ACCEPT- A Victorious Return by Andy Secher
(Hit Parader April 1988, p.30, Charlton Publications, Inc.)
German Rockers Add New Vocalist And Roar Back Into Action.
Though Accept's music has been absent from the metal scene in recent months, their name has remained prominently featured in countless gossip columns and industry tip sheets. Stories- both true and false- have abounded recently, speculating that the band had parted ways with longtime vocalist Udo Dirkschneider, that they had lost their American recording contract, and that they were radically changing their musical direction. We decided it was time to track down this German metal machine and put all the rumors to rest, so we recently had a talk with guitarist Wolf Hoffmann in an attempt to seperate the fact from the fiction.
Hit Parader: What's been going on with Accept over the last few years? It's been two years since your last LP, Russian Roulette, came out.
Wolf Hoffmann: We've been making Accept a better band. I guess the place to start is back at the end of our last tour in Japan. That was in the fall of 1986, and when we completed that tour, we started writing material for our next album. We bagan to realize that we were ready to make some changes in the band. We wanted to try and write some different kinds of songs. The problem was that we knew Udo couldn't handle them, and he knew it too.
HP: So Udo was fired from the band at that point?
WH: He really wasn't fired. It's a very unusual situation, because we remain good friends and his manager is our manager. In fact, he's working on a record of his own now, and we wrote all the songs for that album- the real tough, hard songs that Udo likes to sing. He's a very special person; you either love Udo or you hate him. But the fact was his vocal range limited the kind of things that Accept was able to do. Let's face it, with Udo's voice and image, it was hard to do a love song.
HP: Who have you hired to replace Udo?
WH: The new guy is Rob Armitage, who used to be in an English band called Baby Tuckoo. He's got a great voice, and he fits right in with us. When we split with Udo, we must have auditioned 200 vocalists before we found Rob. There were some very big names who were anxious to work with us, but once we heard Rob's tape, we knew he was the guy for us. The funny part is that his girlfriend sent his tape to us, and he didn't even know she had done that until we called him up and set up a meeting.
HP: How has Rob's presence affected Accept's music?
WH: Because he has a great range and can handle ballads as well as hard rockers, it opens up a lot of doors for us. We've been wanting to write songs that are a little more commercial, a little more melodic, for a long time. But we were unable to do that because Udo couldn't- or at least didn't want to- sing that material. Rob has allowed us to fulfill our potential as a band.
HP: You say that Accept has gone in a more commercial direction. How do you think your longtime fans will react to that?
WH: Accept will always be a metal band. Our songs are still based around very heavy guitar melodies, and that will never change. To me, the term "heavy metal" doesn't mean shit. Music is an attitude, and Accept has always had a very rough, rugged musical attitude. We still have that, but we see the need to expand our style and bring in new elements as well. All I can say is that fans who liked Accept in past years will still find all the best ingredients there. We've simply added new things to our sound.
HP: Are there any particular songs we should keep an ear out for on the upcoming album?
WH: There are a number of tracks that I really like. One is called Prisoner Of Fame, another is Mistreated. They both have classic Accept melodies, but they're very different from anything we've ever done before. In fact, Mistreated is a ballad which is something we never tried on our earlier LPs. our biggest problem hasn't been deciding which of our new songs to put on the record. We have so many interesting songs ready to go. But that's a nice problem to have.
HP: There was a lot of speculation a few months back that Accept had lost their American record deal. What is the truth behind those rumors?
WH: I was as surprised as anyone when I heard those rumors. The truth is that we're on the same label we've always been on in America, and we never left. The confusion might have come from the fact that we shifted from the portrait division to the Epic devision- but it's still the same record label. In fact, the people at the label seem more excited than ever about working with us.
HP: When do you think you'll be getting this "new and improved" version of Accept on the road in America?
WH: Right now, it looks like we'll be on tour in America by May or June. We'll be touring Europe before that for two months, so by the time we get over to the States, we should be really hot! We are certainly looking forward to getting back on the road- it's been much too long since we've been on tour.
HP: Are you concerned about how fans will accept Rob on stage? After all, Udo had a very loyal following.
WH: Udo has a very strong following, and we know that. There may be a little resistance at first, but once the fans hear what we sound like now and how well Rob can sing and perform, I think they'll start enjoying the music. The changes we've made in Accept have been for the good of the band. We're sounding the best we've ever done, and we feel confident that as soon as people hear us- both on the new album and onstage- they'll agree.