It's pretty difficult to summarize the career of a Metal veteran like Udo Dirkschnieder on one single CD. With this one we're talking specifically about his other band, U.D.O., not ACCEPT. "Metallized - 20 Years Of Metal: Best Of U.d.o." covers material from the band's 20+ year history, featuring outtakes from great albums like "Animal House" (1987), "Faceless World" (1990), "Solid" (1997), "Holy" (1999) and "Man And Machine" (2002). However, as stated, you cannot pack every single U.D.O. "greatest hit" into one disc; it's just impossible. For this particular compilation, AFM Records has selected a total of 16 tracks (12 previously released, four previously unreleased), but they've fallen short in choosing the proper track listing.

Sure, there are a lot of great selections here. Tracks like "Holy", "Heart Of Gold", "Independence Day", "They Want War", "In The Darkness", "Man And Machine", "Animal House" are among the very best U.D.O. have ever recorded. While these are staple U.D.O. tracks that are more than justified being present on this CD, many of the other tracks could have been replaced with much, much better choices. "Thunderball"? "24/7"? "Cut Me Out"? Granted, these are not bad, but all are less than average. What about "Stranger", "The Punisher", "Recall The Sin", "Raiders Of Beyond" and "Black Widow"??? These examples are a heck of a lot heavier than the aforementioned ones. What's even more disappointing is there is absolutely nothing from both "Mean Machine" (1989) and "Timebomb" (1991), two of U.D.O.'s heaviest albums. It's absolutely mind-boggling that the label saw it fit NOT to include even a few tracks from these two discs. What a shame.

On a positive note, the two previously unreleased tracks "Shadow Maker" and "Terror In Paradise" (both appear to be leftovers from the recording of the band's latest full-length, "Mastercutor") are pretty decent listens, and add more appeal to this compilation, but that's about it. "Bullet And The Bomb", a live recording from St. Petersburg, Russia, is not bad, but the sound quality is not the greatest. Then there is the acoustic version of "Balls To The Wall" (ACCEPT classic). What an absolute travesty! How can you disassemble a major headbanging Metal anthem such as this and turn it into a lullaby? This is just plain horrible and utterly painful to listen to. Why the band decided to even make an attempt at this is beyond all human comprehension. Sad but true.

Let's face it, "best of" albums are a record label's way of saying "Hey, we want to make some extra money, and this is an easy way of doing it." It's just as simple as that. Usually a label will throw in a few extras (like on this one) to lure you in and buy the disc. Whatever the case, it boils down to answering "yes" or "no" to these two questions: Are you such a die-hard fan of the artist that you will buy anything they put out, regardless? or "Do you simply like an artist's greatest hits and just want to buy album that sums it up? The facts are laid out for "Metallized - 20 Years Of Metal: Best Of U.d.o.". Now, you decide.