Accept - Stalingrad

Published April 14 2012

*=Staff's pick	Hung, Drawn & Quartered* Stalingrad* Hellfire Flash To Bang Time Shadow Soldiers Revolution Against The World Twist Of Fate The Quick And The Dead The Galley

Genre	Heavy Metal	Mark Tornillo	Vocals
Tracks	10	Wolf Hoffmann	Guitar
Running time	52 Min.	Herman Frank	Guitar
Label	Nuclear Blast	Peter Baltes	Bass
Release	06 April 2012	Stefan Schwarzmann	Drums
Country	Germany	-	Keyboard
Producer	Andy Sneap
Similar artists	U.D.O.

Accept's second effort with lead vocalist Mark Tornillo. Many fans were very sceptical to an Accept without Udo Dirkschneider before last album Blood Of The Nations was released. Mr. Tornillo and the band however proved them wrong and with that fresh comeback they made a statement of their return and showed the metal world that they still could create first class heavy metal.

What to write about the new album Stalingrad? Well, it's still Accept; meaning heavy riffs, thundering beats, brilliant solos, cool licks, flirts with old traditional opuses, background quires singing choruses, captivating rhythms and last but not least, a harsh vocalist.

The songs aren't as strong as on its predecessor. It's however all there and I can't put my finger on what's different. The songs have potential, it's well performed, solid and heavy, yet they don't catch my full attention. The two first tracks, Hung, Drawn & Quartered and the title track are the only songs that really strikes me to the point of awesomeness.

When listening to Shadow Soldiers, I get a feeling that they have listened to U.D.O.'s latest releases, and many songs feels like Blood Of The Nations and a couple of eighties tracks on repeat, even if the melodies are different of course. You can't invent the wheel twice.

My criticism seems hard, but they have actually created a good album, but not just good enough for Accept. Perhaps my expectations were too high? I get a feeling that they should have worked on and released this album later, as it seems like they have forced themselves to create Stalingrad to follow up the success of their comeback album, while that release still is on everybody's lips.

See also review of: The Rise Of Chaos , Restless And Live , Blind Rage

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
8	4	8	6	6

Summary
6 chalices of 10 - Tobbe