We Accept that all Hell broke loose in London…I really do apologise for these terrible puns, but rest assured…the old school line-up tonight made for a truly fantastic show!
[date]7th December 2015[/date]
[venue]Kentish Town Forum[/venue]
[city]London, UK[/city]
[support_bands]Hell[/support_bands]
Hell
On this chilly London evening was to be a celebration of old school metal. The Kentish Town Forum have pulled fans in droves to pay their respects to some of the godfathers of European heavy metal. First up on the billing tonight was a band that have been wrapped in such mystery that they have gained a cult status. A band that formed in 1982, disappeared, and then released a debut album in 2011. Watching this band tonight made it hard to believe that the English quintet never gained legendary status.
Donned in vampiric attire with intricate corpse paint, the band march on stage to the sounds of ‘Gehennae Incendiis‘ before quickly pumping out ‘Age of Nefarious‘. Hell are out to make their mark after gaining much popularity thanks to legendary producer Andy Sneap assisting with their albums craft, who also took the role of the band’s rhythm guitarist in 2008.
That thick, progressive heavy metal sound resonates well within the walls of the Forum, but it’s the stage theatrics that serve as the most entertainment for the performance. Frontman David Bower spares no energy in providing perfect drama to accompany every note, from the flailing hand gestures in ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes‘ to the self-flagellation and the spilling of fake blood in ‘End ov Days‘.
Every moment was as entertaining as the next, and left both fans and newcomers alike extremely impressed given the thunderous round of applause the band left to. We are glad Hell are back in full-swing, and we really do hope to see many more of performances like these!
Accept
The amount of European metal bands that owe something to Accept is unfathomable. The band found humble beginnings in Germany in 1976 and over 13 years went on a rocket ride to the top, doing the seemingly impossible and breaking the United States. The band have broken up and reformed a couple times since with different line-ups, but the European heavy metal spirit nodes with this band. Enter 2015, and here we are tonight with only two of the original members, but enough badass to sink a couple of freighters…maybe even more.
Accept have released some blinding albums in the last 6 years, a highlight of which being the ‘Blood of the Nations‘ album proving that old school metal still can own, and tonight they are rocking London to show us all why they still rank as metal elite.
Roaring in with my favourite modern Accept song ‘Stampede‘, the audience waste no time in embracing the heavy metal legends by throwing their full energy on stage to fuel the musicians. Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann and bassist Peter Baltes have the most natural stage movements one could see in a heavy metal performance, but after 40 years in the game you would understand why!
Frontman Mark Tornillo throws his full vocal might behind ‘Stalingrad‘ and ‘Hellfire‘ before moving on to the wildly appropriate ‘London Leatherboys‘, with each musician running around the stage to bring a subtle message that age has not slowed Accept down one bit. That age ironically proves to be a unique factor in this performance however, being that the experience the band bring to the stage creates absolute perfection in their sound.
It’s been a good while since I have heard such a clean and perfect mix in a venue of The Forum’s size, with each lead out of ‘Restless and Wild‘ cutting like a hot knife through butter, and a well-balanced vocal mix in the classic ‘Princess of the Dawn‘ where often the audience would be loud enough to take over vocal duties.
The setlist mixed old and new but stayed energetic throughout, with the biggest moments coming at the end of the set with the mega-classics ‘Fast as a Shark’ and ‘Balls to the Wall‘ roaring through the PA. By the end there is not one person in the venue that couldn’t give their full respect to Accept. After 40 years, it’s not too difficult to have the thought pass through that they might just be better than ever.
