Accept: Blood of the Nations

Blaze Bayley. Tim "The Ripper" Owens. Both are very good singers in their own right and have had success with various bands throughout the years. That beings said, they will always have the taint of being the guys who tried to fill in for Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford. Now, I'll be honest and say I neither hated nor loved their tenures with those legendary bands, but when it was all said and done, I knew they were not the right fit long term. When I heard that Accept was reforming back in 2010, I was excited however, learning that Udo Dirkschneider would not be part of the reunion, I was less excited. Udo has one of those voices that is undeniably unique and simply his absence could not be overlooked. I remember seeing a promo for the album to which, the cover art deepened my worries. I wasn't sure if this was going to be a true heavy metal album, or an attempt at some type of radio friendly metal rocker.

Upon my first listen, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that this album was indeed a classic heavy metal album, but to my ears, sounded rather run of the mill. But, to be honest, I had already take off points before even listening to the album and in addition, I had listened to it in the car on a long tiresome drive. So, essentially, my bias and inability to properly immerse myself into the music led me to believe that this album was rather lacking when in reality, it is quite a gem.

Once I was able to give "Blood of the Nations" a fair shot and listen to it in desirable conditions, I was able to hear the solid effort from Accept’s reunion. Wolf Hoffmann and Herman Frank put forth a beautiful display of guitar work, pumping out classic sounding riff after riff while creating harmonies that one can only sit back and admire. The drumming is executed with acute precision, creating the tempo and rhythm that help being the songs together. But, most importantly, there was Mark Tornillo's vocals.

Now, just like Blaze and Ripper, there was going to be some concern about the shoes Tornillo would try and fill, which would not be an easy task. Aside from a few songs on Youtube, I hadn't really heard much of Tornillo's work with TT Quick, so it was hard to judge how he would sound on "Blood of the Nations". With that said, I must admit, I was thoroughly impressed with his performance. First, Accept did not try and simply emulate Udo's voice, nor did they try and write songs that would better suit Udo and expect, Tornillo to sing. This was one of the mistakes both Bayley Maiden and Ripper Priest made. Rather than trying to creating a new, but familiar sound with their new singers, they tried to stick to their old formula. They would quickly discover that removing the most iconic part of the equation would not end well. Anyhow, rather than follow the same path, Accept decided to write songs that were both in vain of old Accept, but made sure to add new life into the sound from the past. This resulted in solid structure to the songs and also allowed Tornillo to both ease long time Accept fans into his arrival, but also establish that he was his own voice, not Udo-lite. Speaking of voice, Tornillo does have a little Udo to his sound, and also a hint of Bon Scott or Brian Johnson of AC/DC. So, those thinking there isn’t’ a little spirit of Udo on this album will be in for a nice surprise.

In closing, "Blood of the Nations" far exceeded my expectations. It is a worthy addition to the Accept catalog with or without Udo. I'm not going to try and compare the Udo albums to any of the modern releases, just as I don't try and compare the Ozzy and Dio Sabbaths. This was an excellent album all around and one that I recommend both fans of Accept and metal heads in general to give a listen. One thing is for sure; unlike Maiden and Priest, upon hearing the effort Accept created with Tornillo, I would say there is a long and bright future ahead for the band.

Highlights: “Blood of the Nations” “Beat the Bastards” “Bucketful of Hate” “Teutonic Terror”

Rating: 4