United Rock Nations recently conducted an interview with former ACCEPT and current U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER frontman Udo Dirkschneider. You can now listen to the chat using the SoundCloud widget below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On whether the DIRKSCHNEIDER tour, during which he performed nothing but ACCEPT songs, influenced the musical direction of the new U.D.O. album, "Steelfactory": Udo: "I would say, and I'll be honest, I think yes. I mean, if you are on tour, let's say, for maybe three years doing nearly three hundred shows and play only ACCEPT songs, of course, it's definitely an influence and also a feeling if you start songwriting. But I don't have a problem with this. [Laughs]" On the recent departure of guitarist Bill Hudson and temporary return of Stefan Kaufmann: Udo: "We had a problem with a session guitar player for the second time. Bill Hudson was not the right guy for us. He was not a team player. He was not interested in songwriting and recording the album. It was a little bit strange situation. And then, after the American tour, we said, 'Okay. Sorry, guy, but this doesn't work with us.' And then I don't wanna have another — how do you say this? — quick looking for a guitar player. And then I was calling Stefan Kaufmann. I mean, we never had any bad things going on, a bad relationship, and I asked Stefan if it was maybe possible to help us out on the festivals. And he said, 'Yes. No problem. But I don't wanna join the band anymore. I'll just help you out until the festivals are over with DIRKSCHNEIDER.' And now we have time enough to look for a new guitar player, and I think the end of August, beginning of September, we can announce a new guitar player. We are still doing auditions. There are, let's say, four guitar players left, and then we will have to make our decision who will be the next guitar player." "Steelfactory" will be released on August 31 via AFM. Kaufmann originally left U.D.O. in September 2012 for health reasons. He was the drummer for ACCEPT on nine albums but was forced to give up drumming towards the end of the band's initial run after sustaining a serious injury to his back. Stefan joined U.D.O. as a guitar player in 1996, following ACCEPT's second breakup, and recorded nine albums with them, including his most recent release with the group, 2011's "Rev-Raptor". In addition to Udo and his son Sven (drums), the DIRKSCHNEIDER and U.D.O. bands include bassist Fitty Wienhold and guitarist Andrey Smirnov. Dirkschneider has spent the last two years touring under the DIRKSCHNEIDER banner, performing classic ACCEPT songs for the last time. The trek, which was originally supposed to conclude with the band's North American run in January/February 2017, has now been extended through the fall of 2018.
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