Accept – The Rise of Chaos | soundsfromthedarkside

Accept is back with their long-awaited follow-up to 2014’s Blind Rage. We take a look at the ensuing chaos.

Ever since their restart in 2010 with Blood of the Nations, teutonic metal legends Accept are on a roll, and the consistency they show on their now three subsequent efforts has been nothing short of baffling. TT Quick’s Mark Tornillo is a perfect fit for the band, effortlessly belting out the old Dirkscheider-era classics whilst also bringing his own style to the table, and if you ask me, they couldn’t have asked for a better vocalist to suit their metallic onslaught (and yes, I’m firmly on #teamtornillo here; the guy’s clearly the better, more versatile vocalist of the two). A good vocalist does not a good album make though (unless you’re Eric Adams, who used to be able to sing even a turd to high heaven), so the ball lies first and foremost in the songwriting park. And Wolf Hoffmann and Peter Baltes once again completely knock it out of said park on The Rise of Chaos.

When I say completely, I really mean almost completely, because after the strong opener Die by the Sword, Hole in the Head makes the album sag like a snowman on a summer’s day. It’s not that it’s a bad song per se, it’s just so completely unremarkable it’s a blemish on an otherwise stellar record. What comes after though, is mostly pure gold. The title track is the type of speedy headbanger Accept does so well and Koolaid is a fist-in-the-air rocker with a chorus that should do well live (even though you can ask yourself whether the Jonestown Massacre really warrants a shout-along rock song). No Regrets boasts a terrific main riff whilst Analog Man is another great rocker and the most Balls to the Wall type of song these guys have done since, well, Balls to the Wall. It’s really classic eighties Accept, spruced and dialed up to 2017 standards.

With the exception of the somewhat lacklustre closing track Race to Extinction, where the band ponders the state this world is in right now, the remaining songs are great too. What’s Done is Done is another track that should do great live, Worlds Colliding benefits from some great vocal harmonies in the chorus and Carry the Weight is another typical Accept song that ticks all the formulaic boxes without resorting to self-plagiarism or cliché. And with forty-six minutes, The Rise of Chaos is the perfect length for a heavy metal album. Whilst it could have done without Hole in the Head, there virtually no fat left here, and with the songs typically clocking in somewhere between four and five minutes, this is a rollicking good collection of bite-sized heavy metal tracks.

The playing is excellent too. Tornillo sounds suitably gruff most of the time, but doesn’t shirk the high notes and some real good clean vocals in between. The amount of nuance he’s able to place in his growling, Brian Johnson like vocals is equally impressive. Also impressive is the guitar work by Wolf Hoffmann, who I continue to think is wholly underrated as a heavy metal guitarist. The man churns out one memorable riff after another, and his solos immediately lodge themselves deep within your brain. You’ll find yourself humming along to those in no time. The departure of Herman Frank and Stefan Schwarzmann is barely notable with Uwe Lulis and Christopher Williams doing a perfectly adequate job of taking up the respective mantles on guitar and drums, whilst Peter Baltes expectedly his own dependable self here.

The Rise of Chaos marks the fourth consecutive home run for the German metal band. How a band can return to the fold and continue on to be so impressively consistent in delivering quality stuff is beyond me, but they managed just that. An album full of already classic tracks by a class act band, and sure to please fans of old school heavy metal. Mandatory stuff.

Release: out now

Label: Nuclear Blast

Track listing: