Accept: Symphonic Terror - Live At Wacken

The metal world has changed a lot since Accept first arrived in 1979 with their shaky self titled effort, all manner of genre offshoots and subplots seen as the next big thing. And yet, for some reason this enduring German band never quite seem to get the credit they deserve. Incorporating classical elements across their music in a variety of metallized guises Accept predated ‘symphonic metal’ by decades, all while laying down the blueprint for the ever growing European power metal movement.

Now well into their fifth decade as a going concern (although they haven’t been active throughout all of that time) Symphonic Terror - Live At Wacken celebrates the band’s career long output and more. Opening with a quintet of foot to the floor metal anthems, newer cuts like “Die By The Sword� and “Koolaid� sit nicely alongside the barking classic “Restless And Wild�, but what comes next is what marks this live release out as something rather special. With the final of the opening five being “Final Journey�, which features a guitar solo lifted from Grieg’s “Morning Wood�, a full orchestra join guitarist Wolf Hoffmann and others to reinterpret a number of classical pieces the guitarist first metallized on his Headbanger’s Symphony solo album. Singer Mark Tornillo (who joined the band in 2009 and helped give them a new lease of life) gets to take a breather during this middle section, but with Hoffmann adding gargantuan riffs to the likes of “Night On Bald Mountain�, “Scherzo� and “Symphony No. 40 in G Minor�, the close bond between classical music and Accept’s Teutonic metal torture is displayed like never before.

The fun doesn’t end there though, the intro to the Accept standard “Princess Of The Dawn� augmented by banks of strings as orchestra and band, now with Tornillo once more the head audience conductor, combine brilliantly to give a new slant on a selection of the German outfit’s best work. Unlike many of these co-labs we’ve seen over the years, the synergy between orchestra and band is seamless, leading to fresh and new interpretations where both aspects get the chance to shine. It’s a tremendous achievement and one you’ll seldom hear mastered with such aplomb.

The thump and bump of “Stalingrad� suddenly takes on a regal air, while the early classic “Breaker� is given a more grandiose setting without ever taking its foot from your throat. But whether through the churn and slam of “Dying Breed�, the frantic swirl of “Fast As A Shark� or the proud beat of “Metal Heart� there is simply not one moment here that doesn’t swell the chest, engage the mind and get you head-banging relentlessly! Fittingly “Teutonic Terror� and “Balls To The Wall� close the set out in magnificent style and bring to an end an occasion that truly was a seminal moment in the career of one of Europe’s best ever metal bands. This is a triumph and undoubtedly one of the most engaging live album I’ve heard all year - and I say that having only experienced the audio and watched some of the clips from the DVD/bluray online, so there’s room for it to get even better! Accept are taking this show on the road during 2019, you’d be utterly mad to miss it.

Track Listing
CD1
1. Die By The Sword
2. Restless And Wild
3. Koolaid
4. Pandemic
5. Final Journey
6. Night On Bald Mountain
7. Scherzo
8. Romeo And Juliet
9. Pathétique
10. Double Cello Concerto in G Minor
11. Symphony No. 40 in G Minor

CD2
1. Princess Of The Dawn
2. Stalingrad
3. Dark Side Of My Heart
4. Breaker
5. Shadow Soldiers
6. Dying Breed
7. Fast As A Shark
8. Metal Heart
9. Teutonic Terror
10. Balls To The Wall

Added: December 15th 2018
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Accept Worldwide
Hits: 1056
Language: english

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