Biography:
Hailing from Solingen, Germany and assembled by Udo Dirkschneider, guitarist Wolf Hoffman and bassist Peter Baltes, Accept's beginnings can be traced back to the late 1960s. As a band, Accept are acknowledged as playing an important role in the development of Speed Metal. Their professional career however began in 1976. Armed with a stable line-up, Accept were invited to play at one of the FIRST Rock and Roll Festivals in Germany, Rock Am Rhein.
Heavy Metal Records released Accept's Fourth Album, 1982's 'Restless & Wild' in the UK. This album is best known for its stellar opening track, 'Fast As A Shark' which is considered amongst the first speed metal songs.
Spirt Of Metal comments that;
In many ways this album was a milestone in Accept's career. With the thundering double bass drum attack of the song 'FAST AS A SHARK,' they helped to spark a genre which would soon be called "Speed Metal."
Udo Dirkschneider stated once in an Interview that;
This is surely the most important Accept album. 'Fast As A Shark' is considered by many to be the very first speed metal song written, not to mention the unusual intro (which was sung by a 12 year old Dieter Dierks together with a girl who remains unknown to us). You could say that 'Princess Of The Dawn' and 'Fast As A Shark' are considered classics today. With this album, America came calling for the first time... and the rest is history. (Source)
Present Day -
Accept went on several hiatus', the first in 1989 after Stefan Kaufmann sustained a serious injury on tour. The band continued with a replacement for the remainder of their U.S Tour, but without Kaufmann and with differences coming to the surface with new frontman David Reece, the band decided to cease activities. The hiatus was only brief with a comeback album 'Objection Overuled' released in 1993, 'Death Row' in 1994 and 'Predator' in 1996. World Tours followed each album across North America, South America, Europe and Asia, with Accept's last gig being played in Tokyo, Japan.
A 2nd hiatus followed between 1997 and 2005 when Accept members continued seperately working on their own side projects. However, in 2005, Accept received an invitation from European promoters to embark on a short summer European Festival tour with Accept’s classic line-up (Hoffmann, Baltes, Dirkschneider, Frank und Schwarzmann). Everyone agreed to do these festivals, which turned out to be a stunning success. The last show was held on August 27, 2005, in Kavarna, Bulgaria – at the Kaliakra rock fest. No further activities were in the cards as Udo had already released a new album and was obligated to continue with his own band U.D.O.
The end of May 2009 fuelled rumours of an Accept reformation and a new album was released in August 2010 titled 'Blood Of The Nations'.Accept haven't stopped since with a new album 'Stalingrad' released in 2012 earning the band numerous chart positions across the world including Number 2 on the UK Rock Chart and Number 81 on the U.S Billboard Top 200!
Accept's current line-up is;
Mark Tornillo (Vocals)
Wolf Hoffman (Guitar)
Herman Frank (Guitar)
Peter Baltes (Bass)
Stefan Schwazmann (Drums)
Band Members (At the time of HMR Release):
Udo Dirkschneider (Vocals)
Wolf Hoffmann (Guitars)
Jorg Fischer (Guitars)
Peter Baltes (Bass)
Stefan Kaufmann (Drums)
Discography:
Tour Dates:
Accept are currently on tour across Mainland Europe. Full dates and details can be found on Accept's Official Website.
Videos:
