ACCEPT – Stalingrad (2012 Nuclear Blast, bonus track)
They said there could be no Accept without Udo! But here we are, two albums deep onto a healthy Accept rennaissance with Mark Tornillo at the mic. Wolf Hoffman and company have carried on with class. Has there ever been a metal band that so seemlessly replaced their beloved longtime original throat?
I think on Stalingrad, Tornillo’s fitting in better than ever. It seemed to my ears that they have upped the SPM (screams-per-minute) on this Accept album, and Tornillo’s never sounded better honestly. I guess that big long tour really tightened everybody up, because the whole band sounds awesome.
Stalingrad is very much a companion record to the successful comeback Blood Of The Nations. It sound like a natural succession, with perhaps a little more emphasis on melody and catchiness. The tracks are still as Teutonically heavy as before, but there seems to be just the oddest incremental increase in melody.
Strongest songs:
“Stalingrad”, “Flash To Bang Time”, “Shadow Soldiers”, “Us Against The World”, they’re all good! I also liked the 9/11 song “Never Forget”, which is a bonus track on some editions.
On a final note, I think Peter Baltes is a damn fine and underrated metal bassist. He sounds great on this album!
4.5/5stars
mikeladano.com 
Tell u what Mike,I was fortunate enough back in early 91 to see Dokken in Winnipeg when Don added Baltes,Norum,White and Dee to his Dokken lineup and man that said tour/album was excellent,too bad it disengrated shortly after!
But that night he blew off the headliner(Poison)
And oh by the way I thought Accepts Eat The Heat disc wasn’t too bad……I would give that one a 3/5 ….
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Hey Deke! I agree with your Eat The Hear rating. I have the Dokken album that he did with that lineup (always loved Norum) and I think it’s good but too ballady. At the same time, I bought that Lynch Mob album, which was good and heavy and not enough good songs. Shame. Dokken are a band that is best with their original lineup I think.
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Balls to the wall! I Accept your challenge to seek out this album.
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I like it…I think I may have sent you a track from their last album which you enjoyed.
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Yeah I here ya,but having said I thought the Dysfunctional album was half good,I thought they had lost all momentum by than(95) and I kinda gave up on them until they put out the live album with Reb Beach cuz the Hunter was on it,and I thought that was one of there best tunes…..
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Hell yeah, the Hunter was pretty much their best song back then! Though I have a soft spot for Alone Again and Breaking the Chains. They were a great band for those kind of rock ballads. But you can write too many ballads over the years…
I like Reb Beach too. I saw a recent Whitesnake live DVD and I was surprised that Doug Aldrich did almost all of the solos, Reb very few.
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It was probably a non stresser gig for Beach not having to play the solos and just play rhythm .thanks for the cheque,Cov!
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Not to mention steady work for the forseeable future.
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