U.D.O.

heavy metal

U.D.O. is a German heavy metal band founded by lead vocalist Udo Dirkschneider in 1987. Following Udo Dirkschneider's departure from Accept in 1987, he formed his own band called U.D.O. He recruited guitarists Mathias Dieth and Peter Szigeti, bassist Frank Rittel and drummer Thomas Franke. They released their debut album titled Animal House on 3 November 1987, which was entirely written by Accept. They would tour with the likes of Guns N' Roses, Lita Ford and Zodiac Mindwarp. Rubach, Rittel and Franke departed the band, and guitarist Andy Susemihl, bassist Thomas Smuzyszki and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann joined. The follow-up album Mean Machine was released on 10 January 1989. Susemihl left the band, with U.D.O. now as a four-piece. The band shifted to a lighter approach with the third album Faceless World, which was released on 25 February 1990, achieving great success; this being their best selling album so far. It was produced by former Accept drummer Stefan Kaufmann. The fourth album Timebomb was released on 3 April 1991. It was a more heavier album than their previous releases. In 1992, Dirkschneider put U.D.O. on hiatus to reunite with Accept. In 1996, Dirkschneider reactivated U.D.O. with a brand new line-up; Stefan Kaufmann, now undertaking guitar duties, with guitarist Jürgen Graf and bassist Fitty Wienhold from Bullet, and Stefan Schwarzmann returning to the band. They took part in the 1997 compilation album A Tribute to Judas Priest: Legends of Metal, in which th...