German heavy metal bands U.D.O. and Grave Digger have both announced new studio albums for January 2027. U.D.O. release their 20th album, Voodoo Ranger, on January 8 via Reigning Phoenix Music and have shared the first single, „I’ll Die Trying“. Grave Digger follow with Faces of Pain on January 15 via Reaper Entertainment. Other news: Grave Digger, Saraksh, Innersphere.
U.D.O. RELEASE NEW SINGLE & VIDEO “I’LL DIE TRYING” AND ANNOUNCE 20TH STUDIO ALBUM VOODOO RANGER
18.9.2026
Photo: Martin Hausler
German heavy metal band U.D.O. have released „I’ll Die Trying“ with an official music video. It is the first single from their 20th studio album, Voodoo Ranger, out January 8, 2027 via Reigning Phoenix Music.
The album opens a triple anniversary year. Udo Dirkschneider turns 75 in 2027, and the band celebrate 40 years.
The band chose a ballad over a metal attack to introduce the record. The song is about perseverance, self-belief and staying true to your path. Dirkschneider calls it one of the most personal songs on the album and says the last verse reflects his years on stage.
It was not the original plan. Peter Baltes and Alen Brentini were injured at a recent show on the Balls To The Wall – 40th Anniversary Tour, so the band postponed the video for a different song. Dirkschneider adds that the album is not getting softer.
Udo and Sven Dirkschneider, Peter Baltes and Fabian „Dee“ Dammers wrote the album, with contributions from new guitarist Alen Brentini. Martin „Mattes“ Pfeiffer produced and mixed it and Stefan Kaufmann mastered it. Eliran Kantor painted the artwork.
Voodoo Ranger tracklist:
- Testify
- The Sky Is The Limit
- Keep Me Alive
- Back Breaker
- I’ll Die Trying
- Reach For The Crown
- Pain & Glory
- Hell Hunt
- Voodoo Ranger
- Magic Life
- Devil’s Mind
- Movin‘ On
U.D.O. will mark 40 years on stage with the Triple Anniversary Tour 2027 across Europe. Dirkschneider’s official autobiography with Dan Dreyer comes out in the same month as the album.
Links:
http://www.udo-online.com/
https://www.facebook.com/udoonline/
https://www.instagram.com/u.d.o._official/
https://www.youtube.com/user/UDOtubetv
Source: Mona Miluski/ALL NOIR
Saraksh Announce New Album Abiram and Release Lyric Video for Forlorn
18.9.2026
German sludge band Saraksh will release their new album, Abiram, on November 20, 2026. The first single, „Forlorn“, comes with a lyric video.
The album continues the band’s sci-fi story, set on Saraksh, a dead planet where a lone wanderer fights to survive. It picks up where the title track of Moloch: refactored (2023) ended, with the wanderer leaving Moloch in despair.
In „Forlorn“, he descends into ruins beneath the sand that speak of war, the worship of technology and the loss of humanity. Guitarist and vocalist Severin Mäker calls it the band’s most brutal and technical song to date: shifting rhythms, blast beats and intricate riffs that still stay catchy.
Abiram tracklist:
- Scavenger
- Confinement: Carving Me
- Confinement: Circles
- Confinement: Bottom Deep
- They Come At Night
- Forlorn
- Mire
- Designation
Mäker started the dystopian project in 2018, and it has three releases so far. The quartet name Converge, Ulcerate, Totem Skin and Omega Massif among their influences.
Links:
https://linktr.ee/saraksh
https://www.instagram.com/saraksh_band/
https://www.facebook.com/SarakshBand
https://saraksh.bandcamp.com
Source: Dominik Goncalves dos Reis/ALL NOIR
Grave Digger Announce New Album Faces of Pain for January 2027
16.9.2026
German heavy metal band Grave Digger will release their new album, Faces of Pain, on January 15, 2027 via Reaper Entertainment. Uwe Jarling created the cover artwork.
The album continues the old-school approach of Bone Collector, the band’s 45th-anniversary record. Frontman Chris Boltendahl calls it a mature but explosive late-career work and the band’s most diverse in a long time.
He credits much of it to his growing partnership with guitarist Tobias Kersting, who wrote the riffs to Boltendahl’s lyrics.
Fast tracks such as „Faces of Pain“ and „Satan’s Tango“ sit next to mid-tempo anthems including „The Number“, „Legends Never Die“ and „When The World Is Calling You“. „Dead Sun“ and „Say Hello To The Devil“ show a heavier, darker side.
Boltendahl produced the album at Graveyard Studios in Senden, Germany.
Links:
https://www.grave-digger-clan.de/
https://www.facebook.com/gravediggerofficial/
https://www.instagram.com/gravediggerband/
Source: Florian Milz
Innersphere Release New Single Temple of Sheol
18.9.2026
Czech melodic death metal band Innersphere have released „Temple of Sheol“, a new single from their upcoming fourth album. Marek „Frodys“ Pytlík made the video, filmed at the band’s Masters of Rock show.
Frontman Míra Litomerický says the song shows a sharper side of the band, and more fast songs will follow. The album is written. The band plan to finish recording it this year and hope to release it in autumn 2027.
The single comes as the band start an autumn tour, mostly abroad. Innersphere will play the UK for the first time, with six shows. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, they play only Prague, Brno and Bratislava before the end of the year.
The first 2027 dates will follow soon, including a ten-date European tour.
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/innerspheremetal
https://www.instagram.com/innerspheremetal/
Source: Press release (TZ)
