The discography of U.D.O., a German heavy metal band, consists of 19 studio albums, six live albums, three compilations, 17 singles, six video albums and 19 music videos. Formed in 1987 by eponymous vocalist Udo Dirkschneider following his departure from Accept, the group originally included guitarists Mathias Dieth and Peter Szigeti, bassist Frank Rittel and drummer Thomas Franke. Shortly after the release and promotion of their debut album Animal House, Dirkschneider dismissed all band members except Dieth, and rebuilt the group with guitarist Andy Susemihl, bassist Thomas Smuszynski, and future Accept drummer Stefan Schwarzmann. Mean Machine, released in 1989, reached number 31 on the German Albums Chart. Susemihl was subsequently replaced by Wolla Böhm.
1990's Faceless World reached number 52 on the German Albums Chart. The next year's follow-up, Timebomb, failed to chart and was the last album to be released before Dirkschneider's return to Accept. U.D.O. reformed in 1997 with the album Solid, with Dirkschneider and Schwarzmann joined by former Accept drummer Stefan Kaufmann on guitar, alongside second guitarist Jürgen Graf and bassist Fitty Wienhold. The group's next release, No Limits, saw them return to the charts in Germany at number 90. With Graf and Schwarzmann replaced by Igor Gianola and Lorenzo Milani, respectively, Holy also broke into the German top 100. The band continued to make their way slowly up the albums chart, as Man and Machine reached number 71, and Thunderball reached number 83.
Francesco Jovino replaced Milani in time for Mission No. X, which reached number 92 in the band's home country. The group broke into the German top 40 for the first time since 1989 with their next release, peaking at number 32 with Mastercutor in 2007. Subsequent releases improved on this form – 2009's Dominator was the band's first top 30 album, and 2011's Rev-Raptor was their first top 20. Both guitarists had left by the time Steelhammer was released in 2013, to be replaced by Andrey Smirnov and Kasperi Heikkinen. The album reached number 21 in Germany and also registered on the US Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart at number 28. 2015's Decadent reached a new band record of number 16 in Germany, while the live album Navy Metal Night charted at number 31.
U.D.O. released Steelfactory in 2018, which was the first album to feature Dirkschneider's son Sven on drums, and the first since Heikkinen's departure. The album was the band's first to reach the German Albums Chart top 10, peaking at number 7. It also reached number 27 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart, and number 9 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart.
Albums Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positionsTitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsGERAUTBELWal.ESPFINNORSWESWIUKRockUSHeatAnimal HouseReleased: 3 November 1987 Label: RCA Formats: CD, LP, CS — — — — — — 41 — — —Mean MachineReleased: 10 January 1989 Label: RCA Formats: CD, LP, CS 31 — — — — — — — — —Faceless WorldReleased: 25 February 1990 Label: RCA Formats: CD, LP, CS 52 — — — — — 37 — — —TimebombReleased: 13 April 1991 Label: RCA Formats: CD, LP, CS — — — — — — — — — —SolidReleased: 24 March 1997 Label: GUN Formats: CD, CS — — — — — — — — — —No LimitsReleased: 20 April 1998 Label: GUN Formats: CD, CS 90 — — — — — — — — —HolyReleased: 18 October 1999 Label: Nuclear Blast Formats: CD, LP, CS 96 — — — — — — — — —Man and MachineReleased: 24 July 2002 Label: Breaker Formats: CD, CS 71 — — — — — — — — —ThunderballReleased: 29 March 2004 Label: AFM Format: CD 83 — — — — — 47 — — —Mission No. XReleased: 30 September 2005 Label: AFM Format: CD 92 — — — — — — — — —MastercutorReleased: 18 May 2007 Label: AFM Format: CD 39 — — — — — — — — —DominatorReleased: 21 August 2009 Label: AFM Formats: CD, LP, DL 27 — — — 35 — 51 100 — —Rev-RaptorReleased: 20 May 2011 Label: AFM Formats: CD, LP, DL 20 — — — — — 26 57 — —SteelhammerReleased: 21 May 2013 Label: AFM Formats: CD, 2LP, DL 21 — — — 38 — 23 79 — 28DecadentReleased: 23 January 2015 Label: AFM Formats: CD, 2LP, DL 16 — — — 34 — — 48 — —SteelfactoryReleased: 31 August 2018 Label: AFM Formats: CD, 2LP, DL 7 23 135 81 — 33 19 24 27 9We Are One(with Das Musikkorps Der Bundeswehr)Released: 20 July 2020 Label: AFM Formats: CD, 2LP 8 — — — — — 5 — — —Game OverReleased: 22 October 2021 Label: AFM Formats: CD 13 39 — — 25 — — 16 — —TouchdownReleased: 25 August 2023 Label: AFM Formats: CD 4 33 160 — 34 — 17 8 — —"—" denotes a release that did not chart or was not issued in that region.
Live albums + List of live albums, with selected chart positionTitleAlbum detailsPeakGERLive from RussiaReleased: 15 October 2001 Label: Breaker Format: 2CD —Nailed to Metal: The Missing TracksReleased: 21 October 2003 Label: AFM Format: CD 100Mastercutor AliveReleased: 6 October 2008 Label: ZYX, Metal Mind Formats: 2CD, DL —Live in SofiaReleased: 13 November 2012 Label: AFM Formats: 2CD, 3LP, DL 75Steelhammer: Live from MoscowReleased: 10 June 2014 Label: AFM Formats: 2CD, 3LP, DL 60Navy Metal Night(with the Marinemusikkorps Nordsee)Released: 31 July 2015 Label: AFM Formats: 2CD, 2LP, DL 31Live in Bulgaria 2020 – Pandemic Survival ShowReleased: 19 March 2021 Label: AFM Format: CD, LP, DL —"—" denotes a release that did not chart or was not issued in that region.
Compilations + List of compilation albums, with selected chart positionsTitleAlbum detailsPeaksGERSWEBest OfReleased: 13 September 1999 Label: GUN Format: CD — —Metallized: Best of U.D.O.Released: 3 December 2007 Label: AFM Format: CD — —Celebrator: Rare TracksReleased: 4 May 2012 Label: AFM Formats: 2CD, 2LP, DL 73 55"—" denotes a release that did not chart or was not issued in that region.
Singles + List of singles, showing year released and album nameTitleYearPeakAlbumGER"They Want War"1988 —Animal House"Heart of Gold"1990 —Faceless World"Faceless World" —"Two Faced Woman"1997 —Solid"Independence Day" —"Lovemachine"1998 —No Limits"Dancing with an Angel"2002 —Man and Machine"24/7"2005 82Mission No. X"The Wrong Side of Midnight"2007 —Mastercutor"Infected"2009 —Dominator"Leatherhead"2011 —Rev-Raptor"Metal Machine"2013 —Steelhammer"Steelhammer" —"Decadent"2014 —Decadent"Rising High"2018 —Steelfactory"One Heart One Soul" —"Make the Move" —
Videos Video albums + List of video albumsTitleAlbum detailsNailed to Metal: The Complete HistoryReleased: 21 October 2003 Label: AFM Format: DVDThundervisionReleased: 29 March 2004 Label: AFM Format: DVDMastercutor AliveReleased: 26 September 2008 Label: ZYX, Golden Core Format: 2DVDLive in SofiaReleased: 13 November 2012 Label: Eagle Vision Formats: DVD, Blu-raySteelhammer: Live from MoscowReleased: 10 June 2014 Label: AFM Formats: DVD, BDNavy Metal Night(with the Marinemusikkorps Nordsee)Released: 31 July 2015 Label: AFM Formats: DVD, BDLive in Bulgaria 2020 – Pandemic Survival ShowReleased: 19 March 2021 Label: AFM Formats: DVD, BD
Music videos + List of music videos, showing year releasedTitleYear"They Want War"1988"Go Back to Hell""Break the Rules"1989"Heart of Gold"1990"Independence Day"1997"Dancing with an Angel"2002"Thunderball"2004"The Arbiter""Trainride in Russia""Blind Eyes""Mean Streets"2005"The Wrong Side of Midnight"2007"Black and White"2009"Leatherhead"2011"I Give as Good as I Get""Metal Machine"2013"Heavy Rain""Decadent"2014"One Heart One Soul"2018"Metal Never Dies"2021"Prophecy"
References
External links U.D.O. official website