U.D.O. are a German heavy metal band from Solingen. Formed in 1987 by eponymous vocalist Udo Dirkschneider following his departure from Accept, the group originally included guitarists Mathias Dieth and Peter Szigeti, bassist Frank Rittel and drummer Thomas Franke.[1] The band released their debut album Animal House before the end of the year, after which Szigeti, Rittel and Franke were replaced by Andy Susemihl, Thomas Smuszynski (after a brief tenure for former Accept bassist Dieter Rubach)[2] and future Accept drummer Stefan Schwarzmann, respectively.[1] Wolla Böhm replaced Susemihl for 1990's Faceless World,[1] although by the time of the next album Timebomb, U.D.O. were a four-piece.[3] In 1992, after touring in promotion of Timebomb, U.D.O. disbanded as Dirkschneider returned to the reformed Accept.[1]
Dirkschneider reformed U.D.O. in 1996 with Dieth and Schwarzmann, plus former Accept drummer Stefan Kaufmann on guitar and Michael Voss on bass, to record "Metal Gods" for A Tribute to Judas Priest: Legends of Metal.[1] Dieth and Voss were soon replaced by Bullet members Jürgen Graf and Fitty Wienhold, respectively, for the band's next album Solid.[1] Schwarzmann left after the release of No Limits.[4] Graf also left around the same time, with Igor Gianola taking his place in time for the recording of Holy.[5] Drums on the album were credited to "Guess Who", but were likely programmed by Kaufmann who did the same on earlier albums.[4]
Schwarzmann's replacement was Lorenzo Milani, who joined U.D.O. in November 1999.[6] Milani remained until January 2005, when he left the band for "personal reasons" and was replaced by Francesco Jovino, who had earlier filled in for the regular drummer during a tour the previous autumn.[7] This lineup remained stable for over seven years, before Kaufmann left in September 2012 for "health reasons".[8] He was replaced the following January by Andrey Smirnov,[9] just days before Gianola was also replaced by Kasperi Heikkinen.[10] Jovino left for "personal reasons" in December 2014,[11] with Dirkschneider's son Sven taking his place the following February.[12] Heikkinen remained until February 2017 before leaving, also citing "personal reasons" for his departure from both U.D.O. and related band Dirkschneider.[13]
Bill Hudson took over from Heikkinen in March 2017,[14] but by the following April had left due to musical differences.[15] The band were temporarily rejoined by Kaufmann for a string of summer festival appearances.[16] Shortly after the release of Steelfactory, long-time bassist Fitty Wienhold announced his departure from U.D.O., but assured fans that he would continue to offer his support in the form of songwriting if requested.[17] The following month, the band announced the additions of guitarist Dee Dammers in place of Hudson, and bassist Tilen Hudrap in place of Wienhold.[18] In September 2022 Hudrap was replaced by former Accept bassist Peter Baltes, first on a temporary bassist until April 2023 when Baltes officially replaced him.[19]
Members
editCurrent
edit| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Udo Dirkschneider |
|
vocals | all releases | |
| Andrey Smirnov | 2013–present |
|
all releases from Steelhammer (2013) onwards | |
| Sven Dirkschneider | 2015–present |
|
all releases from Steelfactory (2018) onwards | |
| Dee Dammers | 2018–present |
|
| |
| Peter Baltes | 2023–present |
|
Touchdown (2023) |
Former
edit| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathias Dieth |
|
|
| |
| Thomas Franke | 1987–1988 | drums | Animal House (1987) | |
| Peter Szigeti | guitars | |||
| Frank Rittel | bass | |||
| Stefan Schwarzmann |
|
drums | all releases from Mean Machine (1989) to No Limits (1998) | |
| Andy Susemihl |
|
guitars | Mean Machine (1989) | |
| Dieter Rubach | 1988 | bass | none | |
| Thomas Smuszynski | 1988–1992 |
| ||
| Wolla Böhm | 1989–1990 | guitars | Faceless World (1990) | |
| Frank Fricke | 1991–1992 | none | ||
| Stefan Kaufmann | 1996–2012 (touring 2018) |
|
all releases from "Metal Gods" (1996) to Live in Sofia (2012) | |
| Michael Voss | 1996 |
|
"Metal Gods" (1996) | |
| Fitty Wienhold | 1996–2018 | all releases from Solid (1997) to Steelfactory (2018) | ||
| Jürgen Graf | 1996–1998 |
|
| |
| Igor Gianola | 1998–2013 | all releases from Holy (1999) to Live in Sofia (2012) | ||
| Lorenzo Milani | 1999–2005 | drums | all releases from Live from Russia (2001) to Thunderball (2004) | |
| Francesco Jovino | 2005–2014 (touring 2004) |
all releases from Mission No. X (2005) to Navy Metal Night (2015) | ||
| Kasperi Heikkinen | 2013–2017 | guitars | all releases from Steelhammer (2013) to Navy Metal Night (2015) | |
| Bill Hudson | 2017–2018 | none | ||
| Tilen Hudrap | 2018–2022 |
|
Game Over (2021) |
Touring
edit| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winfred Clifton | 1999 | keyboards | none | |
| Marcus Bielenberg | 2007 (substitute) | bass | none – Bielenberg substituted for Fitty Wienhold, who was unable to perform due to "private reasons"[20] | |
| Ulli Köllner | 2013–2015 | keyboards | Steelhammer: Live from Moscow (2014) | |
| Harrison Young | 2015–2018 | none |
Timeline
edit
Lineups
edit| Period | Members | Releases |
|---|---|---|
| 1987–1988 |
|
|
| 1988 |
|
none |
| 1988–1989 |
|
|
| 1989–1990 |
|
|
| 1990–1991 |
|
|
| 1991–1992 |
|
none |
| Band inactive 1992–1996 | ||
| 1996 |
|
|
| 1996–1998 |
|
|
| 1998–1999 |
|
|
| November 1999 – January 2005 |
|
|
| January 2005 – September 2012 |
|
|
| January 2013 |
|
none |
| January 2013 – December 2014 |
|
|
| February 2015 – February 2017 |
|
none |
| March 2017 – April 2018 |
| |
| April – September 2018 |
|
|
| October 2018 – December 2022 |
|
|
| April 2023 – present |
|
|
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Ankeny, Jason. "U.D.O.: Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ Rubach, Dieter. "Biography". Dieter Rubach's Concertpower. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ "Timebomb - U.D.O.: Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ a b "Stefan Schwarzmann of Helloween Interview". Metal-Rules.com. 2004. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ "Holy - U.D.O.: Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ "November 14–20: This Week In..." Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. 14 November 2004. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ "U.D.O. Announce New Drummer". Blabbermouth.net. 8 January 2005. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ "Guitarist Stefan Kaufmann Quits U.D.O." Blabbermouth.net. 12 September 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ "U.D.O. Announces New Guitarist". Blabbermouth.net. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ "U.D.O. Parts Ways With Guitarist, Announces Replacement". Blabbermouth.net. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ "U.D.O. Parts Ways With Drummer Francesco Jovino". Blabbermouth.net. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ "U.D.O. Dirkschneider's Son Sven Joins U.D.O. As Band's Drummer". Blabbermouth.net. 8 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ "Guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen Quits U.D.O. And Dirkschneider". Blabbermouth.net. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ "U.D.O. And Dirkschneider Joined By Guitarist Bill Hudson". Blabbermouth.net. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ "Guitarist Bill Hudson Exits U.D.O. And Dirkschneider After Only A Year". Blabbermouth.net. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ "U.D.O. Rejoined By Guitarist Stefan Kaufmann For Summer Festival Appearances". Blabbermouth.net. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ "Bassist Fitty Wienhold Exits U.D.O. After 22 Years". Blabbermouth.net. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ "U.D.O. Announces New Guitarist And Bassist". Blabbermouth.net. 6 October 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ "Ex-ACCEPT Bassist PETER BALTES Officially Joins UDO DIRKSCHNEIDER's U.D.O. And DIRKSCHNEIDER". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. 2023-04-13. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ "U.D.O. Recruits Temporary Bassist". Blabbermouth.net. 4 August 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2019.