''Steelhammer'' is the 14th studio album by German heavy metal band

U.D.O. U.D.O. is a German heavy metal band founded by lead vocalist Udo Dirkschneider in 1987. History Following Udo Dirkschneider's departure from Accept in 1987, he formed his own band called U.D.O. He recruited guitarists Mathias Dieth and Peter ...

, released on 24 May 2013 via

AFM Records AFM Records GmbH is a music label based in Schwalmstadt, Germany. They focus on the heavy metal musical genre, signing bands such as U.D.O., Doro, Lordi, Kotipelto, Masterplan, Nostradameus, and Annihilator. In 2005, Candlelight Records si ...

. It is the first album with guitarist Andrey Smirnov. Second guitarist

Kasperi Heikkinen Kasperi Heikkinen (born 1980) is a guitar player who is best known as a member of Finnish symphonic power metal band Amberian Dawn. He played in the band from early 2007 until late 2012. He is also the guitarist for Finnish metal bands Merging Fl ...

joined the band after all recordings were completed. It is also the first album without Stefan Kaufmann as guitarist since the 1997 album ''

Solid Solid is one of the State of matter#Four fundamental states, four fundamental states of matter (the others being liquid, gas, and Plasma (physics), plasma). The molecules in a solid are closely packed together and contain the least amount o ...

'', as well as the first without guitarist Igor Gianola since the 1999 album ''

Holy Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

''. ''Steelhammer'' charted at #21 in Germany, #23 in Sweden, #38 in Finland and #67 in Norway during its first week. Music videos were made for "Metal Machine" and "Heavy Rain".

Track listing

Personnel

Udo Dirkschneider Udo Dirkschneider (born 6 April 1952) is a German singer and songwriter who rose to fame with German heavy metal band Accept. After leaving the band in 1987, he formed U.D.O., with which he has also enjoyed commercial success. Biography Fo ...

– vocals * Andrey Smirnov – guitars * Fitty Wienhold – bass * Francesco Jovino – drums ;Guest musicians * Víctor García González – additional vocals on "Basta Ya" and "Dust and Rust ("Basta Ya" English Version)" * Sascha Onnen – piano on "Heavy Rain" * Frank Knight – spoken words on "A Cry of a Nation" * Claus Fischer – vocals (choirs) * Ingmar Viertel – vocals (choirs) * Bernhard Müssig – vocals (choirs) * Claus Rettkowski – vocals (choirs) * Holger Thielbörger – vocals (choirs) ;Production * Udo Dirkschneider – producer, mixing * Fitty Wienhold – producer * Dirk Hüttner – artwork, design * Holger Thielbörger – editing * Martin Häusler – photography * Martin Pfeiffer – mixing * Tim Eckhorst – layout, booklet * Markus Teske – orchestral arrangement on "Book of Faith", editing, mastering * Patrick Spina – engineering (drums), editing (drums) * Víctor García González – lyrics, translation on "Basta Ya"

References

{{Authority control U.D.O. albums 2013 albums AFM Records albums