Accept are a band with nothing to prove any more. They have already been inducted into the metaphorical European hall of heavy metal as an enormous force in the genre, remaining as a key influence in countless numbers of bands today. What we didn’t expect is that when the band reformed in 2009, a recharged Accept have put out a line of absolutely stunning albums including the latest of those, ‘Blind Rage‘. We talk to Wolf Hoffmann about how Accept have rekindled the fire, and how they have managed to stay so relevant in a 40 year career.
In a very insightful interview Wolf gives us an idea of how bands that have existed as long as Accept stay alive. We look into the reunion years of Accept and see just how long the band keep going and have adapted to the modern music industry after a 14 year break.
Read an extract from the interview here and listen to the full interview below:
So we’re very curious about Accept’s reunion years – when you got back together in 2009. So after 40 years as a band, how do you manage to keep writing such fantastic albums?
To me it doesn’t really feel like 40 years! You know we had a long break before our reunion, maybe that has something to do with it, and also the fact that…I don’t know…we still feel good and young and we still have the energy. And meeting Mark [Tornillo, vocals] just sparked a whole new cycle of enthusiasm and creativity for us. If you like what you do then it doesn’t seem like it’s hard or work or anything, it just sort of comes natural.
So it doesn’t seem so long since the first album came out in 1976?
Heck no. Not at all! It’s crazy sometimes when I think back how long ago all this was, but it just went by like this [snaps fingers]!
It’s amazing you know, you guys have been making albums well before I was born, I grew up on listening to Accept – my parents and my uncle are all Accept fans…
Crazy isn’t it! It’s hard to believe sometimes myself, but it really went very quick.
So you definitely think that the 14 year gap between albums helped revitalise the band?
I think it helped in several ways. It helped in charging batteries, it helped in realising what you had in your music career…I see this in other bands and in myself – when you start as a young band and you become professional and you become successful and it comes year after year of album, tour, album tour…all of a sudden you take this stuff for granted and you think it’s always going to be there. You sort of forget that you’re really lucky doing this kind of thing. Being in this position, travelling the world and all that, and being away from it for so many years opens your eyes and it makes you realise ‘oh my gosh this is really a privilege’.
Listen to the full interview below:
