Power and bombast gained with age

As the gods of metal age: the short list includes Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Saxon, Black Sabbath, Udo Dirkschneider, and those other German head-bangers, the Scorpions. Most of these bands have retired, thought better of it, and returned in one form or another. But Dirkschneider, who enjoyed some 1980s love while fronting the band Accept, has really never stopped. To wit: 26 studio albums (not counting EPs or live albums), some with the aforementioned Accept and some with his follow-up band, U.D.O.

Consider the metal that German bands contributed to the mix back in the day. Did they not play harder and faster than any of their British and American contemporaries? I’m talking that old original heavy metal, from the earliest days, back before the genre splintered into the frustrating matrix of speed metal, industrial metal, death metal, glam metal, thrash metal, groove metal, and black metal that defines a fan today.

Dirkschneider, from Wuppertal, Germany, is now a 65-year-old metalhead: short, round, jackbooted, and creased by age. He looks better suited to some kind of desk job managing WWF ring fighters. Or maybe a tank commander. But when his voice (a high-range gravel pit not unlike that of AD/DC’s Brian Johnson) blasts out through the arena’s main speakers, all doubt is erased. His durable set of pipes has gained power and bombast with age. Even though the heavy metal ship has long since sailed, Dirkschneider is writing and recording like it’s 1986 and he still has big hair. By now, many other groups have covered old Accept classics like “Fast as a Shark.” Dirkschneider told a reporter he’s tired of fans making comparisons as to which band plays them better. In 2016, he announced that he was touring Accept songs for the last time. Then again, maybe not. Two years after, he’s still doing them.

Dirkschneider: Friday, March 23, Brick By Brick, 619-276-3990, 7 p.m., $28adv/$32dos (also performing: locals Warpath, as well as Elm Street, Helsott, and Alchemy)