Accept // Blood of Nations
Rating: 4.5/5.0 — Now, this is how to make a comeback!
Label: Nuclear Blast [EU | US]
Websites: So old (school) they don’t even have one…
Release Dates: EU: 20.08.2010 | US: 09.14.2010
And “THEY’RE BACK!! The teutonic terrors responsible for such classic metal albums as Breaker, Restless and Wild, Balls to the Wall have reformed to deliver one humdinger of a comeback ass whipping and one of the best metal albums of 2010 in the process. Blood of Nations is the first slab of new Accept material since 1996’s Predator and to say they are back with a vengeance is quite an understatement indeed. Yes, it’s sad but true, original and uber distinctive frontman Udo Dirkschneider is not onboard for this reunion crusade, but fear not, Accept manages quite nicely without his unique services and no one is more surprised than yours truly about that one.
From the opening notes of lead off track “Beat the Bastards,” you will notice this is a pretty heavy album. In fact, this is probably the heaviest album in the Accept discography. I would consider this as Accept’s Painkiller and just as Painkiller showed that Judas Priest had a lot of life left in their aging metal hearts, so Blood of Nations does for Wolf Hoffman and company. Although surprisingly heavy, all the classic Accept trademarks are present, from the dual axe attack and crunching riff work of Mr. Hoffman and Herman Frank, to the chanting backing vocals made famous on “Balls to the Walls,” to the hook laden and memorable song structures. New lead throat Mark Tornillo (T.T. Quick) channels just enough of Udo’s classic rasp to give the material a familiar sound to comfort old fans yet also firmly places his own stamp on many of the tracks and proves he’s more than a suitable replacement for the beloved metal dwarf. While Mr. Tornillo does attempt to keep his vocals true to the classic Accept sound, at times he breaks ranks to channel the late great David Wayne of Metal Church fame and across the entire album his voice is so damn metal it hurts!
Of the twelve tracks on Blood of Nations, five are absolute metal monsters that stand out as some of the best material Accept ever penned (six if you get the European version with the excellent bonus track “Time Machine”). The rest are all well above average classic metal cuts and nary a trace of filler material is to be found. The best of the beast include “Beat the Bastards,” “Teutonic Terror,” “Pandemic” and “No Shelter,” and all will bring a big smile to fans of classic and true metal.
What makes Blood of Nations so effective is the tried and true classic Accept template of heavy but catchy guitar work and memorable choruses that manage to be so immediate but still metal as all hell. One listen to “Teutonic Terror” and you will see what I mean. This stuff has pure up the horns metal spirit and soul and makes you want to sing along as loudly as possible.
After so many reunion albums by once great bands have disappointed and left a bad taste in fans mouths, the only taste Blood of Nations will be leaving is the taste of cold metal. Congratulations are in order for these old boys because they’re back to show all the young folk how classic metal is supposed to be done. Don’t miss this one, it’s a total winner.
