Dirkschneider & The Old Gang - "Babylon"

Udo Dirkschneider comes with a bunch of old friends to prove to us he is made of metal. He may add some nice female vocals, slow down the beat in a few tracks, but the metal heart is still alive and pounding at its best. So for those of you who love the ACCEPT sound of "Metal heart" and the first U.D.O albums, this one is a winner.Twin teutonci nourished metal guitars thanks tocStefan Kaufmann Guitars, Vocals (backing) and Mathias "Don" Dieth Guitars, Vocals (backing) , a rhythm section tighter then J.Lo ass feat Sven Dirkschneider Drums, Vocals (backing)and Peter Baltes Bass, Vocals, Vocals (backing) an a band writing anthemic songs,what more can you ask for? Add to the top of all those  Manuela "Ella" Bibert Vocals, Vocals (backing) who's vocals  gives extra depth and a more  modern metal touch and you have a clear winner.

The variety is almost typical of an 80s metal album, hellraisers like the AC/DC,ACCEPT inspired "Hell breaker", metal anthems i.e "Metal songs", mid tempo caterpillars "Babylon" and the ballad with the female vocals giving the extra mile 'Strangers in paradise", the dark mid tempo "Propaganda", the in your face "The Law of a Madman" and " Batter the Power", lean, mean ,miron fists,, the epic closer "Beyond the End of Time"  along with the icebreaker "Two to tango", the essence of this collaboration, where Udo,female vocals and the old gang relive the past glories in future tense,intense and successful.Sometimes you don't have to change the recipe when it is successful. 

Udo, keeps the best collaborators, he could just add Wolf Hoffman to have an ACCEPT reunion, add a powerhouse in the face of Manuela "Ella" Bibert  on Vocals, keep the twin guitar attack, the anthemic backing vocals and show everyone where bands like SABATON got their first inspiration. A hell of an album, the old men rule.

8.5