This is brilliance personified.

Nobody (and I do mean nobody!) personifies the quintessence of Teutonic metal quite like Accept. Since they took their first tentative steps in the international arena back at the dawn of the 80’s, their combination of crunching riffs, classically inspired solos and vitriolic vocal melodies has become an inspiration, a brand that many have tried to emulate with varying degrees of success, yet when all is said and done the colossus-like presence of the originals still puts everyone else to shame.

I’ve been hooked on the band since ‘Fast As A Shark’ first melted my brain back in the spring of ’83, and whilst it’s probably fair to say they’ve had their share of ups and downs over the years, when Accept get it right it still sends shivers up and down the spine. Like many long established fans I guess I was kinda sceptical when they reformed again after a lengthy lay off back in 2009 (especially since the snarling demon that was Udo Dirkschneider no longer figured in their plans going forward), but when spectacular comeback album ‘Blood Of The Nations’ first broke the following summer, all bets were off!

Raising the middle digit to all who had foolishly doubted their voracity, the newly revitalised Accept fronted by ex TT Quick man Mark Tornillo were as hungry as ever; their rapier like attack not blunted one iota. Near universally lauded by just about anyone who knew what the hell they were talking about (and quite a few who obviously didn’t!), ‘Blood Of The Nations’ put Accept squarely back where they belonged ... on top. Thing is, when you’ve got an album that everyone and his dog is falling over to praise, it can create impossibly high expectations going into any follow up. Like it or not that’s exactly what Accept have done here, the air of anticipation surrounding ‘Stalingrad’ crackling with kinetic energy.

With the majestic title track made available via their own YouTube channel in late February, early signs looked pretty promising, and having spent the last few days locked in a room with this latest beast, I’m happy to pronounce that once again Wolf Hoffmann and Co. have done themselves proud! Clearly battle hardened following a lengthy spell of road work in support of ‘Blood Of The Nations’, the quintet have not only picked up the gauntlet laid down last time, they’ve taken it to the next logical stage in their continual evolution!

Spitting fire and brimstone, vitriolic opener ‘Hung, Drawn And Quartered’ sets the tone for what can only be described as a truly cathartic journey into the mindset of molten metal at its finest. Produced once again by the genius that is Andy Sneap, mighty slabs of riff strewn bombast such as ‘Twist Of Fate’ (think ‘Princess Of The Dawn’), ‘Hellfire’, ‘The Galley’, ‘Shadow Soldiers’ and ‘Against The World’ will literally blow you away from the get go!

Put simply this is brilliance personified that should once again send their stock soaring!

Dave Cockett