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Too many anthems, but even they are still performed well.-
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| U.D.O.: Rev-Raptor |
Heavy Metal
AFM Records
May 31st, 2009
- Rev=Raptor - 3:48
- Leatherhead - 4:09
- Renegade - 3:29
- I Give as Good as I Get - 4:19
- Dr. Death - 3:46
- Rock'N'Roll Soldiers - 4:16
- Underworld - 4:18
- Pain Man - 3:53
- Fairy Tales of Victory - 4:00
- Motor-Borg - 3:24
- True Born Winners - 3:26
- Days of Hope and Glory - 4:28
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| Review Information |
Release length: 52:29
Review posted on May 25th, 2011
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| | Overall Score: 8/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
Animal House (1987) • Mean Machine (1989) • Faceless World (1990) • Time Bomb (1991) • Solid (1997) • No Limits (1998)
Holy (1999) • Man and Machine (2002) • Thunderball (2004) • Mission No. X (2005) • Mastercutor (2007) • DominaTOR (2009)
Rev-Raptor (2011)
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| EP(s): |
24/7 (2005) • The Wrong Side of Midnight (2007) • Infected (2009) • Leatherhead (2011)
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| Split(s): |
U.D.O. / Mammoth (1989)
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| Single(s): |
They Want War (1988) • Faceless World (1990) • Heart of Gold (1990) • Two Faced Woman (1997) • Independence Day (1997)
Lovemachine (1998) • Dancing With an Angel (2002)
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| Compilation(s): |
Best Of (1999) • Metalized - 20 Years of Metal (2007)
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| Live CD(s): |
Live from Russia (2001) • Nailed to Metal - The Missing Tracks (2003) • Mastercutor Alive (2008) • Best of & Live (2009)
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| DVD(s): |
Nailed to Metal - The Complete History (2003) • Thundervision (2004) • Mastercutor Alive (2008)
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| Review |
Anyone who considers themselves a fan of Heavy Metal has heard of U.D.O. at some point in their career, mostly thanks to the lineage of vocalist Udo Dickscheider and guitarist Stefan Kaufmann having worked with Accept in the past, and eventually forming this project. U.D.O. has issued a number of solid releases since 1987, essentially carrying on where they left off with Accept, and staying true to their old-school Heavy Metal roots with crushing anthems and upbeat fast-paced Heavy Metal assaults, and more. If you don't know who this band is, for their history you must at least respect them, especially since the group is still at it and brings us their thirteenth full-length recording, Rev-Raptor, which shows that even after all this time, the band has yet to lose their Metal edge.
Much of Rev-Raptor is full of classic Heavy Metal material, such as the chugging and powerful "Renegade", which captures U.D.O. at their best. The music is uncompromising and just hammers away at the listener, and shows off the vocal range of Udo himself nicely. The song is as catchy as it is heavy as well, and becomes one of the songs that really stands out on the recording. Of course there's the starting title track "Rev-Raptor" which comes off a bit more like an aggressive anthem-like Heavy Metal track then anything, but still packs the same kind of intense yet catchy edge of "Renegae", leaving the two to be on par with each other as far as the impact the songs make, though the solo on "Renegade" is much stronger thanks to it's build up and more fluid transition into it that sticks with the general vibe of the music.
On top of the more edgier, heavier tracks, the album does have it's fair share of slower, more ballad-like tracks. "I Give as Good as I Get" is one of the examples and, while not the first, it's one of the more enjoyable ones of the group. This track really shows off the clean singing abilit well against the higher pitched rhaspier harmonized vocals that have become an U.D.O. trademark. The track itself has a slightly haunting old-school eighties ballad feel to the music thanks to some of the echo work done on the drums and guitart, but it's very slight, and for the most part does still sound like a modern recording which gives the track a slightly stylish vibe to it that does work a bit in it's favor. But not all the slower tracks are ballads, as "Rock n' Roll Soldiers" is the essential anthem track that has an edge, but it's more of an accessable song that really does take on the more epic-like performance value that shows the love and worship for the style.
Basically, that explains what the album is like. The music varies between those styles mentioned above, and there's no big flaws to the album. The album isn't the most awe-inspiring out there, but the music on Rev-Raptor is just solid, heavy, and well done. There's a decent amount of focus to the slower tracks through the release, and some of those songs are hit or miss. While "I Give as Good as I Get" is a strong track, and "Leatherhead" is a catchy slower old-school track that is good but doesn't really have that much of a bite to it. "I Give as Good as I Get" at least has some more emotion in the music and vocals compared to that track and others like "Underworld", which comes off like "Rock 'n Roll Soldiers", but just isn't the most impressive of the slower tracks. The only other real complaint one could have about these slower songs is that there's so many, and a good number of them just come off like edgier anthems, and it starts to feel a little overdone after a while despite how well executed or catchy the songs are in the first place. Aside the slower songs and varying impacts, you have the heavier chugging "Pain Man" which gets a rocky start thanks to the odd vocal distortion used that seems to be dropped not too long after it appears.
Other then that, the album sounds great, and still has plenty of songs that are well worth checking out. The sheer amount of slower ballads and anthems is a little much, and none of the songs really leave a long lasting impression with the listener, but in the end pretty much every track here is solid with a great performance. Fans of the band's more recent releases will walk into this one knowinge exactly what to expect, and those new to U.D.O. won't be let down by the talent that exists here with the sense that the band doesn't really try that hard here, but still pull off an album of solid material that will often leave the listener headbanging. It's been a while since U.D.O. first tore into the Metal world, and while this may not be their strongest effort, it's still an album fans will embrace and find a lot to come back time and again.
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
AFM Records
via Earsplit PR.
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