I can’t remember exactly how long I’ve been listening to the legendary German Metal band ACCEPT, probably since around 1984-85 in the “Balls To The Walls” and “Metal Heart” era. I quickly bought up their older stuff and have stuck with them through thick and thin ever since, regardless the lineup.
When ACCEPT reformed in 2010 with Wolf Hoffman, Herman Frank and Peter Baltes they brought in TT Quick frontman and American Mark Tornillo. Ever since they’ve been on a run. “Humanoid” is their fifth album, and even though Frank and Baltes have moved on, Hoffman and Tornillo keep reloading and putting out new albums that keep surprising me how great they still are.
I keep thinking “they can’t keep this up” and they keep proving me wrong, which I’m fine with. I’ll admit the first singles off this one, the title track “Humanoid” and “Frankenstein” were good, not great, but very “acceptable”. However, they maintain a consistency of solid track throughout the album.
ACCEPT aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel, in fact they are purposely putting out the kind of Metal their core fans want. Since their inception back in the late 70’s they’ve been accused of sounding like a cross between AC/DC and Judas Priest… so what’s the problem? If you love this style, you’ll always love it.
I would venture to say they lean more towards AC/DC on this album, “Man Up”, “Strait Up Jack” and “Nobody Get’s Out Alive” sound very much like the Aussie legends. Hoffman does have a more “Metal” style to his playing so ACCEPT manages to separate themselves from sounding exactly like any one band.
Tornillo still has that gritty style down and actually sounds more like original singer Udo Dirkschneider than ever before. Of course he has his one style, but people who have always considered ACCEPT to be all about Udo’s voice, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Overall it’s another strong effort from ACCEPT, I might put it right after “Blood Of Nations”, the first album they put out in this latest run with Tornillo as the singer. The quality is superb and it’s just what you’d expect from the band, quality Heavy Metal.
ACCEPT ONLINE
