ACCEPT: Rock and Roll Outlaws
German Metal Machine Roll Into Action
by Rob Andrews
(Hit Parader, 8/84, pp 24-25, Charlton publications
Inc.)
With the sucess of their first State-side album Balls to the Wall, Accept have fulfilled the promise that many heavy metal aficionados predicted for this German quintet years ago. Vocalist Udo Dirkschneider, bassist Peter Baltes, drummer Stefan Kaufmann and guitarists Jorg Fischer and Wolf Hoffmann, have blended their incredible metal intensity with a deft songwriting touch to produce an album that seems to capture the best elements of rock and roll. As this interview with Dirkschneider and Kaufmann took place, the band was in the midst of their first American tour.
Hit Parader: How does it feel to finally play in America?
Stefan Kaufmann: We always felt that our stage show, and our music would be perfect for America. We know that the kids here are into a lot of special effects and exciting stage shows, and we think that there's nobody around who can top us when it comes to playing live.
Udo Dirkschneider: It really is a dream come true for us. For a long time we never thought we'd get the opportunity to play over here. It seemed that no matter what we did, America remained a distant place. Now that we are here, and we see that the wait, and all the hardships were worth it.
HP: Tell us about how Accept got together.
UD: I formed the band in 1977. Our lineup has stayed fairly constant since then. We played a lot of clubs around Germany, but there never was that much interest in our type of rock back home. Except for the Scorpions there had never been a major German hard rock band, so most of the groups seemed to perfer playing other types of music. But hard rock is the only type of music we've ever played, and I can assure you that it will be the only type of music that we will ever play.
HP: How do you classify Accept's music? How do you react to the term "heavy metal"?
SK: We don't really like being called a heavy metal band; we think that we have a lot more to offer than just heavy metal. We're very concerned with melody in all our songs. We're always being compared to bands like Raven or Motorhead, and really, there's no similarity at all. Just because a band plays with a great deal of volume doesn't mean that they all sound alike.
UD: We don't get involved with the Satan thing that seems to be so popular with metal bands. That's not our thing at all. We want to perform songs that people can listen to and enjoy. It's not our intention to go on stage and just make as much noise as possible. That's not music as far as I'm concerned.
HP: Do you feel that you will be living in the Scorpions' shadow until you develop your own musical reputation in America?
SK: We're not too concerned with that. We've known the guys in Scorpions for a long time. We have dealings with Dieter Dierks, as the Scorpions do, so our paths have crossed many times. I don't think that we necessarily have to live in their shadow. They've accomplished many of the things we hope to, and we admire them greatly, but just because we're both from Germany doesn't mean that we're copying them or trying to take advantage of their success. We're two very different bands.
HP: Why do you think you had so much trouble procuring an American record contract? After all, you'd been very successful in Europe for a number of years.
SK: At first it may have been a matter of timing. When Accept was first starting out heavy metal rock wasn't enjoying the same kind of success it is today. There was punk and new wave around, and metal was something of an underground thing back then. We didn't even think about America at that time. We wanted to be successful enough to record some albums and, if we were lucky, maybe get to England.
UD: Actually, even this time it wasn't easy for us to get Balls To The Wall out in America. We had signed a management deal with Dieter Dierks over a year ago, and it was because of his connections that we were able to get a record contract in the states. We were just looking for the opportunity to have the album released simultaneously throughout the world. We felt that was very important.
HP: We know that the band went through some personnel changes recently with Jorg fischer first leaving the band, then coming back. What happened?
SK: Jorg left the band just when we were beginning to record the Restless And Wild album. There were just the normal problems that go on between people who spend a great deal of time together. We brought in Hermann Frank after Jorg left, and he stayed with us for a year. But then we ran into Jorg again, and there was a chemistry that just wasn't there with Hermann, so just before Christmas last year we asked Jorg to come back with us. Since then everything's been great.
HP: There were also reports a while back that Udo was about to leave the band. How true were those stories?
UD: There was no truth to them. I'm in the band now, and very happy to be here, so that's all that matters. I had produced an album by Raven, and I sang on one song, so that's where all the rumors started. They were totally false.
HP: What quality do you think seperates Accept from other hard rock bands?
UD: It's the quality of our music. We write very good songs, and we play them with a great deal of skill. I don't think there are many bands around who can match us when it comes to playing rock and roll- and I'm not shy about saying that.
SK: Our stage shows also seperate us. So many heavy metal bands are predictable on stage. I think that there must be an equal balance between the music and the show, otherwise things can get boring. We're not ashamed to admit that our theatrics play a big part in our live show. We think that going to one of our concerts is like going to a night at the theater. When the curtain rises, you want to see something that will be exciting to look at as well as to hear.
HP: How do you view Balls To The Wall in comparison to some of your earlier albums?
SK: We're very pleased with this album to say the least. We liked the Restless And Wild album very much, but this one is better in every way. We're very happy with the sound quality we achieved, the songs are the best we've ever done, and we even like the LP cover. We've tried to get away from just writing about the normal metal subjects of motorcycles, Satan, and living on the road. Those are boring. Our lyrics are more accessible- they deal with things that everyone can relate to.
HP: How important is American success to you?
UD: It would be nice, but I don't think anyone in the band will kill himself if it doesn't come right away. We know that this is a very big country, and that to be successful here can take months of touring. That's a sacrifice that we're very willing to make.
SK: We like to think that we can handle any situation. We've been through a lot with this band over the years, and we can handle both adversity and success. We're very hopeful that our relationship with America will be a long and happy one. In this band, we always try to take a positive attitude.