You Can't Have Something From the Eighties Without a Reference to an "Animal House"

U.D.O. - Animal House Anniversary Edition (AFM Records)

After vocalist Udo Dirkschneider left Accept in 1986, I’m sure many thought it was the last we’d hear from him. In late 1987 though, he re-emerged with his own solo band, which featured (on the recording) ex-members of Warlock and Sinner as well as some relative unknowns. Animal House was better than fans could have hoped for, offering both a grittier sound and even bigger, more bombastic anthems.  AFM Records has recently reissued U.D.O.’s classic back catalog and Animal House kicks it all off with a set that includes the full album , three bonus live tracks, and the videos for “They Want War” and “Go Back To Hell.”

The album kicks off with the hard-hitting,  much more aggressive than you’d expect, title track. Udo’s gritty, old-man style, cranky vocal was at its peak here and the rippin’ guitar leads just take everything over the edge. “Go Back to Hell” and “Black Widow” are completely unstoppable forces that blend the arena rock sound of the day with a much more metal focus than many of their contemporaries had. “Warrior” is a dynamic, guitar-on-eleven tune that gives equal nods to the screaming-bloody-murder soul of King Diamond and the epic nature of classic Iron Maiden. It’s the synth laden “They Want War” though that beats them all. Boasting a classic eighties mid-tempo groove and a more reflective (at least for Udo) vocal, the band really do a superb job of getting the point across that they are far from a mindless hard rock band. The album also features a song together with Accept, “Lay Down the Law,” and while it’s cool given the time frame, it’s weak in comparison to the other material here.

If you own this already then it’s the live tracks that make this worth your while. And they certainly do. “Animal House,” “They Want War,” and “In The Darkness” are featured here and they come off even heavier as live offerings. They have a thickness to them that you don’t get from the album due to the production style of the time. The live version of “They Want War” is the highlight of this reissue without a debt. It will send chills down your spine! Given the band was opening for artists like Guns N’ Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, and Lita Ford at the time, it’s no surprise that they sound like a well-oiled machine here. The touring band was also slightly different so there is a change in sound that comes naturally from that as well. The videos are…well…they are products of the time.

This album is one of the few from the late eighties that is just non-stop great. It’s albums like this, Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Destruction, Alice Cooper’s Raise Your Fist and Yell, and Warlock’s Triumph and Agony, that spawned the phrase, “All killer, no filler.” Animal House still holds up and the live songs make it worth purchasing all over again.