Things you didn’t know about Grab A Stack of Rock summer HQ!
It’s not just about the music and showing off our collections in paradise. It’s also about emergency preparedness! Check out this helpful video in the event you’re ever up in cottage country during a nuclear meltdown.
These kits are distributed to residents within 10 km of the Bruce Nuclear power plant. I thought it would be at least interesting to have a good look inside one!
ACCEPT – Blind Rage (2014 Nuclear Blast / Japanese bonus track)
Accept finally proved they didn’t need Udo Dirkschneider with Mark Tornillo. He has had a steady run of reliable albums that continues to this day. 2014’s Blind Rage was his third with the German metal legends. Blood of the Nations and Stalingrad are hard to beat, and Blind Rage comes in third.
The album debuted at number one on the German albums chart. It Accept’s last album with guitarist Herman Frank and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann, and produced generically by Andy Sneap. Sneap gets a great sound, but as we’ll see, there’s too much formula and same-sameyness to the songs as the album goes on. Fortunately, the album gets off to a good start.
“Stampede” is a quintessential opener! Breakneck speed, but with melodic harmonies on guitar. Wolf Hoffman certainly knows how to write riffs and guitar melodies. Mark Tornillo is in great voice, growling low before hitting you with those screams, punctuated sparingly. A tad generic with that shouted “Stampede!,” chorus but the screams and the tempo make it worthwhile.
The lyrics on “Dying Breed” are cringe worthy, I’m so sorry to say. Some sample lines so you get the idea:
I am on record as disliking these kinds of references within lyrics. Fortunately, Mark sings it with conviction, and the song itself is pretty awesome. Guitar melodies are very much like a national anthem. There’s another shouted chorus, “We’re the last of a dying breed!” but let’s hope metal doesn’t die prematurely. Wolf throws in some classical-influenced guitar thrills to compensate.
The best song on the album is the desperation-drenched “Dark Side of My Heart” Melancholy metal with a stunning chorus. You can’t help but sing along, and all this is augmented by stunning guitar melodies by Wolf. Accept always keep things moving, but it’s so much better when it’s melodic, and this is the most melodic song on the album.
The first slow song on the record is track #4, “Fall of the Empire”. It takes a little longer to sink in, but the chorus is melodic enough. However, Accept’s penchant for those low pitched gang choruses is already starting to wear. Wolf’s solo here is really different, with a nice dry tube-y tone and some really unusual melodic choices.
Crank up the afterburners for “Trail of Tears”, a song about the trials of the Native American. “Who are the savages now?” asks Tornillo. The drums by Schwarzmann are phenomenal. Another high speed blur of modern metal, and one that sticks in the brain afterwards. Classical influences can still be heard in Wolf’s melodies.
Guitar harmonies take center stage for “Wanna Be Free”. Slower, more deliberate, dark and with a message. “No more crime and poverty,” “No more human trafficking”. Fairly simple, but that’s often the goal of these kinds of songs. Keep it positive, and not political. Though the guitars are always enticing, this might be the first one you feel like skipping.
Nuclear war is always a hot topic for metal bands, ever since Black Sabbath popularized it in the 1970s. In “200 Years”, nuclear war has devastated the planet to population zero: “200 years after mankind”. We’re back to the stone age just as prophesied. “I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” That’s a quote often attributed to Albert Einstein. Great topic, great song, with a neat little exotic interlude by Wolf in the middle before the solo.
Skipworthy “Bloodbath Mastermind” is just generic metal. Yes, it bangs, but there are no exceptional hooks. Pass.
Ear fatigue setting in, “From the Ashes We Rise” repeats the grooves that are becoming monotonous. We realize now that the Japanese 12 song track listing is just too long. This album should have been a simple, traditional 10 songs. Having said that, at least “From the Ashes We Rise” has melody, while “Bloodbath Mastermind” did not. Ultimately it sounds like a knockoff of another song on the album. A good knockoff, at least.
Back to quality, “The Curse” is a little more unique, and focused once again on melody. It’s a little somber, which is a nice change of pace after so much defiant headbanging. Some memorable hooks; different from the rest of the album. A highlight.
The closing track on the standard album is the Priest-like “Final Journey”, the guitar solo of which creatively features a very recognizable melody lifted from Grieg’s “Morning Mood”. Good closer, lots of building tension in the guitars.
The Japanese closer is “Thrown to the Wolves” which is fine, just like many of the album tracks, though like many of them, plagued with generic riffing and melodies. Catchy enough, just…not unique enough.
Blind Rage is a solid album, but Accept’s repeated use of certain elements such as those low-pitched choruses makes some songs really hard to remember and differentiate. Of the 12 songs, there are probably 10 keepers. It’s not a bad album by any means, but the formula is starting to set in and it takes many listens to really separate the songs in your mind. A little editing would have been wise.
3.5/5 stars
NOTE: My text review of Blind Rage by Accept will go up in the coming days.
Johnny Metal and John the Music Nut have been breaking down, in detail, every Accept studio album. I jumped on board with Blind Rage, the third album with Mark Tornillo. I chose this album since I had the Japanese import and I wanted the two Johns to have a chance to cover a rare bonus track on their show.
In this episode, we break down the album track by track, with a high level of agreement between us. The Music Nut then goes through the tour in detail, discussing all the songs that were played live, and how often. Some are still played live today.
If you want a sneak preview into my Blind Rage review, watch this episode, as I tried something new here: reading my review aloud (not easy). I may have even done some singing.
Check out the show, and look for my text review in a few days.
ACCEPT – Too Mean to Die (2021 Nuclear Blast)
Tornillo-era Accept has been a pretty even field; a level grid of Sneap-sharp production and Hoffmann’s razor-riffs. If you expected change just because there’s a new bass player for the first time ever, you’d be wrong. Accept may be down to just one original member (Wolf Hoffmann himself) but it doesn’t matter much. What Accept deliver on Too Mean to Die is the same as they have done for every album since 2010’s Blood of the Nations. Reliable, like AC/DC…or a comfortable leather jacket.
Nothing wrong with this. Accept found a formula that works in their post-Udo world and it works well. It’s difficult to remember what songs are from what albums, but Accept haven’t stopped putting out solid quality metal.
There’s the song about zombies (“Zombie Apocalypse”), one about never giving up (“Too Mean To Die”), the mid-tempo one (“Overnight Sensation”), the one about the media (“No Ones Master”), the single* (“The Undertaker”), the one with the funny title (“Sucks to be You”), the classical influence (“Symphony of Pain”), the ballad (“The Best is Yet to Come”), the one about the state of the world (“How Do We Sleep”), the angry one (“Not My Problem”), and the instrumental (“Samsom and Delilah”).
The riffs keep hammering in the capable hands of Wolf, and Mr. Tornillo on lead vocals never stops givin’ ‘er. Hooks on every track. The energy is no less than their first together. Wolf’s guitar tone remains as tasty as it has been for over four decades. One more album to add to your collection, as the Tornillo era blends together like a monolithic five-CD box set. Too Mean To Die could have been titled Disc Five, so if you need to complete your set, do it now.
4/5 stars
* The single for “The Undertaker” features a non-album live track on its B-side, of a non-album single called “Life’s a Bitch”!
ACCEPT – The Rise of Chaos (2017 Nuclear Blast blue and orange splatter limited vinyl edition)
Over the past decade, Accept have joined a rare pantheon. They are among the few metal bands with “replacement singers” that have continued with honour, and without constant clamouring for older lineups. Mark Tornillo has, over the course over several great albums, earned his place without question. The Rise of Chaos (with producer Andy Sneap) continues the journey, full steam ahead.
The blue and orange swirl vinyl edition is a double record set, limited to 700 copies. Not only do they look stunning, but they sound vibrant and crisp. A 46 minute album could easily have fit on a single LP, so the fact they did a double means they wanted to ensure maximum musical reproduction for vinyl buyers.*
Wolf, Mark, Peter, Uwe and Christopher crush it throughout. “Die By the Sword”, the initial assault, is a lightning strike of sharp riffing and Baltes’ bass undercurrent. This is pure Accept: gothic backing vocals and overhead screams! “Hole in the Head” boils over with animosity, delivered molten. Then, like a Panzer division at full speed, “The Rise of Chaos” rips the heads off anything still standing.
Flip sides. “Koolaid” retells the story of Jim Jones and the cult of the damned, a topic previously explored by Manowar. With a riff written as if out of 1984, it takes on a mid-tempo groove rock march. Yes, it’s possible the best song on the Accept album is named “Koolaid”! Then the heat put off by “No Regrets” will blister the skin, if the drums don’t give you a concussion.
Flip sides. Taking it back to a sharp metallic groove, “Analog Man” is an amusing look at our high tech world. “Now there’s flat-screens and 3-D, my cell phone’s smarter than me!” They go for an anthemic style with “What’s Done is Done”, and plenty of guitar harmony solos to go around. “Worlds Colliding” has the “classic metal” sound, brilliant riff and chorus combined for a slick mercury-like sound.
Flip sides one more time. Neither “Carry the Weight” and “Race to Extinction” let up. It’s 10 more minutes of fast, heavy metal. Make no mistake, this is one punishing metal album. Is it a little paint-by-numbers? Yes — Accept albums are getting that way. Riffs might be interchangeable. But when the albums are still this good, it matters little.
4.5/5 stars
* You could also choose from:
ACCEPT – Blood of the Nations (2010 Nuclear Blast)
I had a few Accept albums at home: Metal Heart, Balls To The Wall and Eat The Heat. I’d never bought an Accept album when it was a “new release” before, and I’d never bought anything post-reunion. I suppose I was interested in the music I was familiar with and nothing beyond that. When I heard they were reuniting with a new singer I was instantly skeptical. I was ready to bring the hate!
Some glowing reviews on the Eddie Trunk show opened my ears, and when Eddie started playing new tracks like “Beat The Bastards” and “Teutonic Terror”, I was hooked! New singer Mark Tornillo (who I’d never heard before, but have found out was critically acclaimed as the singer of TT Quick) had filled Udo’s teeny tiny little shoes and somehow made them fit, plus added his own style. Tornillo is not a screamer like Udo, but he can scream when necessary, and damn…it sounds awesome when he does!
New singer or not, the difference between a real fresh start (like Accept) and a mere tribute band with a new singer (like Quiet Riot) is new material. If the new material sucks, then there is no point. If it stands up, then the band is vindicated. I was glad to report that Accept’s new material was awesome. I don’t like to throw that word around lightly, because too many people overuse to pump up their favourite bands. Well, a) Accept has never been a favourite of mine, and b) this album really is awesome. Every song has life. The riffs courtesy of Wolf Hoffman are alive, powerful and catchy. Vocal melodies are traditional metal. Everything about this album is traditionally metal except the loud n’ proud, raw modern production by Andy Sneap. In short the album sounds great.
There’s also some solid groove on this album. Take “Pandemic” for example. It reminds me of the old Testament classic, “Electric Crown” in terms of groove and tempo. As far as I’m concerned, Accept absolutely nail it on Blood of the Nations, from the rock solid rhythm section to the screaming leads.
I’m really glad I got this album, and this edition. The bonus track “Time Machine” is one of the stronger songs. Yet every song is equally strong, there are no weak links in this chain. It’s just a great album from start to finish and I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do.
This album is rejuvenation. You have to hear it to believe. That they followed it with the equally strong Stalingrad is almost as astonishing.
5/5
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