About the album
U.D.O. has been in a high quality album purple-patch as of late. The title track starts like a clap of thunder with pounding drums slamming down followed by a shriek from Udo and the main guitar riff sings out; the track is flying by this stage. Udo’s unique and signature vocals slice through the metal air. The chorus is of course catchy and the guitar solo is nothing short of sensational. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve heard the same U.D.O. structure for their songs over the years, it still sounds so good, so catchy.
More heavy songs off the album come in the form of “Renegade”, which starts with a wild guitar riff followed by bruising and bombastic drum pounding and heavy bass from Fitty Weinhold. The track is relentless and energetic, giving your air guitar a massive workout in the process. Another powerful solo clinches it and you must hit the repeat button to hear it again. “Dr. Death” continues the flurry of full-throttle tracks on ‘Rev-Raptor’, with riffs galore, pulverizing drumming and Udo’s insatiable vocals buzzing in your ears. The first “anthem” track sings out, that reminds me greatly of Accept material, with “Rock ‘n’ Roll Soldiers”. Slower in pace to the previous tracks, however still as powerful, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Soldiers” will certainly be a track that gets played live during an U.D.O. gig.
There’s plenty more to enjoy from the excellent ‘Rev-Raptor’, including the slower-paced and lyrically dark-tinged “Underworld”, the grinding and boisterous “Pain Man” and the thundering hot “Motor-Borg”, which contains the best and catchiest chorus on the album, that you can’t help but to sing along to.
In the end, it comes down to consistency, and ‘Rev-Raptor’ certainly has that and then some. Not one dull moment in the disc and despite the simplicity of the tracks, Udo and company just know how to come up with awesome songs.