Accept No Substitutes

Competing with fellow Teutons the Scorpions, Helloween and Rammstein for the title of Germany's biggest metal export are the legendary Accept. Dominated by the sandpaper-rough vocals of Udo Dirkschneider and the hard-rockin' riffs of Wolf Hoffman, the band vaulted itself into the heavy metal history books with three seminal albums - Restless and Wild (1982), Balls to the Wall (1983), and the more commercial Metal Heart (1985). Each has its charms, although metal critic Martin Popoff has cited Balls to the Wall as the greatest metal album of the 80s for its combination of smooth production, powerful guitar riffs and omnipresent sense of melody. But that's only because he feels Appetite for Destruction is overrated.

While many metalheads have a soft sport for 1982's "Fast as a Shark", viewed by some critics as the earliest example of speed metal, I've always dug Accept's ability to combine memorable pop hooks with high-wattage riffery. The Metal Heart single "Midnight Mover" has a memorable video and undeniably catchy chorus that helps rank it as one of my personal favourites:



The band followed up Metal Heart with the darker Russian Roulette (1986), which was seen as something of a disappointment despite the presence of stellar tracks like "Monster Man". As it happened, the record also marked the departure of vocalist Dirkschneider, who wished to abandon the commercial metal approach and return to Accept's harder original sound. He and the band went their separate ways, and in a final effort to break the lucrative American market, the remaining members recruited Californian singer David Reece for his only outing as Accept's lead vocalist, Eat the Heat (1989).

Reece appeared to be a more marketable frontman than Dirkschneider, who is generally viewed as a leading contender for the ugliest man in heavy metal history. Despite possessing a fine, if somewhat more generic, voice (summarized by one Amazon reviewer as "about 30% Rob Halford, 70% Paul Stanley"), Reece was rejected by hardcore Accept fans who viewed any incarnation of the band sans Udo with contempt, and the record found middling success at best. That's a damn shame, because Eat the Heat is actually a fantastic album. Maybe I'm biased because I've always had a soft spot for melodic commercial metal from the 80s, but I found the record a treasure trove of excellent riffs and anthemic choruses, all featuring top-notch vocals from Reece. "Hellhammer", "Turn the Wheel", "Stand 4 What U R", "Break the Ice", the single and video "Generation Clash" - there's plenty of hidden classics here. "X-T-C" was so good, it was even covered by Dirkschneider's band U.D.O., and contrary to my expectations, I still liked the Reece version better.

One of my favourite songs from the album is "Prisoner". Despite the clichéd lyrics ("she's a dancer" has got to be one of the most predictable lines in 80s pop), the song is a perfect example of the melodic metal that become so unpopular only a few years later. Here, it's all about the guitar work, the vocals, and the enjoyably dated production values. Due to its slickly commercial nature, I'd probably be a little more embarassed to play this song for people than other tracks - at least, until it starts playing, which is when I start rockin'.