Recently I got surprised by the greatness of Accept, and today it is Udo’s turn to show the balls.

All For Metal do a very effective entry. Almost right after the intro starts, they rush on stage - all dressed up like Mad Max characters with the bassist holding a censer. The dudes have two vocalists and they really do stand out from most of the bands I have seen so far. For the first band, the sound is too good to be true. Very prominent drums (with an extra low tuned snare), backtrack and big bass. A lot of effects on vocals for the high-pitch vocalist and a 4-meter tall low pitch vocalist that makes every local look like a tiny midget. Is the dude an MMA fighter?

As much as I am skeptical of their genre, it works exceptionally well, and it is interesting to watch. What a show!!! Two girls on guitars are very skilled too. At some point of the show a giant vocalist just takes one of the guitar players in the air and puts her on a central stand to play a solo. The bassist runs into the audience, and at some point delivers a bass solo with the hymn of Norway and a piece from For Whom The Bell Tolls.

When I was home, I went to metal-archives to check info about the band.. I see that the reviews do not do them any justice. They are, indeed, very spectacular live, and it is a pure class!

Then came the Crownshift. I can instantly hear it without even looking at the stage, that Crownshift is a combination of Children of Bodom, Finntroll and Nightwish. Daniel Freyberg is especially prolific with the solos. Crownshift use the same drum kit (with a much higher tuned snare), and would be a great fit for anyone who is into the above mentioned bands, but also In Flames and Dark Tranquility.

Crownshift strikes a balance between heavy and mellow sounds. It's their first show in Oslo, but sadly, much of the audience is tuned into a different era.

It definitely is the evening of very cool stage entries. The Dirkschneider band is rushing on stage after a funny intro that resembles some retro German tunes. Musicians are up and then comes Udo himself. For some reason, the bassist leaves the stage soon, hiding in the right corner. Udo is wearing gloves - I would have never bet that Michael Jackson is his inspiration, but here we go.

Udo is definitely not smaller than Accept - the setting is big. And what I suddenly enjoy is a fantastic guitar tune. It is extremely dry and gnarly, brutal and roaring - making the 40-years-old stuff sound extra sexy. I mean, I could never be able to handle Accept’s old recordings, - they are just terrible. But hearing this live is rocking my body. On the second song Living for Tonite I understand that I cannot distinguish the bass and during the song it suddenly appears with the bassist coming onstage from the right. Some tech issues.

Coming back to the sound. It gives so much more justice to these songs from the past. It is modern but still keeping the spirit of the 80th, just enhanced.


Udo’s voice is placed very properly in the mix, not standing out too much, and the drums are crushing. It is a wonderful mix, I sincerely do not know if I have heard sexier guitar tones, like, ever (and no, I am not kidding now). Both Fabian Dee Dammers and Andrey Smirnoff are guitarists that you need to see live - they make even simple riffs sound interesting. And all the band engages with the audience.

With each song the audience gets more and more engaged and it peaks on Metal Heart with a very long intermezzo by Smirnoff. Then suddenly bassist Peter Baltes takes over the vocal duties on the seventh song Breaking Up Again.

But this is just the beginning, since this tour is dedicated to the forties anniversary of Balls To The Wall, - the whole album is performed.

An encore and the 2-hour set is over, Udo is going strong.