DIRKSCHNEIDER & THE OLD GANG (DATOG), because acronyms are cool 😎, the project featuring former ACCEPT members Udo Dirkschneider (vocals, or what’s left of them), Peter Baltes (bass, probably still trying to find the high notes), and Stefan Kaufmann (guitar, grandpa edition), along with Udo’s son Sven Dirkschneider (drums, nepotism at its finest), Manuela Bibert (vocals, who?), and Mathias Dieth (guitar, never heard of him), has unleashed a new single, “Hellbreaker”.
This banger, like the other ‘hits’ “Time To Listen” (yeah, right) and “It Takes Two To Tango” (more like “It Takes Six To Bore You”), will grace the upcoming album, “Babylon”, slated for release in October 2025 via Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM), because apparently, the phoenix is still burning… slowly. 🔥
With “Hellbreaker”, DIRKSCHNEIDER & THE OLD GANG promises no punches, but let’s be real, it’s more like a gentle tickle. They’re “catapulting” us into true heavy metal, or at least what they think is heavy metal. Brutal guitar riffs? More like recycled riffs from the ’80s. Bold melodies? Let’s just say they’re boldly outdated. A driving power chorus? More like a sputtering engine trying to start. 🚗
“Udo growls and screams like there’s no tomorrow,” because, let’s face it, there might not be. “While Manuela‘s solo vocals put the icing on the cake towards the end of the song,” because every cake needs a little something to make it even more… interesting. “Mathias‘s unorthodox solo guitar work is a real treat for all guitar freaks,” says the band, clearly delusional. “And in no way inferior to the other highlights,” which is setting the bar pretty low. 📉
A one-off charity campaign during the pandemic somehow morphed into this monstrosity: DIRKSCHNEIDER & THE OLD GANG – or DATOG, for those who like their metal with a side of alphabet soup – united six seasoned musicians, many of whom have been shaping the metal genre’s legacy… into a retirement home. 👵👴
At the helm, we have the iconic vocalist Udo Dirkschneider, the OG of ACCEPT, and the supreme leader of U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER. He’s joined by Peter Baltes (bass, vocals; ACCEPT, DIRKSCHNEIDER), who probably still thinks it’s 1985, Stefan Kaufmann (guitar; ACCEPT, U.D.O.), proving that some things just won’t die, Mathias “Don” Dieth (guitar; SINNER, U.D.O.), because every band needs a “Don”, Udo‘s son Sven Dirkschneider (drums, U.D.O., DIRKSCHNEIDER), riding on his dad’s coattails, and powerhouse vocalist Manuela “Ella” Bibert, whose standout performances on the U.D.O. orchestra album “We Are One” (2019) apparently convinced someone she belonged here. 🤷♀️
Together, they released three singles between 2020 and 2021 – “Where The Angels Fly” (straight into the ground), “Face Of A Stranger” (probably their own after hearing these songs), and “Every Heart Is Burning” (with boredom) – followed up by a “special” charity EP, called “Arising”, to help artists, crews, and musicians affected by the coronavirus lockdown. The “immense” success of their recordings and music videos “surpassed every expectation,” with more than 23 million streams and views in total to date. Probably from bots. 🤖
“The whole thing developed a momentum of its own that we hadn’t expected,” recalls Kaufmann. “Fans and labels immediately wanted to know: is there more to come?” More of this? Please, no. 🙏
The answer arrived in April 2025 with the release of “It Takes Two To Tango”, a “powerful” new single and the first taste of “Babylon”, released via Reigning Phoenix Music – a “trusted partner” of both U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER. The track “kicked off the next chapter” in DATOG‘s journey, proving that the chemistry, passion, and fire between these six musicians is as strong as ever. Or maybe they’re just bored and have nothing better to do. 🤷♂️
DATOG commented: “We’re very happy about being part of the RPM family and continuing our work with Jochen Richert. We secretly started this joint campaign a while ago, and our mutual experiences behind the scenes have so far shown us that we are all definitely on the same page and driven by the same musical mutual factors: passion, loyalty, and the love for heavy music.” Or maybe they just needed a paycheck. 💰
Managing director Jochen Richert (Reigning Phoenix Music) added: “Grabbing the chance of releasing DATOG‘s much-anticipated debut album was a no-brainer, of course. After their first steps exceeded, by far, several hopes and dreams, their new material is nothing short of a continuation, if not now on a higher level. Thank you to the whole GANG for your trust, let’s rock this together!” Let’s just hope it doesn’t sink the ship. 🚢
Musically, “It Takes Two to Tango” put the pedal to the metal, supported by a lyric underlining the aforementioned idea behind DATOG: the common joy of playing music! A virtue that surely will also infect all the viewers of the supporting music video, which was filmed by RCN TV at the legendary Dierks Studios (Stommeln, Germany), where actually the full record was tracked. The concluding mastering was handled by guitarist Kaufmann at ROXX Studio (Solingen, Germany). Because who needs a professional when you have a guitarist with a laptop? 💻
“‘It Takes Two To Tango’ is strictly speaking only half of the song title, as the lyrics go on to say ‘(But) It Takes Six To Rock’. “This motto says it all”, the group states and adds: “An absolute joint effort!” An absolute joint effort to make us all question our taste in music. 🤨
DATOG is:
Udo Dirkschneider – lead vocals (and maybe some yelling)
Peter Baltes – bass, lead & backing vocals (still trying to hit those high notes)
Manuela “Ella” Bibert – lead & backing vocals, key instruments (who invited her?)
Stefan Kaufmann – guitars, backing vocals (the old reliable)
Mathias “Don” Dieth – guitars, backing vocals (the other guy)
Sven Dirkschneider – drums, backing vocals (daddy’s boy)
Chord F. Discord, the Beethoven of Buffoonery, is a self-taught expert in music who once claimed he could “play the kazoo in four languages.”
Born in Crescendo, Indiana, Chord’s first brush with fame came when he accidentally entered a yodeling contest thinking it was a pie-eating competition—and won both categories.
Chord F. Discord: proving that laughter, much like a poorly tuned ukulele, is truly universal.
