Not too long ago, I spoke at length about the Balls to the Wall RELOADED album that Udo Dirkschneider put out. Guess what? I loved it. C’mon, that’s such a great album, the defining songs of a generation. Is Babylon just as killer as that album? Yes, but in its own way.

Allow me to elaborate. This album doesn’t allow you to be seated while listening to it. It demands that you move around; dance, play air guitar, head bang… whatever you need to do to stay moving.

So from the first track, “It Takes Two to Tango” the album swaggers like a confident wolf stalking prey, and this song is the bloody result. These are fat riffs with a solo that unleashes Hell. To say that it feels like an Accept track is an understatement, but it’s whatever at this point. Udo Dirkschneider is known for Accept. Period.

“Babylon” is the powerful title track, and it is huge. I love the Middle Eastern melodies, and the coolest thing about this album is that it delves into different styles together, and they all gel surprisingly well.

That’s where these guys built a fortress of immense magnitude. Those riffs that are fatter than the Sphinx’s head power through “Hellbreaker” with it’s chorus that’ll be huge on a festival sized stage and “Time to Listen” has another set of deadly weapons in store with a riff that strides into your kitchen and steals your beer while the drums and bass act as the goons holding you back and beating you down.

“Strangers in Paradise” is a ballad… Manuela “Ella” Bibert sounds phenomenal here against Udo and his gritty rasped vocals, there’s some Flamenco that goes on, and it’s all romantic as fuck. Not being a huge fan of ballads is my own problem.

“Dead Man’s Hand” is hands down (pun intended) my favorite track on Babylon. It’s got this infectious rhythm that reminds me of, wait for it… Fleetwood Mac, if they played NWOBHM. This song swings like a horny monkey, and I can’t get enough of it. Just check out the chorus and you’ll see what I’m talking about. So how do you top a song like that? With another catchy, hook filled track, that’s how! Enter “The Law of a Madman” that verse to the chorus? Fucking brilliant and the song has more of those big, fist-pumping, festival-sized moments than you can shake a stick at. Hippopotamus-sized riffs, holy shit!

The production on Babylon is solid. Every note, snare hit and bass line pops out at you with such force that you move around like a fish on a what? HOOK! “Metal Sons” doesn’t even give you a chance to breathe before you’re being savagely beaten up by the stomping grounds of the Metal Gods; it’s a Judas Priest-sized track that brings the 80s glory days back to memory. Twin guitars, and there’s also a moment where they do an effect on Manuela’s vocals that sounds phenomenal. It’s either this track or “The Law of a Madman”… either way, it is a crazy killer addition to an already badass song.

“Propaganda” pumps out the jams from the get-go and doesn’t slow down for a second of its 4:48-minute run. No matter what project he touches, Udo brings Metal with him. The next track is “Blindfold”, it’s another epic one too, with Manuela delivering a powerhouse performance, and when everyone is gathered and singing, her angelic voice soaring over everything in its way.

“Batter the Power” and “Beyond the End of Time” round out the album good and proper. The former is a gut-punching, stomper of a song that’ll leave you bloody on the floor, battered like a fish. The latter is a gorgeous tapestry of Iron Maiden meets Judas Priest and Accept; a rip-roaring good time, and that’s what Babylon is in a nutshell.

To do a for fans of section seems a bit redundant, so I’m only going to mention Saxon and UDO because who else is going to sound like this but UDO the band? Anyway, go and get it and be rocked like the 80s never ended.

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