Susemihl left the band, with U.D.O. now as a four-piece. The band shifted to a lighter approach with the third album Faceless World, which was released on 25 February 1990, achieving great success; this being their best selling album so far. It was produced by former Accept drummer Stefan Kaufmann. The fourth album Timebomb was released on 3 April 1991. It was a more heavier album than their previous releases. In 1992, Dirkschneider put U.D.O. on hiatus to reunite with Accept.
In 1996, Dirkschneider reactivated U.D.O. with a brand new line-up; Stefan Kaufmann, now undertaking guitar duties, with guitarist Jรผrgen Graf and bassist Fitty Wienhold from Bullet, and Stefan Schwarzmann returning to the band. They took part in the 1997 compilation album A Tribute to Judas Priest: Legends of Metal, in which they recorded the song "Metal Gods".
On 24 March 1997, U.D.O. released the fifth album Solid. It was featured on the Rock Hard magazine reader charts for more than a year after its release. The album was followed up with No Limits on 20 April 1998, featuring a similar songwriting approach from Solid. The album features a cover of the Austrian pop band Supermax's hit single "Love Machine". After the conclusion of the band's tour, Stefan Schwarzmann quit the band. New drummer Lorenzo Milani replaced him.
The seventh album Holy was released on 18 October 1999, which received critical acclaim. It was a return to the guitar-driven sound similar to the Balls to the Wall-era Accept. A world tour followed with dates in the United States and several other major countries. The band known as Vanize, fronted by Udo Dirkschneider's brother Peter, supported U.D.O. during the tour. Line-up changes occurred during the second part of the tour with Gotthard guitarist Igor Gianola replacing Jรผrgen Graf. The tour spawned the first live album Live from Russia, which was released on 15 October 2001, a 2-CD release featuring many of the classic Accept songs that have since become staples of U.D.O.'s set.
On 24 July 2002, the eighth album Man and Machine was released, receiving a somewhat lukewarm reception. Despite standout songs such as the title track and "Private Eye", the album was ultimately less successful than Holy. It is notable for the song "Dancing with an Angel", featuring a duet performance of Dirkschneider and vocalist Doro Pesch.
U.D.O. released their ninth studio album Thunderball on 29 March 2004. The follow-up album Mission No. X was originally due for release on 4 October 2005, but was pushed forward by one week and was released on 30 September 2005 instead. It was the first album to feature Edge of Forever drummer Francesco Jovino.
On 18 May 2007, the eleventh album Mastercutor was released. In August 2007, bassist Fitty Weinhold was unable to perform with the band due to "private reasons". He would be temporarily replaced with former Majesty bassist Marcus Bielenberg for touring purposes.
U.D.O.'s twelfth studio album Dominator was released on 21 August 2009. The next studio album Rev-Raptor was originally due for release on 14 January 2011, but was delayed until 18 March 2011 due to the recurrence of Stefan Kaufmann's back problems. It was delayed again, but was officially released on 20 May 2011.
In November 2011, Dirkschneider's son Sven supported U.D.O. on a date in Germany and became a permanent member of his father's band in February 2015. On the same year, the band was temporary renamed as "Dirkschneider" and embarked in a long tour called "Back To The Roots" where the band only performed Accept songs.
In September 2012, Kaufmann announced his departure for health reasons. He would continue to work in the surroundings of the band and produce for other bands in his own personal studio. On 15 January 2013, Russian guitarist Andrey Smirnov was recruited as the new member. A week later, Igor Gianola left the band "due to conflicts between band appointments and his private life and business." Following his departure, former Amberian Dawn guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen joined the band. The fourteenth album Steelhammer was released on 20 May 2013.
In December 2014, drummer Francesco Jovino left the band for personal reasons, joining Primal Fear in 2015. He was replaced by Udo Dirkschneider's son Sven in February 2015. U.D.O. released the fifteenth studio album Decadent on 23 January 2015.
In February 2017, Heikkinen announced his departure citing personal reasons. According to the band, no bad blood or drama were involved between the two. In March 2017, guitarist Bill Hudson was announced as the new member. On 24 April 2018, Hudson parted ways with the band "due to a difference in their individual visions for the future", according to Dirkschneider, adding that there was no "negative feelings on either side." In June 2018, Stefan Kaufmann temporarily rejoined the band only for the summer festival appearances until a new guitarist was found. The sixteenth album Steelfactory was released on 31 August 2018, with the first single "Rising High" being made available for streaming. On 19 September 2018, bassist Fitty Wienhold announced his departure from U.D.O., but stated that he would remain with the band if needed, " as a friend, as an advisor...whatever." The band soon recruited German guitarist Dee Dammers and Slovenian bassist Tilen Hudrap as their new members.
During U.D.O.'s touring in Europe in early 2019, Dirkschneider performed as a handicap after experiencing left knee pain. He vowed to continue without doctors' advice and without causing disappointment to the fans. The band was originally scheduled to perform at the Wacken Open Air festival in 2020 by performing Accept's 1985 album Metal Heart in its entirety to celebrate its 35th anniversary, with the addition of Das Musikkorps der Bundeswehr, but the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, U.D.O. collaborated with Das Musikkorps der Bundeswehr to record an album titled We Are One, which was released on 17 July 2020. It reached number 8 in the official German album charts, the second highest position for any U.D.O album in 34 years, right after Steelfactory, which peaked at number 7.
A live album titled Live In Bulgaria 2020 - Pandemic Survival Show was released on 19 March 2021. It was recorded live on 18 September 2020 in front of 2500 fans in Plovdiv. The seventeenth studio album Game Over was released on 22 October 2021.
Dirkschneider
U.D.O. performed under the name Dirkschneider for an occasion in which Udo Dirkschneider described as his "farewell to Accept", stating that he would no longer perform Accept songs again in the band's live shows. In early 2017, they performed in North America. A 2-CD live album titled Live: Back to the Roots was released on 28 October 2016. An updated version titled Live: Back to the Roots - Accepted! was released on 4 August 2017, featuring a DVD of their performance from Brno, Czech Republic.
The band continued to perform Accept songs for at least another year, due to the request from fans. They returned to North America in early 2018 after a positive reception from their first visit the previous year. In 2018, Udo Dirkschneider put his side project to a close as he did not want to cause confusion between his main band and his side project.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.D.O.
Studio albums
Animal House (1987)
Mean Machine (1989)
Faceless World (1990)
Timebomb (1991)
Solid (1997)
No Limits (1998)
Holy (1999)
Man and Machine (2002)
Thunderball (2004)
Mission No. X (2005)
Mastercutor (2007)
Dominator (2009)
Rev-Raptor (2011)
Steelhammer (2013)
Decadent (2015)
Steelfactory (2018)
Game Over (2021)
borderline
U.D.O. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Under Cover Plan
Eyeball Recognition
Finger Printing Scan
What A Wonderful World We Live In
Values Dead And Gone
A Wonderful World Weโre Killing
Why Did It All Go Wrong
Never Ever Cross The Borderline
Iโm Telling You - Yes, Me And You
Never Ever Cross The Borderline
Satellite Connections
Saw It On T.V.
Killing All Our Senses
The Games Become Too Real
What A Wonderful World We Live In, โฆ
Itโs Up To You, โฆ
One Thing That You Can Do
Mess With The Rules
Itโs Not Too Hard To Try
Itโs Up To You โ Yes, Up To You
The World Is In A Fever
Colour, Speed And Sound
A High Tech Generation
We Lost The Solid Ground
What A Wonderful World We Live In, โฆ
Itโs Up To You, โฆ
The song "Borderline" by U.D.O. talks about the loss of values and ethics in the modern world, where technology and materialistic desires have taken over human emotions, leading to a world that is rapidly spiraling out of control. The lyrics describe the various aspects of modern-day surveillance, such as eyeball recognition and fingerprint scanning, an indication of how much we have become slaves to technology. The song brings out the irony of the times we live in; the world we call 'wonderful,' but at the same time, we are destroying it bit by bit.
The songwriter feels let down by the world and blames the society for killing the values in life. The chorus of the song talks about how one negative action can affect a lot of people, urging listeners to never cross the 'borderline' of ethical and moral boundaries. He also asks listeners to actively make that choice to maintain those boundaries, no matter how challenging the world becomes. The song highlights the uncontrolled spread of information and how we need to be responsible for the rules and regulations that govern our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Cannot Break The Silence
We cannot speak up freely without fear of consequences.
Under Cover Plan
We must keep our plans and intentions hidden from those who seek to control us.
Eyeball Recognition
Our every move is being watched, and our identities are being monitored through advanced technology.
Finger Printing Scan
Our every action and location can be traced back to us through biometric analysis.
What A Wonderful World We Live In
Ironically, despite our technological advances, the values that make life worth living have vanished.
Values Dead And Gone
We have lost sight of the ethical principles that once guided our society.
A Wonderful World Weโre Killing
Our misuse of technology and disregard for morality is leading to the destruction of our planet and our way of life.
Why Did It All Go Wrong
We are grappling with the question of how we ended up in such a dystopian future.
Itโs Up To You - No Matter Who
Regardless of who you are, you have the power to make a difference and shape the future.
Never Ever Cross The Borderline
We must not allow ourselves to be coerced into violating our moral principles, and we must resist oppressive regimes.
Iโm Telling You - Yes, Me And You
As individuals, we have the responsibility to hold ourselves and others accountable for their actions.
Satellite Connections
Our communication networks and technological tools allow us to connect with others around the world.
Saw It On T.V.
The media has become our primary source of information, and it can shape our perceptions and beliefs.
Killing All Our Senses
Our dependence on technology is causing us to lose touch with our natural instincts and intuition.
The Games Become Too Real
The lines between reality and virtual reality have become blurred, and we risk losing sight of what is truly important.
One Thing That You Can Do
Each of us has the power to make small changes in our own lives that can have a big impact on the world around us.
Mess With The Rules
In order to effect change, we must be willing to challenge the status quo and take risks.
Itโs Not Too Hard To Try
Making a difference doesn't have to be difficult, and small actions can add up to make a big impact.
The World Is In A Fever
We are in the midst of a crisis that threatens the very foundations of our society.
Colour, Speed And Sound
Our obsession with technology and entertainment is leading us astray and preventing us from addressing the real issues.
A High Tech Generation
We have become dependent on technology to an unprecedented degree, and it is changing the way we live our lives.
We Lost The Solid Ground
Our society has lost its sense of stability and security, and we are struggling to find our footing in this ever-changing world.
What A Wonderful World We Live In, โฆ
Despite the challenges and obstacles we face, there is still hope for a better future.
Itโs Up To You, โฆ
We must all take responsibility for our actions and work together to overcome the problems that confront us.
Contributed by Adeline N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.