This band’s career has spanned a little over 40 years(not counting the days from 1967 to 1976 when they were known as Band X), and they have tore it up in Europe and have also seen some success in the United States. Some critics say that it is because of their smash hit “Balls To The Wall”, that they have made a career off of that song. The song received several video game appearances, but what about the career as a whole for Accept? Here are some fun facts and the career so far that is Accept.
Out of Solingen, Germany is Accept. In 1976, the band composed of Udo Dirkschneider, Wolf Hoffmann, Gerhard Wahl, Peter Baltes, and Frank Frederich played the German rock festival Rock AM Rhein. Their performance would give Accept a record deal and in 1979, they released their self-titled debut record to little fanfare. So much so that Wahl and Frederich both quit the band after the album and were replaced by Stefan Kaufmann and Jorg Fischer. Swedish metal band Therion would cover “Seawinds” in 1999.
In 1980, Accept would release their follow-up record entitled “I’m A Rebel”. Fun fact, the title track was initially written for AC/DC, but AC/DC didn’t end up using it and allowed Accept to use it. Accept would release a music video for “I’m A Rebel” and ended up picking up international distribution deals in the United Kingdom and United States for the record. Today, the video has one million hits on YouTube. Check it out below!
“I’m A Rebel” by Accept
In 1981, Accept would release their third album entitled “Breaker”. “Breaker” really showcased Accept’s frustrations with the music industry and it was one of the first songs to be released that had some profanity in there, which caused consideration for later on in the decade for “parental advisory explicit content” stickers to be placed on records. The band hired management and would embark on a worldwide tour providing support for Judas Priest, which caused them to garnish some international recognition.
It took Accept’s fourth album “Restless And Wild”, to finally get definition in their sound, which was a combination of power metal and speed metal. Jan Koemmet and Herman Frank both joined the band, and the opening track entitled “Fast As A Shark” is widely considered to be a pioneering song in the speed metal genre. Cannibal Corpse would even cover their song “Demon’s Night” off of their EP entitled “Worm Infested”. Speed metal enthusiasts cite this record as a gamechanger for the speed metal genre. Check out “Fast As A Shark” below.
“Fast As A Shark” by Accept
In 1983, Accept would achieve their biggest worldwide commercial success with their fifth album entitled “Balls To The Wall”. Accept decided to take a different approach into their songwriting by making it a political record along with themes about exploring sexuality and other controversial topics. “Balls To The Wall”, thanks to the title track”, is the only album in the United States to achieve Gold status, which means it sold 500,000 copies in the United States alone and Accept received a lot of controversy at the time for their song “London Leatherboys”, which was a song about gay men in London. Where the issue of homosexuality was deemed to be controversial, Accept stated in interviews that we need to accept gays and lesbians in cultures worldwide, that type of thinking would give Accept backlash because it was considered to be taboo at the time.
“Balls To The Wall” would appear in movies and in the video game franchises “Grand Theft Auto” and “Guitar Hero”. It is widely considered to be a standard for metal anthems today. Check out the song below, as it has over 17 million hits from Accept’s YouTube account.
“Balls To The Wall” by Accept
Jorg Fischer would rejoin Accept and Accept would embark on a world tour including a stop at the Monsters Of Rock Festival in 1984.
In 1985, Accept would release an album that is widely considered to be ahead of its time entitled “Metal Heart”. Accept attempted at more accessible songs in order to further reach the American audience, however, they explored classical overtures in the music along with a metal track that had jazz undertones and influences in the music. It was produced by Diercks Dieter, who was the producer for Scorpions. In 1998, Dimmu Borgir would cover the title track in their album “Godless Savage Garden”. The album would fall short of “Balls To The Wall” and tensions started to happen in Accept.
In 1986, Accept would release “Russian Roulette”, which saw the band go back to its less polished, darker roots in their music. This was also the last album that featured frontman Udo Dirkschneider as he wanted to embark on a solo career. It charted at No. 114 on the Billboard 200 and it was a top five album in Germany.
In 1989, David Reece would replace Udo Dirkschneider as the vocalist of Accept and they released “Eat The Heat”. This also featured Jim Stacey as the second rhythm guitar player, although Wolf Hoffmann would receive credit in the liner notes. The album charted at No. 139 on the Billboard 200 and No. 15 in Germany. They did release a music video for “Generation Clash”, and the band would headline in small clubs for a couple of months, and even then poor attendance despite support from W.A.S.P. and Metal Church. A fight backstage in Chicago led Accept to temporarily disbanding and that tour cancelling. In 1990, Accept would release their double live album “Staying A Life”.
“Generation Clash” by Accept
In 1993, Accept would reunite with the original members Dirkschneider, Hoffmann, Kaufmann, and Baltes and they would release another album entitled “Objection Overruled”. They felt that second wind that the band needed to reignite their career, and the album would peak at No. 17 in the German charts. The single “Bulletproof” was released to moderate fanfare.
Due to back injury, Kaufmann left the band in 1994 and Stefan Schwarzmann became the man behind the kit to replace Kaufmann. Accept released their tenth studio album entitled “Death Row”. With Dirkschneider in tow, they released “Generation Clash II” and the album peaked at No. 32 on the German charts. In 1996, Accept released “Predator”, which featured drumming from Michael Cartellone of Damn Yankees and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The album only peaked at No. 56 on the German charts and Accept went on a second hiatus to pursue other musical projects until 2005.
In 2009, Udo Dirkschneider announced that his time in Accept is done and he is pursuing his band U.D.O. and Mark Tornillo of T.T. Quick took over vocal duties for the band. They released “Blood Of The Nations” and played their first American show at the Gramercy Theatre in New York, New York in 2010. The album would chart at No. 187 on the Billboard 200 and chart at No. 4 on the German charts. The single and video for “Teutonic Terror” would be No. 5 worldwide on the MySpace charts and would achieve No. 1 worldwide status on the MySpace metal charts, not to mention over ten million hits on YouTube.
“Teutonic Terror” by Accept
This comeback caused Accept to open for AC/DC in Stuttgart, Germany along with headlining the Sonisphere Festival in Romania and Turkey, including an 80 day summer tour, which saw almost 500,000 fans combined at the shows, and they shared the stage at Japan’s Loudpark Festival with Ozzy Osbourne, Motorhead, and Stone Sour. In 2013, VH1 called this album the “number one comeback metal album” in metal history.
In 2012, Accept would release “Stalingrad” via Nuclear Blast Records. The album peaked at No. 81 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 6 on the German charts. In 2014, Accept would release “Blind Rage”, which debut at No. 1 on the German charts, along with a No. 1 placement on the Finnish charts. Frank and Schwarzmann both left the band in 2014. They would release a music video for “Stampede”, which would have over one million hits on YouTube.
“Stampede” by Accept
In 2015, Accept announced new guitarist Uwe Lulis and drummer Christopher Williams. In 2017, Accept would release “The Rise Of Chaos”, which is a concept record about all of the chaos that happens in the world. The album would peak at No. 140 on the Billboard 200 and No. 3 on the German charts. The title track video currently has over 250,000 hits on YouTube.
“The Rise Of Chaos” by Accept
Madness To Creation’s take: This is a band that in large part has certainly done it their own way. If you were along for the ride, great if not, they go somewhere else. Accept was ahead of their time in their songwriting as they weren’t afraid to incorporate classical and jazz elements into their music. Whichever lineup we are talking, they are truly musicians in every sense of the word, and after doing this project, I learned that they are way beyond the “Guitar Hero” classic “Balls To The Wall”. They are a band that has a voice for the voiceless and they have always stood up for what is right, even when it might not be popular at the time. Their guitar work is stunning, their vocal delivery is impeccable, and it’s easy to see why so many bands cite them as a major influence. Based upon their impact in metal and rock history, it will be one of those things that we won’t truly understand, and that’s a great thing, Madness To Creation gives Accept a 9 out of 10 stars!
In 2018, Accept will be embarking on a European tour. Check out tour dates below!
Friday, January 12th- Mehr! Theater in Hamburg, Germany
Saturday, January 13th- Filharmonie in Filderstadt, Germany
Sunday, January 14th- TonHalle in Munich, Germany
Tuesday, January 16th- Haus Auesee in Leipzig, Germany
Wednesday, January 17th- Huxleys in Berlin, Germany
Friday, January 19th- Event Zentrum in Geiselwind, Germany
Saturday, January 20th- Hala Euronics in Zlin, Czech Republic
Sunday, January 21st- Barba Negra in Budapest, Hungary
Tuesday, January 23rd- Live Club in Milano, Italy
Wednesday, January 24th- Komplex in Zurich, Switzerland
Friday, January 26th- Razzmatazz in Barcelona, Spain
Saturday, January 27th- La Riviera in Madrid, Spain
Sunday, January 28th- Santana 27 in Bilbao, Spain
Tuesday, January 30th- Le Fil in Saint Etienne, France
Thursday, February 1st- Elysee Montmartre in Paris, France (with Night Demon)
Friday, February 2nd- Garage in Saarbrucken, Germany
Saturday, February 3rd- Les Docks in Lausanne, Switzerland
Sunday, February 4th- Batschkapp in Frankfurt AM Main, Germany
Tuesday, February 6th- Effenaar in Eindhoven, Netherlands
Wednesday, February 7th- Trix in Antwerp, Belgium
Thursday, February 8th- Koko in London, United Kingdom
Friday, February 9th- Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen, Germany
Sunday, February 11th- Vega in Copenhagen, Denmark
Monday, February 12th- Rockefeller in Oslo, Norway
Wednesday, February 14th- Tradgarn in Goteborg, Sweden
Thursday, February 15th- Galaxy Rock The Boat in Stockholm, Sweden
Saturday, February 17th- LOGOMO in Turku, Finland
Sunday, February 18th- The Circus in Helsinki, Finland
Wednesday, February 21st- Palace Of Sports in Kyiv, Ukraine
Friday, February 23rd- Aurora Concert Hall in Saint Petersburg, Russia
Saturday, February 24th- Glav Club in Moscow, Russia
Monday, February 26th- Tele-Club in Yekaterinburg, Russia
Tuesday, February 27th- Zvesda in Samara, Russia
Saturday, May 5th- Festival Ponto CE at Praca Verde do Dragao do Mar in Fortaleza, Brazil
(appearing with Korzus, Megaherz, and The Knickers)
Friday, June 22nd- RockFels at Loreley Freilichtbuhne in Sankt Goarshausen, Germany
Friday, July 6th- Norway Rock Festival in Kvinesdal, Norway
(appearing with Nightwish, In This Moment, Avatar, Inglorious, Bloody Heels, Manitou, Backstreet Girls, and Heartless)
Saturday, July 21st- Festivalgelande AM Lohrberg in Fritzlar, Germany
(appearing with Doro, Iced Earth, Tankard, Combichrist, Unantastbar, Diablo Blvd., The Headlines, Nitrogods, and Cultus Ferox)
Tuesday, July 24th- Metal Days: Belgian Invasion in Tolmin, Slovenia
For tickets and further information for any of the shows listed above, click here!
Find Accept at the following locations:
www.facebook.com/accepttheband
