- advertisement -

Photo Credit: Martin Hausler

Legendary German Heavy Metal vocalist Udo Dirkschneider is ready to unleash his 19th studio album under his U.D.O. moniker entitled Touchdown. Touchdown marks the first studio album for U.D.O. under the Atomic Fire Records label. The band was with AFM Records for decades.

Also, ex-ACCEPT bassist Peter Baltes has been made an official member of U.D.O. after health issues caused the departure of Tilen Hudrap. Baltes worked previously on their 2021 We Are One album, on Udo's Dirkschneider & The Old Gang Arising EP (2021), and Udo’s solo covers album My Way in 2022.

Touchdown will be released on August 25, 2023. I had the chance to speak with vocalist Udo Dirkschneider about a month before the album's scheduled release.

Highlights include:

Discussion of latest album Touchdown
-Working with younger musicians
-How Peter Baltes became a permanent member
-Stories behind the singles
-Why he left AFM Records for Atomic Fire Records
-How the album got its title
-New songs in the live set
-U.D.O. in the U.S.A.
-US promoters insistence for "Balls To The Wall"
-His thoughts on IRON ALLIES with ACCEPT alumni David Reece and Herman Frank
-And much, much, more

www.udo-online.com