Accept – "Humanoid"

A metal heart is hard to tear apart

When you bring up a band like Accept, there will be people bringing up the (alleged) question of relevance. Guess those people are always gonna be there. That is, unless I had my way, in which case they'd be up against the wall right after reggaeton "artists" during The Great Music Revolution.

Yes, I know Wolf Hoffmann is the only original band member left in the Teutonic fold. Yes, I know their artistic expression of choice peaked in popularity around 30-40 years ago. But you know what? Just because something is a certain amount of years old, that doesn't mean it's any less "relevant".

Or, for that matter, any less awesome.

As it turned out, current, American vocalist Mark Tornillo gave Accept the revitalization they needed after parting ways with legendary pig-squeal progenitor Udo Dirkschneider. And for all I'm concerned, and even though seeing them with Udo again would be cool, Tornillo is more than a worthy successor. His raw no-shits-given belting is nothing short of perfect for Accept's, indeed, both raw and no-shits-given brand of solid steel. Steel with which the band's 17th studio album, "Humanoid", is perfectly loaded, as if anyone had any doubt.

We're talking simple and basic, but fierce heavy metal by every trick of the proverbial trade. A lot like on the latest long-player from their overseas colleagues in Judas Priest, opener "Diving Into Sin" is anything but original. But incidentally, it sets the tone for another album in that vein of exactly the Priest when they're at their less sophisticated. And some of us consider it a blessing to still get new albums like that.

We're back in those wonderful early 80's – where we damn well should be. The production here is clearer and all-round superior, of course, but that doesn't mean things aren't as mean and dirty as they should be. Those gang shouts and male basso background choir vocals are classic Accept staples, making everything just that tad extra dirty... or, to be more precise, that extra tad German.

Original members or not, Accept very plainly have the necessary experience and their collective Metal Heart in its right place to qualify as more than reliable practitioners and suppliers of genuine heavy metal.

Coupla standouts. The almost laid-back "Man Up", with its instantly recognizable b5-lead theme has to be the absolute cue and earworm this time around. The verse is pure hard rock, and Tornillo's chorus phrasings are pure blues. Shit, I'd even say soul if they weren't so wonderfully ugly. And on the complete opposite end of the creative scale, down-to-earth semi-power ballad "Ravages of Time", far from graceful enough to be downright poignant, still manages to deal with our mortality in a moving manner:

I've learned to find the beauty in every step and line
Embracing life's design
Every scar and blemish, I wear them as my prize
Without a compromise
Life, it has a meaning – it's who you choose to be
And what you leave behind
One day there's no tomorrow, and no one can escape
The ravages of time

Along the way, we get some more uptempo action in "The Reckoning", and a high fist-pump factor in the extra heavy "Nobody Gets Out Alive", hitting the perfect spot of being catchy without being too poppy. – The success criterion for any metal band, really.

That said, I do start to disengage a bit toward the end during "Mind Games". Not that there are any remotely bad songs on here, but they are very homogenous, to be fair. Fortunately, Accept pick up with wonderfully lowbrow drinking hymn and blatant AC/DC cadeau "Straight Up Jack", Tornillo's voice fittingly grittier than ever. And the concluding, almost symphonic gallop of "Southside of Hell" is another standout, going from a solo of Beethovenesque proportions to the album's fastest, hardest double-time, double bass-drum metal, reminiscing of the band's own proto-thrash of "Fast As a Shark".

And sure, both that and those Beethoven throwbacks to the title track from this one little 1985 LP called "Metal Heart" are self-aware – just like the album cover's obvious "metal heart" shapes are obvious throwbacks to that same record. And one might argue that it's all a bit cheap. Or calculated. Or unimaginative. Or whatever dysphemism one might strain one's sad, disbelieving mind to throw at genuine heavy metal.

Because, to reiterate, that's what we're dealing with here. And original members or not, Accept very plainly have the necessary experience and their collective metal heart in its right place to qualify as more than reliable practitioners and suppliers of said heavy metal. No, it's not the most interesting type of music in the world, but it's fucking real. And no, it's not better than every other type of music in the world. But it is undeniably cooler.

Rating: 4.5 out of 6

Genre: Heavy metal (as if you hadn't figured that out by now)
Release date: 26/4/2024
Label: Napalm
Producer: Andy Sneap