UD: Thank you, ah, that was the record labels idea. They came up with that idea. I don’t know why that number, but I was a little bit frustrated that this EP would be so limited in numbers. The whole idea to put out this EP was to promote the new album a bit more.

PM: Was there a particular reason for this track list choice?

UD: Like I said, I was not too happy to lose two good songs from the Dominator record for this EP (‘Bodyworld’ and ‘Systematic Madness’) so I wanted to make sure that at least there would be something else, something special on the EP. I did say to them that you already have ‘infected’, a remix and a live version, but they wanted more than that the make more value for money. It would not have been so bad if it was 10,000 copies or something like that, but for 2,222 copies to lose two tracks from the album was a shame.

PM: Will there perhaps be a limited album edition released in the future featuring these tracks?

UD: I would like to think so, but that is up to the record label!

PM: The album is due out next week, what has the reaction/feedback been thus far?

UD: It’s been very good so far; the reviews that we have had have been good. Yesterday I did a release party in Stockholm, Sweden and they were spinning the album about 4 times, I looked around the crowd and there was good reaction. You know other interviews that I have done have also been positive and saying that it’s a very good album.

We as a band are also really pleased, I mean I think you can see the whole range of U.D.O. and there is also some different stuff on this album. I think this was a good way to do it. So what can I say, I am very happy!

PM: ‘Dominator’ was again produced, mixed and mastered by Stefan Kaufmann (Guitars), you obviously like working with him on both sides of the studio, how do you think his approach differs from previous producers?

UD: Ha ha, yes I do. Oh you know he has been doing my vocals since 1982, so he knows me very well! We are in a very good situation; Stefan has his own studio so we don’t have to book anything. Also he can record me someday and say to me “today is not a good atmosphere, lets record another day”. So we can then have a glass of wine or something and talk about the recording. It’s a very lucky situation. But on the other hand, I can never be my own producer. I need somebody to tell that this was right, this was wrong, change this, add more range here etc.

PM: What does he bring to your sound?

UD: Honesty, you know he will sometimes say “come on your arsehole this was completely wrong”, which is good for me because he knows I can do things better. So we have had a long time together, so far we have never felt that we have to use a producer or something like that.

PM: The production on the album is both classic metal sounding but with a very modern edge.

UD: We were all going back to our roots, and on the other hand the mix was good. This album was recorded digitally for the first time; Stefan got all-new equipment because the older equipment broke down completely so it was all stripped out and replaced.

PM: Did you do anything different during this recording process to say that of ‘Mastercuter’?

UD: The only thing really different is that we took more time with this album. We started working on this album in June 2008 and we always thought first with the lyrics and the melody. That I feel is the best way to do things, I always have. Once we had done the lyrics, we had a holiday in the summer and then we started rocking again. So then to June this year, we had finished the recording.

PM: Do you write everything yourself on the album, or do the other guys have input?

UD: We usually have the vocal or the melody and work from there. It’s a group thing. Lets just say that not everyone can write songs. But on ‘Dominator’ two songs ‘The Bogeyman’ and ‘Mistress in the Dark’, maybe 60%-70% was written by our bass player (Fitty Wienhold). But it doesn’t matter that people can write or cannot write. When you have all these songs that you want to record, the whole band thing. Igor (Guitars) came up with most of the leads on this album, but then he would also change the arrangement, the vocals and really it’s a group thing.

PM: Who did the artwork, and what was the idea behind its concept?

UD: Hmm, so we had the character ‘Mastercuter’ and then we want to keep that concept and character going. We had the album title, so we wanted this figure to dominate everything. We kept the face the same but we changed the body, more like a terminator figure if you like.

PM: Is there a EU tour planned? Will it include the UK?

UD: Ah well, all I can say is that I have been authorised to say that there will be a UK appearance of U.D.O., I don’t know if that will be one date, a festival, a tour or anything yet, just that we shall be playing the UK. We are also going to play in China for the first time, a European tour, right up till Christmas starting in October, then a few days off and start again in the New Year. We then go to South America after the second leg of the European tour. We then plan to be in the USA and Canada, there are about 35 shows booked. Japan is also calling out for us too! We will be doing some of the very big European Festivals next year and then who knows.

PM: Worldwide “Domination” if you will!

UD: ha, Yes most definitely.

PM: How do you occupy yourself during the touring from city to city?

UD: I normally read, but if we have time I like to explore the cities we are in, I like to go to museums etc. Also, if the sound is good then we don’t sound check and we have more time to explore.

PM: What is the biggest show you have done, either as the U.D.O. band or as ACCEPT?

UD: With ACCEPT it was in 1985 there was something like 140,000 people, and with U.D.O. ‘Wacken’ of course, always about 60,000+ people.

Most people remember this man for his time with that legendary band ACCEPT, having provided the world with some magical classic metal anthems, I was keen to know his thoughts about that band.

PM: Thanks for not reforming with ACCEPT again this year! What was your reason for this? Why the original reunion in 2005? UD: In 2005, we only did songs up to the ‘Russian Roulette’ album. I think for me I did this because I wanted to see if there was any chemistry between us again to maybe go forward and write more albums. I have no problem in saying, there was and is nothing left musically between me and ACCEPT. I mean I still talk to the guys, which is good, but nothing musically. I had a lot of fun, but I felt that it just did not work. The decider for me was one day I played ‘Bang Your Head’ with U.D.O. and the next day ‘Graspop’ with ACCEPT, and then I knew which band to choose. I did these all of these festivals with ACCEPT but in reality I was not looking for a reunion. A lot of people were asking the original line up to play so I did this.

And more recently, I got a call to ask if I was interested, of course I was, but I laid some terms down. Unfortunately they would not meet those terms so I had to say no. Ha, then 2 weeks later they announce a new line up and singer, come on, in 2 weeks, they must have already had a plan B in action. I did not want to just do one album and a tour, I wanted more than that, but that is that. I could not risk losing U.D.O. as I think this is a great band.

PM: At WOA 2005, you received an award for contribution to music or something like that. How did that make you feel? (a great show by the way!), apart from pre-empting your stage entrance!

UD: It was nice to be recognised as doing something in music!

PM: Is there a track you wished you had performed with ACCEPT?

UD: If we changed the middle part, I always wanted to play just once ‘Losing More Than You Ever Had’ from the Balls to the Wall album.

PM: What are your influences musically?

UD: Well I never thought that I would make it on my own, but I guess when I was younger I was listening to Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, The Sweet and Black Sabbath.

PM: What drew you to start singing in the first place?

UD: I first started with keyboards, then I started a little singing and then I found that singing was much better than playing the keyboards. Then it got to the stage when I had to make a decision to do normal work or singing as a profession, so here we are!

PM: If you were not a musician, what do you think you would have done as a day-to-day job?

UD: Ah that is easy; my parents owned a factory in Germany that makes tools. But I really have to say thank you very much to my parents, they were very supportive and checking that I was happy and doing the right thing as parents do, but in a way without that and them I don’t think it would be so easy. Of course, money wise and time wise it was easier than for most. When you work for your parents you tend to take more time than is usual for leisure time.

PM: What would you like to say to your UK fanbase, any special message?

UD: I am really looking forward to coming back to the UK and to play for the UK fans!

That was that, I was really chuffed to have met this legend in the flesh, thanks to Mike Exley for arranging this well planned busy press day. We look forward to the promised UK dates, hopefully everyone up and down the country will get a chance to see this band live, it has been a long time coming!

For more on the band check out http://www.udo-online.de/index.php
http://www.myspace.com/udoonline
http://www.afm-records.de

Interviewed by Paul Maddison

MTUK HOME