Biography

ACCEPT’s history dates back to the days when heavy metal was just in its formative stages. The band’s first incarnation was put together in 1968. However, their professional career didn’t take shape until the line-up stabilized with guitarists Wolf Hoffmann and Gerhard Wahl, bassist Peter Baltes and drummer Frank Friedrich. Soon they were invited to play at one of the first rock festivals in Germany — Rock am Rhein – after which they received a recording contract. Their first album was the self-titled Accept. Friedrich and Wahl quit the band after its release and were quickly replaced by Stefan Kaufmann and Jörg Fischer. This line-up recorded the bold I’m a Rebel in 1980, a highly praised release that brought them extensive media attention.

The following few months turned out to be a pivotal for ACCEPT’s rise to fame. First, the ground-breaking album Breaker was released. Second, a management contract with Gaby Hauke was signed, an agreement which is still in place today, ultimately turning the band into a full-fledged, professional machine. Finally, ACCEPT landed the support for Judas Priest on their world tour giving them exposure outside of Germany and across the world. The next album Restless & Wild, was released in 1982 and displayed a significant evolution in the band’s sound. It’s opening track “Fast As a Shark” has often been sited by Metallica – and many other of their generation – as a major influence on their music and the song itself is credited as one of the first speed metal songs ever. This album received international critical approval, with accolades and top billing in most of the metal fanzines and magazines of that day. On the heels of that success, the true international breakthrough came with their next release, Balls To The
Wall, in 1983.

Balls To The Wall was a massive, trend-setting landmark album; a true masterpiece that would elevate Accept to superstar status. It also proved to be different from what they had previously recorded! The album was of conceptual nature featuring songs with themes such as politics, sexuality and diverse human relationships. For example, the title track “Balls to the Wall” refers to slaves revolting against oppressing masters. The song was also chosen as one of the greatest metal songs ever on VH1 and appeared in the 2008 film, The Wrestler. It also marked the debut of second guitarist Herman Frank replacing Jörg Fischer. Balls To The Wall sold more than half a million copies in the US alone, earning the band their first gold record.

During a warm-up show in their hometown, the band ran into Jörg Fischer by chance and he rejoined for the next world tour, a mammoth trek that would take them through 1984 and end at the historic Monsters of Rock festival. Additional releases followed: The exploratory Metal Heart (produced by famous Scorpions producer Dieter Dierks) came next, followed by the Michael Wagener produced Russian Roulette in 1986.

By now however, the band members started to drift apart. Peter Baltes, Wolf Hoffmann and Gaby Hauke (now Gaby Hoffman after marrying Wolf) expressed a growing interest in the United States and spent more time there. It was eventually decided that Accept would go on hiatus and that singer Udo Dirkschneider would, in the meantime, pursue a solo career. Udo’s first solo album, Animal House, was written entirely by ACCEPT and was released under the name of U.D.O.

After this hiatus, Peter, Wolf and Stefan restarted ACCEPT with new vocalist David Reece since Udo’s solo career was working out well. This new line-up released Eat The Heat in early 1989, followed by a European tour. The tour, however, came to a sudden halt when Stefan Kaufmann sustained a serious injury to his back. By the end of 1989, the band had ceased its activities.

When the live album Staying A Life was released in 1990, fans from around the globe demanded a reunion. ACCEPT again launched the classic line-up with Udo on vocals and unleashed the massive Objection Overruled album in 1993. The band’s reunion was a qualified success in Europe and the USA. Another world tour followed. Two more albums, Death Row and Predator surfaced to solid sales. However, Stefan Kaufmann became unable to play once more due to his recurring injury. The band invited Stefan Schwarzmann as a replacement and commenced plans for their yet another global tour.

Unsurprisingly, the musicians began to feel tired. They were starting to feel the toll of a life of constant touring. ACCEPT’s final tour took them through America, Europe and Asia, with their last concert in Tokyo. The future of ACCEPT was now up in the air. Between 1997 and 2005, all band members continued to focus their talents and energies working on their own projects and personal lives. However, due to popular demand, 2005 saw a short commemorative reunion tour with the original ACCEPT line-up playing festivals across Europe.

In May 2009, the seeds of another ACCEPT reunion were planted when, down the New Jersey turnpike, Peter Baltes and Wolf Hoffmann decided to entertain themselves with an impromptu jam session at a mutual friend’s recording studio. After letting off some steam playing all sorts of ACCEPT classics and some new ideas, they soon realized that they really missed having a singer to jam with…. but it was quickly determined that Udo would not participate but focus on his own band U.D.O.

As fate would have it, one of the engineers remembered a popular New Jersey band called TT Quick with an astounding singer named Mark Tornillo (who lived close by) and suggested him. “This engineer at the studio asked if he could give out my phone number to somebody,” Mark recalls. “When I asked who, he said Peter, the bass player from ACCEPT. I asked what for??? ACCEPT, hell yeah!!!!” At the time, neither Wolf, Peter, nor Mark had anything more than a jam session in mind! It turned out to be more fun than any of them hoped for! At the break of dawn these three exhausted, but very happy musicians collapsed into one common thought… this combination is a perfect match!!! They had found the new voice of ACCEPT!

Blood Of the Nations is the first ACCEPT studio album in over a decade and the first to feature Mark Tornillo on vocals. It was recorded over the winter of 2009-2010 at Backstage studio in Derbyshire, England with celebrated British producer, Sabbat guitarist and long-time ACCEPT fan Andy Sneap (Megadeth, Exodus, Arch Enemy, Nevermore). Wolf sums it up plain and simple: “Something amazing has happened. We seem to have been transformed from one world into another… these new songs simply burst out of a vault that has been locked up for too long! We’re not sure where Blood of the Nations and all this new excitement will ultimately take us; we only know one thing: We never had it this good!”

A vibrant and mesmerizing album, Blood Of The Nations harnesses everything that earned ACCEPT the status of a true heavy metal legend… thunderous riffs, blinding guitar leads with intricate melodies, aggressive vocals and infectious, undiluted metal songs with a bite that are destined to once again put ACCEPT where they belong – the oligarchy of the heavy metal world.