U.D.O.

While he's fallen out of public consciousness over the past decade, or more, once upon a time, vocalist Udo Dirkschneider was a pivotal voice in metal. His raspy grit was the middle ground between Lemmy's gravelly grunt and Brian Johnson's falsetto screech. Factor in that albums such as Accept's Restless & Wild were essential in spawning the thrash genre and despite his diminutive stature, Dirkschneider was a pretty big fish in metal's once small pond. He has a classic voice that should never sound dated. Sadly, the music behind him on Dominator does. It's stuck in the mid-'80s, with half-tempo droning and reliance more on heavy distortion/drum hitting than truly heavy metal riffs. Oddly, the performances are great and the production values are stunning. With such attributes, Dominator could have been an incredibly adrenal affair but instead comes across like a tired man past his prime giving it one last kick at the can. It does host a few of those upbeat numbers but it's too bogged down in trying to be heavy rather than just letting it happen.