EDITORS CHOICE
TRUE TO THE METAL FOR OVER 45 YEARS , FOUNDING MEMBER HOFFMANN TALKS “ TOO MEAN TO DIE ”, ACCEPTS ’ MOST AGGRESSIVE RELEASE SINCE the 80 ’ s .
Before the days of hair bands , heavy metal was aggressive and down right dangerous . Parents feared kids who started wearing jean jackets and leather with patches all around , now affectionately known as warrior jackets . Bands like Iron Maiden , Judas Priest , Krokus , Metallica , Dokken and the Scorpions seemed to adorn every jacket and right smack in the middle of all of them all was Accept . One of the last TRUE METAL BANDS , they refused to change with the times , even when the times were changing . Our reward is one of the best TRUE METAL albums we have heard in a long time . Accept ’ s Too Mean To Die !
Photo Credit : Wolf Hoffmann Facebook
Was the new record completed during or before the pandemic ?
WOLF : For the most part we were pretty much done . We just had a few more songs to finish up . We had to record the final pieces ourselves because our producer wasn ’ t able to come into the country . It wasn ’ t that big of a deal because he could see and listen in remotely . Other than that it didn ’ t affect us much .
This sound and style of this record takes us back to the heyday of the band .
WOLF : You can make all the predictions in the world of what the album is going to sound like because you really can ’ t plan an album . It just happens or it doesn ’ t . It ’ s kind of unpredictable in the end , how songs and albums turn out . Each album has a spirit in itself . It ’ s very organic in nature .
Mark Tornillo does an amazing vocal job on this record . He is a local NJ product that I used to share stages with .
WOLF : He really did . He ’ s an amazing singer . Especially on the slow song , the ballad . “ The Best Is Yet To Come ” shows the other dimension of him , the emotional , soulful side of him .
What does it mean to you that Accept is celebrating 45 years in the industry ?
WOLF : It ’ s scary as hell ! ( Laughs ) I mean I just turned 61 recently and in my mind im still 16 . Same numbers only backwards ( chuckles ). I don ’ t feel like 45 years have passed , but they have , because I have the albums to prove it . Metal keeps us young . We ’ re too mean to die anyway ( chuckles ).