| Written by Alex Stojanovic TRACK LISTING Diving Into Sin Humanoid Frankenstein Man Up The Reckoning Nobody Gets Out Alive Ravages Of Time Unbreakable Mind Games Straight Up Jack Southside Of Hell Release Date: April 26, 2024 Label: Napalm Records Website: acceptworldwide.com facebook.com/accepttheband |  |
ACCEPT IS:
Mark Tornillo - Vocals / Wolf Hoffmann - Lead guitars & backing vocals / Uwe Lulis - Rhythm guitars
Christopher Williams - Drums / Martin Motnik - Bass / Philip Shouse - Guitars
Mark Tornillo - Vocals / Wolf Hoffmann - Lead guitars & backing vocals / Uwe Lulis - Rhythm guitars
Christopher Williams - Drums / Martin Motnik - Bass / Philip Shouse - Guitars
Since their return in 2010 with Blood Of The Nations, Accept has been through a lot. On top of releasing some of the best records of their career (along with a couple of duds), they've gone through a bunch of lineup changes, leaving Wolf Hoffmann as the only original member left. They also left Nuclear Blast Records, as seemingly a lot of bands are these days, and went over to Napalm Records. With all the talk about artificial intelligence taking over the world these days, it's no surprise to see Accept jumping on that bandwagon and tackling that subject with their latest album Humanoid. With a robot standing over a bunch of humans, seemingly claiming its reign over humanity, it's pretty easy to get the message. The other thing is that with a lot of bands taking the AI route with their album covers these days, this one is still designed by a human, which is still very welcoming, and a sigh of relief if I may add. It also gives a nod to Metal Heart with the heart shape in the background, which is a nice touch.
Anyway, we're here to talk about the music overall. With Accept, you know what you're getting. The first three albums of the band's second rise to power with Mark Tornillo, those being Blood Of The Nations, Stalingrad and Blind Rage will always be the best of this period. With The Rise Of Chaos, they took a dip into the pits of mediocrity with that one, then came roaring back with Too Mean To Die in 2021. So, how were they going to follow it up? At this point, I don't think the word "top" means anything to Accept, because it seems like their only focus is creating songs in the vein that they've been doing for the last 15 years. You got a number of songs that stick to the traditional Accept formula with upbeat and mid-tempo riffing like "Diving Into Sin", "Man Up", "The Reckoning" and "Mind Games". There's also the fact that Tornillo is 70, and he still sounds the way he does, which is mind-blowing.
Things are taken down a few notches with "Ravages Of Time", the album's ballad. It only makes sense because it's about reminiscing and accepting (pun intended) our own mortality. We all wish we could live forever, but as we get older and reach a certain age, we start counting the days as opposed to the years. On an album that's mostly compiled of lyrics tackling the dark side of life, you gotta lighten the mood with a party song, and the only song that does that here is "Straight Up Jack" with it's oh-so-obvious homage to AC/DC. With lyrics about drinking and partying, it feels like it came straight out of the Bon Scott era, but as the riff goes on, I was honestly waiting for Brian Johnson to come in.
I guess the only flaw is that Accept are still playing it very safe, depending on how you view that. Some ideas may sound rehashed from previous albums, which may make you think that the creative juices are drying up. Some may have had enough of the same old stuff, while others are clearly still enjoying it. However you feel about it, you can't help but respect the fact that after 50 years, the Teutonic terror of Accept is still alive and well, and it seems like there's plenty of life left in the tank.
Anyway, we're here to talk about the music overall. With Accept, you know what you're getting. The first three albums of the band's second rise to power with Mark Tornillo, those being Blood Of The Nations, Stalingrad and Blind Rage will always be the best of this period. With The Rise Of Chaos, they took a dip into the pits of mediocrity with that one, then came roaring back with Too Mean To Die in 2021. So, how were they going to follow it up? At this point, I don't think the word "top" means anything to Accept, because it seems like their only focus is creating songs in the vein that they've been doing for the last 15 years. You got a number of songs that stick to the traditional Accept formula with upbeat and mid-tempo riffing like "Diving Into Sin", "Man Up", "The Reckoning" and "Mind Games". There's also the fact that Tornillo is 70, and he still sounds the way he does, which is mind-blowing.
Things are taken down a few notches with "Ravages Of Time", the album's ballad. It only makes sense because it's about reminiscing and accepting (pun intended) our own mortality. We all wish we could live forever, but as we get older and reach a certain age, we start counting the days as opposed to the years. On an album that's mostly compiled of lyrics tackling the dark side of life, you gotta lighten the mood with a party song, and the only song that does that here is "Straight Up Jack" with it's oh-so-obvious homage to AC/DC. With lyrics about drinking and partying, it feels like it came straight out of the Bon Scott era, but as the riff goes on, I was honestly waiting for Brian Johnson to come in.
I guess the only flaw is that Accept are still playing it very safe, depending on how you view that. Some ideas may sound rehashed from previous albums, which may make you think that the creative juices are drying up. Some may have had enough of the same old stuff, while others are clearly still enjoying it. However you feel about it, you can't help but respect the fact that after 50 years, the Teutonic terror of Accept is still alive and well, and it seems like there's plenty of life left in the tank.
FINAL RATING
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