Down, set, WATCH! Between summer festival activities (also as Dirkschneider; all dates can be found below!) as well as following first musical glimpse “Forever Free”, iconic German heavy metal group U.D.O. – singer Udo Dirkschneider and his son Sven (drums), a guitar duo consisting of Andrey Smirnov and Fabian Dee Dammers plus bass player Peter Baltes – have returned with a sportive music video for the title track of their forthcoming studio album “Touchdown” which will hit the shelves on August 25th, 2023 via Atomic Fire Records. Musically, “Touchdown” kicks off rapidly before culminating in an anthemic, fan block & stadium capable chorus, graced by a highly fitting violin solo contributed by Stefan Pintev. The aforementioned music video is in no way inferior and lets the worlds of both football and heavy metal clash brilliantly.
Sven recalls:
“The song but also album title began to take root when we were sitting in a sports bar in São Paulo [Brazil] where a football game was shown. The word that came out of the speakers the most and therefore was remembered the best afterwards was simply ‘Touchdown.’ That’s why my dad [Udo] suggested that it should become the name of our new album – and a touchdown is also what we have created musically with our new songs in my opinion. We’re very happy with the result! The title track deals, of course, with nothing but the type of sport itself, and it also represents us as a band very well: We’re a team that enters the stage together evening after evening to win the crowd. That’s what we do highly motivated, in a way aggressively but powerful too. Qualities that can also be found in football and lastly throw a bridge to our music.”
Live:
29.07.2023 DE Rottenburg-Seebronn – Rock Of Ages*
12.08.2023 ES Villena – Leyendas del Rock*
16.08.2023 DE Dinkelsbühl – Summer Breeze Open Air
17.08.2023 CZ Moravský Krumlov – Rock Castle Open Air
20.08.2023 CH Vallamand (VD) – Rock The Lakes
25.08.2023 DE Haddeby – Baltic Open Air
16.09.2023 DE Tuttlingen – Beast of Rocks @ Stadthalle
07.10.2023 DE Würzburg – Keep It True Rising III @ Posthalle*
22.10.2023 AT Linz – Wildstyle & Tattoo @ Tabakfabrik
29.10.2023 AT Salzburg – Wildstyle & Tattoo @ Messezentrum
10./11.05.2024 DE Braunschweig – Rock in Rautheim*
03. – 06.07.2023 DE Ballenstedt – Rockharz Open Air*
*as Dirkschneider
Photo Credit: Martin Häusler
