The first outing for 'Udo Dirkschneider' away from 'Accept' and while the lineup is different the songs were written and produced by his old associates. Needless to say the music is very similar to 'Accept' in approach, raw, slightly quirky in the Euro Metal sense and of course features the unmistakable vocals of 'Udo Dirkschneider'. Perhaps not as out and out heavy as I imagined it would be, as my first taste of 'U.D.O.' was the Power Metal blazer 'Time Bomb'. Lyrically 'Animal House' is nothing to write home about, it's pretty basic, down right cliché in places, but musically its strong with plenty of forceful fist raisers to please most old school Metal fans.

The title track opens the show and while it's a strong opener full of driving rhythm and fret work, I find the chorus particularly disappointing, it's overused and just sounds sloppy, other than that though it's a fine effort. Better is the fast rocker 'Go Back to Hell', again the chorus is slightly trite but musically this is spot on with 'Udo' on top form belting out the lyrics, while the guitar combo of 'Mathias Dieth' and 'Peter Szigeti' display fine technical work. The pace is dropped for the anthemic sounding 'They want War', a fairly tame effort by my recognising especially how the song tails off with a children's choir, it just doesn't work, overlooking that, there's a tasty guitar solo that's easily overlooked. Back on track is the gutsy ripper 'Black Widow', definitely some 'Priest' influence on this number especially the intro, the chorus is a bit blatant and basic, but it all comes together for a tasty energetic rocker. The tempo is dropped for the balladsy 'In the Darkness' and for me 'Udo' steals the show with a superb vocal display on this passionately sung gem, the supporting melody should also not be disregarded. Continuing in fine form is my favourite track of 'Animal House' the cracking 'Lay Down the Law', slightly more commercial in approach, but a hot rocking number, supported by a glorious fist raising chorus and some very effective backing harmonies. 'We Want it Loud' follows in carefree fashion, lyrically simplistic but effective, with driving rhythm and more strong fret work. Next up is the 'Mötley Crüesque' 'Hot Tonight' a lively headbanger with more of a Hair Metal feel, which is supported by a hearty harmonised chorus, which unfortunately becomes a little too repetitive. Despite a splendid intro 'Warrior' rapidly goes down hill when some strange high pitched vocals are introduced, whether this is 'Udo's' voice distorted I can't tell, but whatever it is, it sounds tacky, other than that the lyrics are pretty poor and distract from the sweet fret work present. Much better is the fast paced guitar fuelled 'Coming Home', with a catchy sing-a-long chorus and impressive vocals from 'Udo', this makes for one of the albums top cuts. The disc goes out on a low, with the dreary anthemic plodder 'Run for Cover', a sluggishly placed track that is about the weakest offering present.

There's a good mix here, thankfully the good outweighs the weak, but there are a couple of unfocused efforts that drag 'Animal House' down a little. 'U.D.O.' and 'Accept' fan's like myself will want a copy, but there is better, harder, faster material to come from the German legend.