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Interview: Blind Rage for Accept’s Wolf Hoffmann

Still going hard after 40 years of thrashing metal ballads, German band Accept have released Blind Rage as a more than brilliant follow on from Stalingrad (released 2012) and of course their 2010 comeback album Blood of The Nations.

For founding guitarist Wolfgang ‘Wolf’ Hoffmann, this is just another string in his iconic Gibson Flying V guitar, and he was more than happy to speak with Glam Adelaide about the album and how the band has managed to stay around for so long

image002Still going hard after 40 years of thrashing metal ballads, German band Accept have released Blind Rage as a more than brilliant follow on from Stalingrad (released 2012) and of course their 2010 comeback album Blood of The Nations.

For founding guitarist Wolfgang ‘Wolf’ Hoffmann, this is just another string in his iconic Gibson Flying V guitar, and he was more than happy to speak with Glam Adelaide about the album and how the band has managed to stay around for so long.

“We just love what we do, we love the genre and just have fun doing it, I don’t know how else to explain it.” Hoffmann energetically replies in his near perfect German accented English. “We’re not trying to be anybody who we’re not, or different, and with Blind Rage we’ve wrote exactly how we feel and not tried to reinvent the wheel.”

Founded in 1976, Accept burst onto the Aussie metal scene in 1983 with their anthemic track ‘Balls To The Wall’ and, apart from the odd hiatus to re-evaluate, have been literally going hard ever since. Aside from a few lineup changes including current singer Mark Tornillo in place of Udo Dirkschneider, the band has remained solid over the years. US born Tornillo has an uncanny resemblance to Brian Johnson from AC/DC both vocally and in his presence, making him the perfect choice as front man. Hoffmann agrees with this observation and says it’s a great thing to be compared to. “We’ve found the perfect man for the job and we’re totally happy, that’s why things are going so well for the band,” says Hoffmann.

Wolf may now sport a shaved head rather than his blond mop of yesteryear, but the sheer energy and intensity of his playing have only gotten better over the years and is evident in Blind rage. It’s fast, furious, and lives up to Accept’s reputation as serious metal men. Check out ‘Stampede’ which the band filmed in California here, it’s pure guitar overdrive and a taste of what the album is all about.

The journey has been remarkable for them, and Hoffmann is grateful for being able to live life on his own terms. “I guess we choose our own paths in life, sometimes through coincidences or things we love, and we has this big dream as teenagers to become professional touring musicians that see the world and play our own songs- through persistence we eventually go there and it feels great to be able to do this,“ he quips.

The band have never been to Australia, but will be touring the East Coast (Syd/Melb/Bris) in November to promote the new album and to show why they’re one of the metal greats in the same league as iron maiden and Judas Priest. They’ve played with AC/DC and pretty much everyone in between! “We’ve never been to Australia because it’s so far away,” laughs Hoffmann. “It was either the timing or the routing that never worked out for us, but thankfully we’ll be there soon- better late than never huh!” Absolutely!

The band have also been enjoying a resurgence in their fan base, with the kids of the original fans also embracing them. “It’s quite remarkable to see how many young kids there are listening to us now, there’s a whole new generation of fans rediscovering where all this heavy stuff came from initially. We have a multigenerational fan base. It’s kind of weird but great to see kids coming to our shows with their parents.”

The way they write songs hasn’t changed either , with Hoffmann and bass player Peter Baltes bearing the majority of songwriting duties as they have done for years. The songwriting and recording process for Blind Rage was no different and the two members worked hard to deliver an album true to Accept’s core values of sped metal songs with hard-hitting lyrics and impressive guitar licks. “We share song ideas between the two of us with no-one else around, Peter roughs out ideas until we have something we thing is worth listening to, then we take it to Mark to out his spin on the lyrics on. When we think we have it right that’s when we record. It went smoother than ever this time, we spent a solid 6-8 months songwriting until we found something that would stand the test of time.”

Blind Rage has 11 tracks of pure guitar overdrive and belting vocals that will melt your face off. It’s unadulterated Accept-balls to the wall metal at its very best from seasoned veterans who walk the walk. Hoffmann admits that he’s a fan of fellow rockers The Scorpions and Iron Maiden, bands who’ve also stood the test of time and are still going strong.

Hoffmann and his fellow band members are looking forward to getting down under, and for fans of metal it’s been along time coming. If you can’t get to see these guys live though , take a listen to Blind Rage for it’s integrity and pure dedication to the genre of heavy metal. It’s out now through Nuclear Blast and has already topped charts in Germany and across Europe. Available at Acceptworldwide.com

 

Blind Rage Over Australia Dates:

Fri 14 Nov- Factory Theatre. Sydney

Sat 15 Nov- Corner Hotel. Melbourne

Sun 16 Nov- Hi Fi. Brisbane

Tickets from www.metropolistouring.com

 

Interviewed by Darren Hassan

Twitter: @DazzHassan

 

 

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