Dirkschneider & the Old Gang - 'Strangers In Paradise' (video)

Fear has come to us
And left us all alone
So many empty promises
Have slowly turned to stone

We will not stay forever
Just lost inside a storm
Remember when I've gone away
The world’s still moving on

Among the woods the soft winds play
Cascading branches grand
The sunlight shines from far away
Onto this silent land

We are strangers in paradise
We’re sailing the oceans of time
We are strangers in paradise
We’re scaling the mountain of life

Feel a wave’s caress
Or hear a whispering tree
And watch the silver morning light
A new life breaking free

When our days are over
The glance forever gone
And angels fly eternally
Into a distant dawn

A lonely light for evermore
Is shining from the sky
We're welcomed through an open door
To find the reason why

We are strangers in paradise
We’re sailing the oceans of time
We are strangers in paradise
We’re scaling the mountain of life

Ooh - ooh - ooh - strangers in paradise
Ooh - ooh - ooh

We are strangers in paradise
We’re sailing the oceans of time
We are strangers in paradise
We’re scaling the mountain of life

We are strangers...
In the silver morning light
...in paradise
A new life breaking free
We’re sailing the oceans of time
Ooh - ooh
We are strangers...
When our days are over
...in paradise
The glance forever gone
We’re scaling the mountain of life
Strangers in paradise

Τρία πρώην μέλη των Accept, ο Udo Dirkschneider, ο Peter Baltes και ο Stefan Kaufmann ένωσαν τις δυνάμεις τους. Η μπάντα ονομάσθηκε Dirkschneider & the Old Gang (για συντομία DATOG). Ως προς το μουσικό τους ύφος; Με το παρελθόν (και το παρόν) των μελών της μπάντας δεν νομίζω ότι χρειάζονται ιδιαίτερες αναλύσεις.

Αυτό που φαντάζεστε (και περιμένετε), Acceptικό heavy metal. Μας παρουσιάστηκαν το 2021 με δύο singles ("Where the Angels Fly", "Face of a Stranger") και ισάριθμα EPs ("Every Heart Is Burning", "Arising") όλα το 2021.

Εν έτει 2025 επιστρέφουν δισκογραφικά με singles, εν αναμονή του πρώτου τους "ολοκληρωμένου" δίσκου, ο οποίος τιτλοφορείται "Babylon" και αναμένεται στα ξεκινήματα του δεύτερου φθινοπωρινού μήνα....

Δελτίο τύπου: «What a story! Over the past few years, a charity campaign featuring six prominent musicians for the benefit of artists affected by the coronavirus lockdown has developed into a spectacular project that will undoubtedly cause a sensation.

We are talking about Dirkschneider And The Old Gang, DATOG for short, with a line-up whose majority has had a decisive influence on the history of heavy metal over the past four decades: Udo Dirkschneider was the founder and long-time singer of Accept and, after leaving the band, also led his follow-up bands, U.D.O. and Dirkschneider, to international fame.

In DATOG he is joined by Peter Baltes (bass, vocals; Accept), Stefan Kaufmann (guitar; Accept, U.D.O.) and Mathias Dieth (guitar; Sinner, U.D.O.) as well as Udo's son Sven Dirkschneider (drums; U.D.O., Dirkschneider), who has played for his dad for the last ten years.

The sixth member of the gang is singer Manuela Bibert, who has not been let off the hook since her great performance on the recording of the U.D.O. orchestra album “We Are One” in the spring of 2019.

In this constellation, three DATOG singles, (“Where The Angels Fly”, “Face Of A Stranger” & “Every Heart Is Burning”), were created between summer 2020 and fall 2021, including video clips that are well worth watching, this got the train rolling: “The whole thing developed a momentum of its own, that we hadn't expected in this form", Kaufmann looks back somewhat surprised!

“After the singles incredibly went viral, fans, record companies and concert agencies immediately got in touch and wanted to know whether there was more to come, in other words, what the prospects were for a full album? In fact, we very quickly had more songs in reserve that fit the band's concept and that's how the album that everyone wanted actually came about.”

DATOG will release their debut album “Babylon” on October 3rd, 2025, via 'Reigning Phoenix Music'. Starting in April 2025, a new single will be presented on the 6th of every month for an entire year (!), accompanied by a performance video. So you don't have to be a prophet to predict that this plan will be a successful ride through all the various metal instances.

Especially as the stylistic DATOG concept mentioned by Kaufmann is based on three singers - Dirkschneider, Bibert, Baltes - and therefore contains different vocal profiles that proves to be the band's unique selling point.

“Of course, we didn't even try to split the vocals equally, but carefully analyzed whose voice would fit best for each part”, explains Udo Dirkschneider, who, as an experienced team player, knows that the music alone should dictate the respective arrangement. The same applies to the songwriting, which was also not about cultivating supposed vanities, but followed the motto exclusively: The best songs win!

A wise decision, as the twelve songs on “Babylon” show! Because within a clearly defined basic stylistic direction and alongside magnificent solo performances, especially from exceptional guitarist Mathias “Don” Dieth, the album is particularly characterized by great complexity and an enormous wealth of facets.

This ranges from the first pre-release single “It Takes Two To Tango” (April 6th, 2025) with its driving guitar riff and the uptempo number “Time To Listen”, which follows on May 6th, 2025, to the final single on March 6th, 2026 with the shuffle-fueled “The Law Of A Madman”.

In between, there is “Hellbreaker” (June 6th, 2025), a hard-hitting metal pamphlet, the ballad “Strangers In Paradise” (July 6th, 2025) and “Babylon” (September 6th, 2025), a worthy title track. Almost exactly halfway through the monthly single releases, the full album and the song “Metal Sons”, a tribute to true, original heavy metal, will be released on October 3rd, 2025.

Finally, we come to the summary of the DATOG story, which, as already mentioned, was initially only intended for a specific purpose, but has now become an impressive spectacle: with “Babylon”, where the German all-star band presents twelve brilliant metal songs which, despite their unusual vocal concept, never degenerate into a Babylonian confusion of voices.

Quite the opposite: the album inspires both compositionally and vocally and convinces every sound fetishist with its transparent yet powerful production.»

Το έδαφος προετοιμάζει το μουσικό βίντεο του τραγουδιού "Strangers In Paradise", για το οποίο το Γερμανικό συγκρότημα μας λέει:

«Strangers In Paradise gets under your skin, an extraordinary rock ballad in every respect. At the beginning, Manuela soulfully accompanies her own vocals, then Peter joins in with an emotional voice.

The song then culminates in a chorus in which Udo sings more warmly, clearly, deeply and emphatically than ever before. Certainly a special highlight for all true fans.

Mathias' virtuoso guitar solo in flamenco style leads to the powerful grand finale with the typical DATOG choruses, an appropriate inclusion to this magnificent album.»

Band: Dirkschneider & The Old Gang (DATOG)
Country of origin: Germany
Formed in: 2020
Genre: Heavy Metal
Years active: 2020-present

Video: "Strangers In Paradise"
Video produced by: RCN TV, Nürnberg, Germany
Album: "Babylon"
Type: Full length
Release date: October 3rd, 2025
Label: Reigning Phoenix Music

Track listing:
01. It Takes Two To Tango
02. Babylon
03. Hellbreaker
04. Time To Listen
05. Strangers In Paradise
06. Dead Man's Hand
07. The Law Of A Madman
08. Metal Sons
09. Propaganda
10. Blindfold
11. Batter The Power
12. Beyond The End Of Time

Band members:
Udo Dirkschneider - Main Vocals
Peter Baltes - Bass, Main Vocals, Backing Vocals
Manuela "Ella" Bibert - Main Vocals, Backing Vocals, Key Instruments
Stefan Kaufmann - Guitars, Backing Vocals
Mathias "Don" Dieth - Guitars, Backing Vocals
Sven Dirkschneider - Drums, Backing Vocals