Album review: ACCEPT – Restless And Wild

Nuclear Blast [Release date 13.01.17]

Legendary German metal band Accept has been a dominant force in the genre for a few decades now. Fewer bands have been as heralded and influential as Accept.

Years ago original vocalist Udo Dirckschneider parted ways with the band, and after replacing him with David Reece to very little appeal for the masses the band called it a day after a brief reunion with Udo.

In 2010 the band brought in former TT Quick vocalist Mark Tornillo and have since returned to old glories and the fans have easily embraced Mark as the singer of the band. With Dirkschneider currently touring doing nothing but Accept classics (on the heels of the release of his live offering Back To the Roots,) it seems fitting that Accept would give their take on the classics and newer tracks.

The album is perfectly titled Restless and Live, a play on the magnificent album Restless and Wild from 1982. This performance is taken from the Bang Your Head Festival in 2015- it blazes through a large portion of Tornillo era tracks from the albums Blood of Nations, Stampede, and Blind Rage to a liberal sprinkling of standards like “Balls To the Wall,” “Losers and Winners,” and “Fast As A Shark” to some deeper cuts like “London Leatherboys,”"Son of A Bitch,” and “Demon Nights.”

Wolf Hoffmann is the only remaining original member, whose guitar prowess continues to astound, joined by longtime bassist Peter Baltes and newer members Uwe Lulis and Christopher Williams on guitar and drums respectively drive home these songs with a fire and vigor some younger bands should learn from.

If there was ever any question of Mark’s fit into the band, this will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is the most qualified man for the job. The songs from the last three albums are just as strong as those that have been a part of their repertoire for the last 30+ years.

If you have been riding the fence about giving Accept a shot with the current singer, this should be the perfect indicator for you as to whether you will like it or not. If you have avoided the albums Tornillo has been on because of blind allegiance to the classic line-up, you truly are missing out on some of the best music Accept has done in ages.

Restless and Live is the perfect document to show why Accept are still one of the best and most important bands in heavy metal history, sounding as fresh and hungry as ever. ****1/2

Review by Chris Martin

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)