U.D.O. / ex-Accept frontman Udo Dirkschneider is featured in a new interview with Hardrock Haven. He discusses the band's upcoming release, Live in Bulgaria – Pandemic Survival Show, how the global pandemic has affected their tour plans, and working on a new studio record. An excerpt is available below.

Hardrock Haven: In March you’re going to release a new live album, Live in Bulgaria – Pandemic Survival Show. Is it a scheduled release? Would it see the light of day without the show being as special as it was?

Udo Dirkschneider: "No, that was not really planned. We got the offer to do a show in Bulgaria during the pandemic – we were invited by the government of Bulgaria – and we said, 'If everything is okay, then we’ll do the show.' But it was not planned at that time to do a live record or a (live) DVD. We were not quite sure if we make it at all, but then we got lucky in September. We were able to get together in Germany as we have one guy who lives in Russia (Andrey Smirnov, U.D.O.’s guitarist) and one who lives in Slovenia (Tilen Hudrap, U.D.O.’s bass player). It was perfect for us also to do the photo shooting there – just in case, as no one knew at the time what will happen – and rehearse, also just in case (laughs). Then we said, 'Okay, we’ll wait if this is going to happen.' One week before the show they said, 'Okay, everything’s fine' and let us know about location and all that stuff. And we were like, 'Why not record it and also film the whole stuff,' so our production guy started talking to the Bulgarian TV about the cameras and all that equipment. Finally, we flew to Bulgaria and everything was fine, no problems at all. And we ended up filming and recording the show indeed, but it was not planned initially."

Hardrock Haven: Having mentioned a new album in the works, what else are you up to at the moment?

Udo Dirkschneider: "At the moment we have no other projects going on. We’re thinking about something, but we’ll see. Right now we’re collecting songs – again (laughs) – even though we’re nearly finished with a new U.D.O. album – but we said, 'Let’s work and work and work (on this).' So we’re writing songs and in March I’m going to go to the studio again. It’s better than staring at the wall (laughs). We just keep on going and composing… nobody knows what’s gonna happen next. Maybe they’ll find the way to do some smaller festivals, but I don’t think Wacken or Sweden Rock are gonna happen. But let’s hope we’ll be able to start touring again very soon."

Read the complete interview here.

U.D.O. return with their upcoming fifth live album. The year 2020 faced many with tough challenges, but U.D.O. managed to play a great show under pandemic conditions in front of the breathtaking backdrop of the amphitheater in Plovdiv/Bulgaria, making it not only one of the world's grandest shows under Corona, but also certainly beyond compare. This is exactly the feeling that the live recording captures.

There are certain events that put bands into the spotlight, even experienced musicians who have been in the business for over 40 years. This is one of those events, and happened on September 18, 2020 with U.D.O.

U.D.O., the band featuring German rock icon Udo Dirkschneider (the original voice of Accept) played a concert in the stunning Roman Amphitheatre in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in front of 2500 fans - in the middle of a year that is one of the quietest ever for musicians and bands, both at home and internationally.

Live In Bulgaria 2020: Pandemic Survival Show will be released on March 19, and will be available as CD/DVD, Blu-ray/CD and very limited vinyl (audio only). Pre-order here, and watch a video for "Man And Machine", below.

Tracklisting:

CD1
"Tongue Reaper"
"Make The Move"
"Midnight Mover"
"Wrong Side Of Midnight"
"Metal Machine"
"Independence Day"
"Rose In The Desert"
"Vendetta"
"Rising High"
"Prologue: The Great Unknown"
"In The Darkness"
"I Give As Good As I Get"
"Princess Of The Dawn"

CD2
"Timebomb"
Drum Solo
Bass Solo
"Hungry And Angry"
"One Heart One Soul"
"Man And Machine"
"Animal House"
"They Want War"
"Metal Heart"
"Fast As Shark"
"Balls To The Wall"
Outro ("Stillness Of Time")

"Man And Machine" video: