SVEN DIRKSCHNEIDER On Upcoming U.D.O. Album: 'This Was The First Time That We Wrote Music With' Ex-ACCEPT Bassist PETER BALTES

In a new interview with Dane Campbell of the Drum For The Song podcast, U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER drummer Sven Dirkschneider — son of legendary frontman Udo Dirkschneider — spoke about the U.D.O. songwriting process. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Usually we collect ideas from the guitar players. And Peter [Baltes, former ACCEPT and current U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER bassist] now is back since — what? — God, that's three years already, or even four. My God. So Peter joined us when we needed a bass player when our former bass player, Tilen [Hudrap], got sick on tour, and then there was a big hoo-ha with him, and he didn't want to be in the band anymore. So that's when he quit, and then Peter was helping us out actually, and then he decided to, or we asked him if he would join the band, and he said yes. So here we are. And now this was the first time that we wrote music with him, which is for the upcoming U.D.O. album, which will come out in 2027. So he obviously brought in a lot of ideas as well. And that's basically where the whole process starts. And then I go into the studio with my dad, and we try to come up with vocal melodies and hook lines and all that kind of stuff. And we do some demo recordings, and then it usually goes back and forth with the guy who wrote the song."

He continued: "This time we wrote everything together, which was very important for us as well. COVID started that. Before, we always went into a studio, we did a songwriting session, and then we just wrote the music together. And then when COVID hit, everyone had to sit behind his own laptop writing music. So obviously there was no real connection. And this time we did it again. We wrote the songs together. A lot of that happened on the road already. And then, yeah, we go into the studio, we come up with vocal ideas, and then the producer gets involved and he says his stuff about what we should do or not do, and then chord change here, chord change there. Maybe we can throw in an odd groove here, and this and all of that. And then that's basically where the magic happens. This time I was sitting quite a lot with Peter in my room as well, and we just... Yeah, we wrote one song from scratch in one day, and it came very natural. And actually that's pretty funny 'cause, yeah, I do play drums, but I do sing as well, also live on stage. And I was recording some demo vocals, and he was sitting here in the chair, and I saw a tear running out of his eye. And then I said, 'Peter, what's wrong?' He was, like, 'Fuck, I feel like it's '89 and Udo is standing behind me.' So I can do that voice if I want to as well. I don't sound the same, but I do have that character, I would say. And that was pretty weird for Peter to just sit in front of me and I'm behind him in the vocal booth singing stuff, and I sound like my dad. And he was, like, 'I can't believe it. It's like fucking '89 again.' So super weird."

This past March, Udo told Brazil's Headbangers News that Peter "was very much involved" in the songwriting for U.D.O.'s follow-up to the "Touchdown" album, which came out in August 2023 through Atomic Fire Records. "And I'm really happy to have him back," Dirkschneider said.

Asked if any of the songwriting chemistry of the classic ACCEPT albums like 1982's "Restless And Wild Return" returned instantly once he and Peter started working on music for the upcoming U.D.O. album, Dirkschneider told Headbangers News: "We never sit down and say, 'Okay, we have to do songs like this and this and this way.' It's new stuff coming up. Of course it has a little bit of [the flavor] of the older ACCEPT stuff. Of course, two people [from the classic ACCEPT lineup] are there [in U.D.O. now] — the singer and the bass player. And Peter was also very much involved in songwriting in ACCEPT, and also when ACCEPT did the reunion [more than 15 years ago]. So, yeah, there is a [touch] of [the ACCEPT sound], but I think it's definitely U.D.O. and it's a really straightforward album."

"Touchdown" was recorded at various locations with producer Martin "Mattes" Pfeiffer and was mixed at Redhead Studio (Wilhelmshaven, Germany) while the mastering was handled by Stefan Kaufmann at ROXX Studio (Solingen, Germany). The record included a guest appearance by violinist Stefan Pintev on the title track, and bass tracks were recorded by Baltes. Artwork was provided by Martin Häusler who was also responsible for shooting band photos in support of the album campaign.

In April 2023, Baltes officially joined U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER. The former ACCEPT bassist had been playing bass for U.D.O. since September 2022, initially as a temporary replacement for U.D.O.'s then-bassist Tilen Hudrap who was hospitalized after the band's show in Munich, Germany.

DIRKSCHNEIDER is the name of Udo's band which performs ACCEPT material exclusively.

Although Udo announced 11 years ago that his initial DIRKSCHNEIDER tour would mark his final time performing ACCEPT songs, he has continued to play select shows under the DIRKSCHNEIDER banner for more than a decade.

DIRKSCHNEIDER recently reimagined ACCEPT's iconic album "Balls To The Wall" to celebrate the LP's 40th anniversary. The band, which also features Sven on drums and the guitar duo of Alen Brentini and Fabian "Dee" Dammers, celebrated the 40th anniversary of "Balls To The Wall", which was originally released in late 1983 and is the most commercially successful and best-known album by ACCEPT, by performing the LP in its entirety on recent tours of South America, North America and Europe.

Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann is the sole remaining original member of ACCEPT, which he formed in 1976 in the town of Solingen, Germany with Dirkschneider and Baltes.

Over the past five decades, ACCEPT has sold millions of albums and inspired countless musicians. Their energetic live performances and iconic albums such as "Balls To The Wall", "Restless And Wild" and "Metal Heart" have left a lasting mark on the heavy metal genre.