Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
What a story! Over the past few years, a charity campaign featuring six prominent musicians for the benefit of artists affected by the coronavirus lockdown has developed into a spectacular project that will undoubtedly cause a sensation. We are talking about Dirkschneider And The Old Gang, DATOG for short, with a line-up whose majority has had a decisive influence on the history of heavy metal over the past four decades.
Udo Dirkschneider was the founder and long-time singer of Accept and, after leaving the band, also led his follow-up bands, U.D.O. and Dirkschneider, to international fame. In DATOG he is joined by Peter Baltes (bass, vocals; Accept, Dirkschneider,), Stefan Kaufmann (guitar; Accept, U.D.O.) and Mathias Dieth (guitar; SiINNER, U.D.O.) as well as Udo’s son Sven Dirkschneider (drums; U.D.O., Dirkschneider), who has played for his dad for the last ten years. The sixth member of the gang is singer Manuela Bibert, who has not been let off the hook since her great performance on the recording of the U.D.O. orchestra album “We Are One” in the spring of 2019.
In this constellation, three DATOG singles, (‘Where The Angels Fly’, ‘Face Of A Stranger’ and ‘Every Heart Is Burning’), were created between summer 2020 and fall 2021. This got the train rolling: “The whole thing developed a momentum of its own, that we hadn’t expected in this form,” Kaufmann looks back somewhat surprised. “After the singles incredibly went viral, fans, record companies and concert agencies immediately got in touch and wanted to know whether there was more to come… what the prospects were for a full album?”
The answer is here: “Babylon” is out now via Reigning Phoenix Music and you should not miss it.
Order, stream or download “Babylon” here: https://datog.rpm.link/babylon
With a three-singer concept — Dirkschneider, Bibert, Baltes — DATOG delivers a unique mix of vocal profiles that proves to be the band’s unmistakable trademark. “Of course, we didn’t even try to split the vocals equally, but carefully analyzed whose voice would fit best for each part,” explains Udo Dirkschneider. The same applies to songwriting, which followed the motto exclusively: The best songs win!
A wise decision, as the twelve songs on “Babylon” show! Within a clearly defined stylistic direction and alongside magnificent solo performances, especially from exceptional guitarist Mathias “Don” Dieth, the album impresses with great complexity and an enormous wealth of facets.
With “Babylon”, the German all-star band presents twelve brilliant metal songs which, despite their unusual vocal concept, never degenerate into a Babylonian confusion of voices. Quite the opposite: the album inspires both compositionally and vocally and convinces every sound fetishist with its transparent yet powerful production.
And this is not the end of the journey: the video story of the songs will unfold for all of the album tracks, keeping fans engaged visually and musically until the very last note, not least reminding everyone, to give the record one more spin.
Though the album leans into a hard rock side, the band members’ heavy metal foundation shines through, best showcased on the focus track and new video ‘Metal Sons’.
‘Metal Sons’ is a tribute to true, original heavy metal: a powerful guitar riff that seems to have been born out of another time period, Udo’s usual uncompromising vocals, plus screaming guitar solos and a chorus that will have every heavy metal fan automatically headbanging and shouting along. Thanks to its modern arrangement, the song is nevertheless (or precisely because of this) a musical treat of a very special kind.
Watch the video:
Tracklist “Babylon:
“Babylon” is now available in a variety of stunning formats:
-Limited Red, Gold & Black Marbled Gatefold Double Vinyl
-Limited Red Opaque & Black Marbled Gatefold Double Vinyl
-Gold Opaque Double Vinyl
-Deluxe Earbook Edition with CD and enhanced 36-page booklet
-Digipak CD featuring a 24-page booklet
-Jewelcase CD featuring a 24-page booklet
DATOG are:
Udo Dirkschneider | lead vocals
Peter Baltes | bass, lead & backing vocals
Manuela “Ella” Bibert | lead & backing vocals, keys
Stefan Kaufmann | guitars, backing vocals
Mathias “Don” Dieth | guitars, backing vocals
Sven Dirkschneider | drums, backing vocals
