Udo spearheading a classic metal resurrection crusade which stretched to five years, two fairly adequate and one less convincing modern-ish outing. Not bad having in mind the hostile environment, and even better when Udo summoned back the team here for a solid steady string of old school pageants, the most recent one being less than two months old… there’s no rest for the devoted metal troubadour… especially when his shady 90’s underground status has long since been replaced with a well-deserved royal one.

I am in a unique position among most U.D.O. fans. As a fan of the earlier Accept output, I was much more interested in tracking down the U.D.O. albums that bore the strongest resemblance to the sound showcased by Accept throughout their storied - if all-too-brief - Heavy Metal career. As such, I tracked down 'Animal House' first,as it was actually written by Accept, then 'Mission No. X' and other such albums that have that classic, catchy, groove-laden Accept songwriting approach at the forefront.

Then, somewhere in the last year, I finally picked up the one album that every U.D.O. fan had been recommending that I purchase - Timebomb. I knew that no matter what, U.D.O.'s vocals and musical sensibilities would be present, so the album couldn't possibly be a dud. In retrospect, the fact that I even momentarily entertained the possibility of Timebomb - one of Heavy Metal's best-kept secret classics - being a dud is more than slightly comical.

Timebomb is an opus.

From beginning to end, it is a relentless assault of Speed Metal-infused Classic-style HEAVY Metal, and not one song isn't worth multiple spins. Even the intros and the brief guitar solo that leads into 'Burning Heat' at the halfway point warrant repeated listenings. ANYONE who can respect the sound of Judas Priest's 'Painkiller' can latch onto U.D.O.'s sound on Timebomb immediately. Given that this record was released a year after the J.P. album in question, and given that Udo Dirkschneider was not shy about publicly declaring his love for the album in the early 90's, it should come as no surprise that the album flows in much the same manner, and some of the songs bear a more than passing resemblance to much of the material on 'Painkiller'.

But the link between the two albums is more of a spiritual one, rather than an overt ripping off of Priest. Timebomb has strengths that Painkiller didn't have. No ballads, for one. Although 'Touch of Evil' is far from a stagnant track, U.D.O. doesn't slow down their murderous Metal rampage for nearly long enough to even consider a ballad like the song in question. I imagine that after the slow, catchy, poppy approach of 'Faceless World', Udo and company had their fill of this type of saccharine buffoonery, and arrived ultimately at a far more brutal style.

The production quality - particularly on the remastered, digipak version - is top notch. I could have done with perhaps a bit more low end, but the vocals cut through it all like a knife, and the overall production never seems too treble-drenched for its own good. Producer and drummer Stefan Kaufmann really outdid himself on this one, and whomever was turning the knobs did an absolute bang-up job.

Standout tracks? This album has several. But choosing one is like choosing a favorite child. It's that good.

Buy it immediately and bang your head until your brain haemmorrhages.

Man, this is a great disc.

First of all, this album is HEAVY. You won't find any silly ballads or covers here. There is a short guitar solo, but it does work where it's placed on the album. The intro might be a little silly, but I think it works also. Those are really the only two tracks that are questionable, but they are completely overshadowed by the rest of the CD.

The highlight of the disc for me is Back in Pain. It has a pretty groovy main riff which shifts into some hardcore ass kicking, melding the best elements of Accept and the heaviness of U.D.O. There are also some great leads in this song, almost reminiscient of Jet Moto or Megaman X, and that's a good thing. It's a short song, but thoroughly splits your head open without meandering and wasting time.

Then it leads into the title track, another uncompromising behemoth. See above. That description also applies to much of the album.

Udo's vocals are in top form here, as he shrieks and squeals his way through the album with that oh so unique delivery that has annihilated for over 25 years.

This album is metal. By metal I mean Metal Church "Start the Fire" and Judas Priest "One Shot at Glory" metal. If given an opportunity to pick this up, I highly recommend it.