(Short Article) Accept: a Heavy Metal Band From Germany

It's an "old school" band from Germany, not a new one. But it was very famous in 1980's, especially in Europe. Don't worry, the band write their song lyrics in English so that we can enjoy their songs and understand the meanings. This band was formed in 1976 and has released: 17 studio albums, 5 live albums, and 9 compilation albums. As a band, Accept has undergone numerous lineup changes. Wolff Hoffmann (lead guitarist) is the last remaining original member. 

Accept played an important role in the development of speed and thrash metal. This band achieved their first commercial success with their 5th studio album: Balls To The Wall (1983), which is the band's  only album to be certified gold in US and Canada. Their studio albums from past to present are: Accept (1979), I'm a Rebel (1980), Breaker (1981), Restless and Wild (1982), Balls To The Wall (1983), Metal Heart (1985), Russian Roulette (1986), Eat The Heat (1989), Objection Overruled (1993), Death Row (1994), Predator (1996). OK, these 11 albums were recorded with Udo Dirkschneider as the main vocalist. Udo later quitted from Accept and formed another metal band named U.D.O. which was also famous and success. Accept next following albums (with new vocalist Mark Tornillo) were: Blood Of The Nations (2010), Stalingrad (2012), Blind Rage (2014), The Rise Of Chaos (2017), Too Mean To Die (2021), and Humanoids (2024). 

Some of Accept songs are used in other media: "Fast As a Shark" in Italian movie Demoni (1985), in US movie People Like Us (2012), and video game Brutal Legend (2009). "Balls To The Wall" in video game Guitar Hero Encore: Rock The 80s (2007), in video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Story (2006), in guitar teaching game Rocksmith (2011), in US movie The Wrestler (2008), and in US comedy movie Balls To The Wall (2011). "Zombie Apocalypse" in video game Saints Row (2022). Their current lineup consists of 6 members: Wolf Hoffmann (guitar), Mark Tornillo (vocal), Uwe Lulis (guitar), Philip Shouse (guitar), Christopher Williams (drummer), and Martin Motnik (bass).

I like the style of their music, although I'm not a fanatical fan. As we know, heavy metal is relatively not as "noisy" as thrash or death metal. We can still hear the voice clearly and the musical arrangements are also relatively "catchy". I don't have all of their albums. So far, based on my personal listening to their several albums, the music is good and still have consistent sound through the years. It seems that I like their 2010's albums better. I guess it's natural. The older we are... the better we do our job. I'm sure it also often applies in music. As of 2024, Accept has sold more than 17 million copies of their albums worldwide. OK, that's all. I didn't mean to force you to listen to this band. Just like any other metal bands, some of their songs/albums might not be very good or not success.