'Udo Dirkschneider's' last album under the '.U.D.O.' banner before he rejoined 'Accept', and he certainly closes their first chapter with a bang. 'Faceless World' showed a slightly more melodic side of the band, but 'Timebomb' is the direct opposite, as this is full throttle borderline Power Metal throughout, with no ballads present. Lyrically this is no masterpiece, just looking at the titles of the songs is a dead give away to the content, but it's the music which makes this one of '.U.D.O.'s' most consistent and ultimately finest albums. 'Mathias Dieth' is allowed to really let loose and helps create a number of uncompromising rippers, that while some would class as "no brainers" are still enjoyable fist-raisers.

A short electrifying introduction titled 'The Gutter' acts as a decent opening to the first track proper 'Metal Eater'. Lyrically this is pretty shocking but the instrumentation on this uncompromising rocker is especially sharp and compliments 'Udo's' crushing vocals for the first album highlight. Following in similar fashion is the ripping 'Thunderforce', again the lyrics are not exceptional, although the chorus is quite catchy and is braced by more superb fret work. The instrumental 'Overloaded' ensues and this guitar fest not only acts as a splendid intro to the next song but also stands alone as a very solid piece. The pace picks up even further for the full throttle 'Burning Heat', a typical rigorous '.U.D.O.' track, that despite the repetitive chorus is still an enjoyable effort. Slightly more melodic is the pulsating 'Back in Pain', and what makes this cut for me is the superb guitar work, which has a certain neo-classical vibe, the chorus while simplistic is effect and overall another highlight. Not quite so impressive is the title track 'Timebomb', the rhythm work is effective throughout, but I'm not keen on the lyrics which don't really flow well, the chorus however is fairly catchy in the fist raising sense. Improvements are made with 'Powersquad', which I feel displays better penmanship and is complimented by more of that intricate fret work and further upheld by 'Udo's' ripping vocals which are on top form. 'Kick in the Face' is regrettably a return to the crude song writing, thankfully the instrumentation is strong enough to carry this track, as 'Mathias Dieth' lays down another magnificent solo. Better still is the lively rocker 'Soldiers of Darkness', a darker sounding cut, graced with shredding guitar work, aggressive backing vocals and 'Udo' tearing through the decent lyrics. After a subtle intro, commences the final song 'Metal Maniac Mater Mind', an anthemic plodder, which supports a fine chorus complete with solid gang chanted backing vocals.

If you're looking for well crafted Metal in the style of 'Queensrÿche' or 'Radakka' you would be better off looking elsewhere, but if "balls to the wall" Metal is what you're after, you will most likely take something from this release. Following this album 'Udo' regrettably put the band on hold to rejoin 'Accept', retrospectively he probably would have done better on his own as 'Accept's' last three albums with 'Udo' at the helm, aren't a patch on the '.U.D.O.' material.