In his 70’s, Udo Dirkschneider has nothing to prove to anybody. The man is a genuine, heavy metal living legend; not just responsible for a run of some of the best heavy metal albums ever with Accept in the early 80’s, but also with a voice which has become so iconic and influential within the genre and this year has Dirkschneider releasing his latest album ‘My Way’.
At this point in his career, this is Dirkschneider having some real fun, delivering a bunch of rock and metal covers from the past as the veteran vocalist shows that even now, he can deliver performances that are the envy of musicians three quarters of his age. Tracks such as ‘Man on the Silver Mountain’ and ‘He’s a Woman, She’s a Man’ are traded off against the likes of ‘Paint it Black’ and ‘Hell Raiser’ and all delivered well through fantastic musicianship and Dirkscheider’s trademark shrill bark. However, ‘My Way’ is what it is, it is a covers album and whilst the tracks are delivered fantastically and definitely worth a listen; is it really worth parting with the cash for a physical copy? Well, that’s entirely up to how flush you are, but most people will probably listen once and that’ll be enough.
This is Udo Dirkscheider having a hell of a lot of fun and delivering some great versions of these days. Just don’t expect any more than that with an appeal to only really massive hardcore Dirkscheider, U.D.O. and Accept fans.
