By Vinnie Apicella

The holy war rages upon us friends, but rest easy as the battle hardened protectors of our faith stand at the ready! It's hard to believe this is already the seventh installment for U.D.O. the band, in and around Udo, the singer's, prestigious membership with German Metal legends Accept. And for all intents and purposes, Accept still lives on with Udo-he's never lost that drive to create true metal and carry on the tradition in the wake of his former bands' reemergence and eventual burnout-they should've listened! "Holy" is U.D.O. at their finest-plenty of gruffness still to their groove, precision riffing housing melodic twin guitar scales and the ever present stein-raising chorus that boost the solidity of a singer who's voice should have left him long ago! Thankfully it has not, nor has his desire and commitment to continually deploy the troops to fight for the metal cause… no, there'll be no laying down of the arms this go round. With the release of "Holy," U.S. fans finally get another chance to get a hold of new material from the band for the first time since "Faceless World" about a decade ago. "Holy" is all heavy metal was ever meant to be about-Udo plays the role of the devout preacher speaking (screaming!) out against all the evil forces that have tried to put us down and of course failed-if a picture could in fact tell a thousand words, catch a glimpse of Mr. D in the cover booklet decked out in the traditional clergyman garb-and he still looks cool! Anyone even remotely familiar with Udo's solo material knows to expect little change in the way it's presented, and here, there is none to speak of, just a rousing in your face with a bitchy attitude played at full volume and with enough hooks to snag your wimpy little shorts if you aren't mindful! The title track begins ominously with "Raised from the glowing ashes of cauldron iron, the Phoenix arose from the sanctum of metal, emerging into the light…" compliments of one Frank Knight (former?) frontman for fellow German metallers X-Wild… so now would they be called "X" X-Wild? Hopefully not, but in focusing back to Udo, who does everything in his power to make this so-that voice! "Holy" alternates between middle and fast tempo rhythms, and don't look now but there's former Accept drummer Stefan Kaufmann playing… the guitar! So going beyond the spiritually uplifting opening track, "Raiders of Beyond" is a sudden slice of rock and rage turned up to ten with enough background voices to fill two churches! "Shout it Out" is a metal fist pumped firmly in the air… or a "metal shock - straight between the eyes!" "Back Off" is just your typical little fight song-"don't you cross the line"-similar to where "I Don't Wanna Be Like You" and "This One's for You" went with Accept… the man's driven! "Friends will be Friends" and the closer "Cut Me Out" show the pint-sized giant's, dare I say, tender side, not to the point where vocal clarity takes effect mind you-let's just say the human side peaks through the armor every now and again. "Holy" aims straight toward the heart of the true metal existence with an explosive magnitude that brings "thunder in the tower" and sets the pulpit ablaze!

More from the Online Metal Journal