We’ve made it to July everybody. Sure, we’re a flaming garbage pile that’s back to being an absolute joke, but we’re still here! We’ve now made it to my number 1 albums of 2020, and given what that year was like, it was only right to place what I thought were the most powerful & upbeat records of that year. To start things off, I’m taking a second look at a release that almost was going to be the sole record at number 1 last year. A record that is equal parts heavy, over the top, symphonic, and contains within it a powerful social message that doesn’t feel insulting in any way. So, get on your combat fatigues, find the right cause to champion, and get ready for my review of U.D.O.’s We Are One. Let’s begin.
Background
Taken from the CD booklet:
“Dear Udo Friends,
I’m writing these lines at the end of April 2020. Corona is ruiling the headlines and all of our day to day activities. I am currently in the Cologne area after I was able to “Rescue” myself by driving to Germany from Ibiza two weeks ago after several weeks of total isolation.
I am currently in the studio with Sven almost every day and we are working together on the upcoming U.D.O. album, which should be released in the coming year (2021). The guys behind the band are all at home and only connected to our studio via Skype. Actually, we all wanted to come together in the studio because this type of work has proven itself on our last album “Steelfactory”. No chance, since this virus has a firm grip on the world...
THE WORLD! OUR WORLD! OUR ONLY WORLD!
Our world is dying! A little more every day! And we are all responsible for it. We are heading towards enormous problems and those “Doing Nothing” are responsible for the consequences. To make matters worse, there are ever increasing tendencies toward nationalist and right wing structures that lead to more isolation and selfishness. This is happening right now at a time when the whole world should be acting in a unified and collaborative manner. Unfortunately, lost for power, lobbying, selfishness and a giant dose of stupidity are preventing a better world for everyone.
- The rainforest in Brazil is burning. Billions of animals are dying in the flames and the world is watching as a “President” allows this to happen.
- The oceans are full of plastic and the world is watching millions of animals cruelly die from the plastic. Nevertheless, we continue to produce tons of plastic waste every day.
- Dictator, tyrants and the right-wing people are gaining more and more power and the world is watching.
- A corporation is obviously poisoning entire insect cultures worldwide, not to mention the bees and humans themselves with its pesticide. The world is watching.
- Car companies are massively damaging our environment with fake emissions data and the world is watching.
- In Australia (And Worldwide), we had true flame infernos in forest fires last year and again, billions of animals painfully burned to death, proven effects of climate change and the world is watching. Many a president denies climate change and yet, they still have chances of being re-elected. Our forests. The lungs of the world are burning while most people are not really worried and continue to live their lives the same way!
- Refugee camps in Europe are full of suffering people and the world is watching. There are thousands of traveling children who are alone in refugee camps in Europe, living in the worst of circumstance and being exposed to many dangers every day, and we can’t even bring these children to us and give them a new future? For months now, our politicians have been discussing whether we can get the children out of these! It is shameful!
There are currently many trillions in corona funding under discussion worldwide. Part of these funding is for prehistoric companies that will continue to pollute our environment in the extreme. Wouldn’t it be better to invest the money in new technologies such as fuel cells to help save our only and unique world instead of spending the money on polluting companies just because they have more power through their expensive lobbyists? Should we not take advantage of the unique opportunity for a better world just so a few people can keep stuffing their pockets at our own expense? Should we save jobs that, by design, exterminate our insects and bees worldwide? I think no! The free world must stand together and ensure that this ball does not continue to roll while many thousands of people are kept as slaves for years just to build new (football) stadiums! Unfortunately our politicians all too frequently play in the many-sided concert of injustices!
One could get the impression that this world is doomed and that humans are the biggest scum in global history. There is considerable evidence of this! I am not a scientist, but I have the hope that we will still be able to change this current course. Of course, there are a lot of stupid, selfish and bad people (Even several leaders of the largest countries cannot deny the accusation), but there are also a great deal of wonderful, good people and I am encouraged by this.
Check out the fantastic people within the Fridays For Future movement, or those from Greenpeace, Medicines Sans Frontiers and learn their names. This is my hope.
At FFF, young people are getting straight to the point of what we should be doing: “Save the world. It’s the only one we have and there is no planet b” and I feel really terrible when I hear the accusations against FFF from the ranks of some politicians. How can you make Greta Thunberg to appear negative and even hostile? This young lady is remarkable and deserves all the respect in the world. She has my deepest personal respect!
Rebel Town handled the demonstrations in Lepzig as well as in many other cities in East Germany that finally brought down the wall in Germany in 1989. We “The Little People can also achieve something like this. We only have to stick together and stand up for our goals. Be brave out there and be uncomfortable for the offenders! Fight!”
Nothing will change if we accept everything as is and do not tackle these abuses. And we ourselves also need to change. Starting with little things like dealing with plastic waste and avoiding waste and also in our mutual human interaction. Luckily, metal fans are mainly very open and tolerant people. One could almost conclude that we need more metal in everyday life. A cool idea! In any case, I’m thankful to be part of this scene!
We need more understanding and love in our interaction with each other. And right-wing thinking must not be tolerated. It isn’t self-explanatory that most of the right or at least “Right-Leaning” politicians deny global warming and don’t give a shit about looking after the environment, people and animals?
We need to break out of our paralyzing comfort and finally act ourselves. Set an example! Write to your politicians and demand that they opt for humanity and not for money and everything behind it! Support the actions of organizations like FFF, Greenpeace, the WWF, etc. Help people and help yourself. Become active! Small steps eventually rest in a very big step.
Our current album is frighteningly more relevant today and we could have ever imagined. The Coronavirus has shut down the world. Was it created in an incredibly cruel animal market in China or did it escape from a laboratory? I don’t know, but I don’t tend toward conspiracy theories and certainly not doomsday scenarios (I guess it was the transmission from the unspeakable animal market). Regardless, we must take this virus and it’s effects extremely seriously. A new virus could go around the world tomorrow: One that is even worse and more cruel than Covid 19.
But please note that Corona is just a tiny little fucker. The big thing to come and we have to prevent whatever it takes is global warming with all negative impacts for us (Billions of death cases, famine, crop failures, floods, extreme climate changes, etc) worldwide. And there is no vaccination against global warming! We have to do everything possible and impossible in order to avoid global warming since once it is out of control, there is no going back to normal life.....
We changed the world through our actions, both positively and negatively. Where the journey goes is in our hands. I am afraid that the last decisive journey is imminent and I hope that we will be able to act sensibly and cautiously and look toward a great future for people, animals and our environment. WE ONLY HAVE ONE PLANET AND WE ARE ALL UNITED. WE ARE PEOPLE!
WE ARE ONE”
Basic Description
Symphonic Power with Social Activism.
Think about 2020 everybody. Think about what was going on at that time: COVID-19, increasing spread & influence of Right-Wing policies & politicians, forest fires in both Brazil & Australia, the planet’s environment getting worse and worse, George Floyd, and so much more. 2020, more than any other year at that time, felt like the gates of hell opened up and just unleashed a torrent of crap that fell on all of our faces. We Are One reflected what most of us were feeling: both in the positive & negative sense, what Udo & the gang were trying to convey across the entire record was an encapsulation of everything that was happening at the time, and it was something that anyone who listened to the record needed to hear. Coupled with some great Heavy Metal & Symphonic music from the marching band of the German Military, and the end result is one of the reasons why I say that 2020 will forever have the best metal of this decade.
Best Track
I said it in my original review, and I’ll say it again here without fail, but Neon Diamond is a scorcher of a song. In addition to it being a perfect mix between the metallic & symphonic side of things, a little more variety is added in the form of some really good saxophone playing that gives everything a small jazz vibe when you can hear it. The lyrics & messaging is powerful also, referencing lovelorn souls looking for someone else to attach too, and the desire for material things (Think the name of the song is a reference to Blood Diamonds, but I’m not sure). It definitely works well as a track towards the end of We Are One, but it might have been the best as the very end.
Neon Diamond
Worst Track
Also like I stated in my original 2021 review, but if there was any fault to be had with We Are One, it would be the fact that the orchestra doesn’t match up with some of the songs. I still stand by this, as some songs the metallic elements & symphonic elements meld beautifully, while others sound good together but don’t quite meld. This doesn’t ruin the overall experience, and every song together is fantastic, but you will notice when both sides don’t work as well as they should.
One opinion of mine that has changed somewhat would be the Social Commentary. I said back in 2021 that the messaging was hokey & cheesy, and that Udo & the band are a little too optimistic about it. I still stand by that, but with how things have changed since 2020 for the worst, perhaps the message that the album is trying to convey isn’t quite as stereotypically hippy as it might be for some when they listen to this record for the very first time. There’s still some of that on here, but perhaps it isn’t as annoying in the 5 years since this release came out. There are some people out there that might not like We Are One because of the messaging (I can understand why to an extent), but there’s far more of that message that’s much stronger than some give it credit.
Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, click on the link below:
We Are One
Overall Impression & Rating
We Are One came out at the right place and the right time. It came out during a time where it’s messaging was absolutely needed, and it’s energy was required to give us a boost to make it through a plague-filled haze. The orchestral aspect may not match up in certain songs as well as others, and the messaging might be a little silly, but the music came out when the fans needed it the most. Considering the hellscape that has been 2025 so far, it’s vibes & commentary are stronger and perhaps needed more. It might not be for everybody, but We Are One is for anybody.
We Are One is still a solid 10 out 10, and I will stand by this until the day I die.
And that was my revised look at We Are One. Perhaps more relevant now than it was in 2020, it manages to delight & entertain while delivering a power message that everyone should hear. As things continue to crumble in the U.S. and abroad, perhaps it’s a message that everyone needs to hear. So, I’ll be back in a few days when I’ll have a review up for this year’s Connecticon, and at the end of July my second no. 1 album of 2020 will get looked at. Look up to the sky, and I’ll see you soon!
***
If you’d like to take a look at my original review, click on the link below:
Album Review - U.D.O.’s We Are One (2021 Version)
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