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Review: Accept - Blood of the Nations
Accept
www.acceptworldwide.com
Blood of the Nations

Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Year released: 2010
Duration: 67:16
Tracks: 12
Genre: Heavy Metal

Rating:
4.75/5


Review online: September 8, 2010
Reviewed by: MetalMike
Readers' Rating
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Rated 4.62/5 (92.41%) (79 Votes)
Review

We've all seen the press release describing how some cherished band from the past has gotten back together and plan to record a new album and/or go on tour. I usually regard these occurrences with a mix of cautious hope and pessimism. I've seen it happen WAY too many times where the band in question simply cannot find the spark that made them what they were in the past. Sometimes it's a change in lineup or the songwriting isn't up to snuff or maybe the timing wasn't right. Worse, time may have passed them by altogether. It was with the latter that I greeted Accept's new album, Blood of the Nations. I mean, how do you replace Udo Dirkschneider? Well, you gather as many "classic" members of the band as possible (guitarists Wolf Hoffman and Herman Frank and bassist Peter Baltes) and then you ask former TT Quick vocalist Mark Tornillo to handle the microphone.

I put on Blood of the Nations, expecting the worst, hoping for something decent, and all the album did was KICK MY ASS, repeatedly, with malice and forethought. From the crushing, double-kick opener, "Beat the Bastards" through the pounding closer, "Bucketful of Hate," with its deceptive, "Fast as a Shark" intro, Blood of the Nations outright delivers the goods. It's all here folks, the crunchy, driving riffs, rock solid bass and drums, and twin leads of Hoffman and Frank. Even the awesome, Teutonic backing vocals that made the choruses on Restless and Wild and Balls to the Wall so memorable are present. Songwriting is superb, seeming to pick up right where Balls to the Wall left off (not to demean Metal Heart, but that one did lean to the commercial side quite a bit) yet sounding completely fresh. And over all are the incredible vocals of Mark Tornillo. His voice has enough gruffness that you can easily imagine him singing Accept's classics. Somewhere between Udo and early Jon Oliva, his voice is still distinctive enough to merely remind you of those other vocalists. He fits seamlessly into this new incarnation of Accept. He even breaks out a strong, clean vocal on the "ballad" "Kill the Pain," the only song that doesn't quite live up to the past.

Excellent, straight-up Heavy Metal is what you can expect from Blood of the Nations, an album that successfully merges the glory of the past with the promise of the future. Go and buy Blood of the Nations without hesitation. You won't be disappointed.

More about Accept...
Review: Balls to the Wall (reviewed by Pierre Bégin)
Review: Blind Rage (reviewed by MetalMike)
Review: Humanoid (reviewed by Michel Renaud)
Review: Metal Blast From The Past (reviewed by Pierre Bégin)
Review: Metal Heart (reviewed by Christian Renner)
Review: Restless and Wild (reviewed by MetalMike)
Review: Stalingrad (reviewed by MetalMike)
Review: Staying A Life (reviewed by Pierre Bégin)
Review: The Rise of Chaos (reviewed by MetalMike)
Review: The Rise of Chaos (reviewed by Michel Renaud)
Review: Too Mean to Die (reviewed by Michel Renaud)
Interview with Wolf Hoffmann (Guitars) on October 16, 2010 (Interviewed by MetalMike)
Interview with guitarist Wolf Hoffmann on June 15, 2015 (Interviewed by Luxi Lahtinen)
Interview with guitarist Wolf Hoffmann on July 22, 2017 (Interviewed by Luxi Lahtinen)
Interview with guitarist Wolf Hoffmann on February 16, 2023 (Interviewed by Luxi Lahtinen)
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