"Blind Rage", the new album from German/American metallers ACCEPT, has topped the official German chart.
Comments Nuclear Blast owner Markus Staiger: "We are proud and thankful to be part of ACCEPT's rebirth in 2010. With a No. 1 position in the German chart, they climbed the to the top of Mt. Olympus. This is the reward of the consequent hard work of the band, their manager Gaby Hoffmann and Deville Schober and the whole Nuclear Blast team. Together we stand strong!"
Adds ACCEPT in a statement: "Four years ago we decided to start ACCEPT anew. Of course we hoped to reach the fans of heavy metal and leave a few more marks in its history. None of us would have thought that we could reach No. 1 in the official German charts.
'We would like to thank our team, our label partner Nuclear Blast, Warner distribution and Brainstorm Music Marketing, all of who gave us enormous strength and the will to continue in order to make this happen."
"Blind Rage" was released on August 15 via Nuclear Blast. Like its two predecessors, 2010's "Blood Of The Nations" and 2012's "Stalingrad", the new effort was helmed by British producer Andy Sneap, who has previously worked with MEGADETH, EXODUS, TESTAMENT, ARCH ENEMY and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE. The cover artwork was created by Daniel Goldsworthy.
The "Stampede" video can be seen below. The clip was filmed on location in the high desert of California at the Devil's Punchbowl (a rock formation that looks like it's from another world) with director Greg Aronowitz ("Batman & Robin", "A.I. Artificial Intelligence", "The Lost World: Jurassic Park").
ACCEPT will promote "Blind Rage" with a European headlining tour which will kick off on September 19 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
In a recent interview with Metal Assault, guitarist Wolf Hoffmann stated about the musical direction of "Blind Rage": "I think what we have here is really a collection of totally typical ACCEPT songs with the classic feel, and, of course, as always, there's an overriding theme of aggression and rage in all our music. I mean, otherwise it wouldn't be metal.
"People call our music at this point 'classic metal,' I believe, and we just fell in love with the title 'Blind Rage' and the artwork. Interestingly enough, we don't even have a song called 'Blind Rage'. We just have a collection of songs that to me all feel totally 100 percent classic ACCEPT."
Regarding the songwriting and recording process for "Blind Rage", Wolf said: "Andy is such a good partner now, we couldn't even imagine working without him on this album. He's such a natural fit and he did a great job on the last two albums. The only thing that we did way different this time from 'Stalingrad' is, we really took our time. 'Stalingrad' was really made almost in a rush, to be honest, because we had so many commitments right before we went to the studio to do the album and right after. Basically, by the time we started working on that album, we already knew when it had to be finished and what gigs we had booked. So that put us under enormous pressure, but this time, we really made sure it's right before it's ever released. We didn't work excessively long, we just took a little more time to make sure that we were in a little more comfortable place. These last few weeks we've just refined and tweaked little things that we normally wouldn't have the time to do."
Speaking to Metal Wani ACCEPT singer Mark Tornillo stated about what fans can expect to hear on "Blind Rage": "You can expect more of the same, but you can also expect, on this album, a little more diversity, I think. And the way I see it, some of the songs sound more classic than the stuff that we've done. I mean, there are songs, I think, when I hear the opening riff, I go, 'Wow! That could be on 'Balls To The Wall'.' So you're gonna get a few different… I mean, we're not searching for a direction at this point. We're writing to please ourselves and to please our fans… We're not changing horses in the middle of a stream. I mean, if something works for us, we're gonna stick with it. We're certainly not gonna change direction, but I think we're not afraid to step out a little bit. We're also not afraid to go back and be what the band was in the '80s, which is what we've really strived for."
On the topic of the vibe in ACCEPT during the songwriting process for "Blind Rage", compared to how it was for its two predecessors, 2010's "Blood Of The Nations" and 2012's "Stalingrad", Tornillo said: "The vibe is good. We're, I think, more relaxed at this point. 'Blood Of The Nations' was… We really had no idea where we were going at that point; we didn't even have a record deal when we wrote that record. We had no idea what was gonna happen and where it was gonna go, and we had a lot of time to do it. And then the response came, and we set the bar pretty darn high with that record. And then when we went back to do 'Stalingrad', we didn't have that luxury of time; they gave us a deadline, that they wanted the record by such and such a time, and it was a little more hectic. There was a lot more pressure than [there was on 'Blood Of The Nations']. Plus we had 'Blood Of The Nations' out there, and we had to try to top it, if possible, or at least try to get to where that record was. This one, we've had a little more time. This past year, all we did was festivals, which was nice, which gave us time to write on the road. And when we were done touring, we had a good three or four months to complete everything, which is a nice time frame."
Former SLAYER and current PHILM drummer Dave Lombardo was interviewed on episode 110 of the "Let There Be Talk" podcast with rock and roll comedian Dean Delray. You can now listen to the chat using the SoundCloud widget below. A few exceprt follow below (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).
On the musical chemistry of the original SLAYER lineup:
Lombardo: "I appreciate the nucleus of the band. Like [John] Bonham. When Bonham was part of [LED] ZEPPELIN. When his son [Jason] took over, oh my God. C'mon. Really? I have respect for Jason and for what he's done, but when he put a double-bass pedal on a single bass drum, that just blew it for me. It's, like, 'Really, dude? Your dad was about single bass.'
"There is a certain magic — just like with SLAYER, just like with AC/DC with Bon Scott — there's a certain magic when you have those musicians and nobody could replace that. Nobody. That's it. You can't. Yeah, SLAYER's new drummer [Paul Bostaph], yeah, a lot of fans like him. But there's that magic. It's chemistry. It's like when you meet a girl and you two get along really well, and it's like a chemistry; it's something special. Same thing with the band: you get these four guys, [and] they may hate each other, but on stage, there's magic. And that's what's missing, I personally believe."
On the business disagreements that led to his latest departure from SLAYER:
Lombardo: "It's not just [guitarist] Kerry [King] and it's not [bassist/vocalist] Tom [Araya]. It's who handles all the external business.
"I don't wanna get into it too much… I just wanted things to be fair for not just myself, but for the band. Because I was noticing that the band was getting shafted. And it was bad.
"You see, when I go on stage and I perform, I perform with all my heart. When I go up there, it's like I'm going to war. It's blood, sweat and passion.
"When you do the math, it didn't make sense. You don't need a fucking college degree to do some simple mathematics. And when my attorney and I, we did the math, and we demanded the documents that were necessary to back up what my deal was about, red flags were popping up everywhere.
"I mean, my statement [explaining my side of why I sat out SLAYER's Australian tour in early 2013] on Facebook is clear. And it's still there, because if it wasn't true, I'd probably be sued for defamation of character. So, no. It's true and it's backed up by fact, and it's why it's still up there.
"All that shit, when it's all said and done, I can't go on stage and know that my bandmates, as well as myself, aren't being compensated for the work that we're doing. 'Cause we're out there, we're the ones out there, travelling, we're the ones sweating, peeling off our clothes that are just fucking full of sweat. And it's, like, 'Really? This is it?' So it just didn't make sense. Especially when you see other bands that are as successful as we are, especially during the 'Big Four' [shows that we played with METALLICA, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX]. And to see how SLAYER was travelling and how everyone else was travelling, it was kind of weird. [I was, like] 'What's going on here?'
"It's all good. If they wanna work with that organization, then so be it. But, hey, I'm a punk, and I'll always be a punk and I'll never [be a whipping boy]. Absolutely fucking not. I'm not gonna be that. So that subject, fuck it."
On SLAYER's late guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who passed away in May 2013 from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver:
Lombardo: "I have text messages [from Jeff]… The last text was, like, a month before he passed. 'Cause I wanted to get together with him to discuss what was happening with SLAYER. He wasn't happy at all. He'd text and go, 'What the fuck is going on, Dave?'"
On whether Jeff was still getting money while SLAYER was out on the road with Gary Holt (EXODUS) filling in:
Lombardo: "[Laughs] Yeah. Yeah, he was, but who's to tell how much? He didn't know a lot of things that were happening, like the other guys didn't either. And it was a surprise to him.
"I wanted to get together with him to discuss what was happening to me and to fill him in what I had discovered. But we weren't able to get together. And there was a time where we were gonna get together and chat, and he said, 'Dave, I had a medical scare. I can't get together. We had a couple of medical scares.' Whatever it was. I think it was leading up to liver failure.
"We saw it coming. The years leading up to the spider bite, the drinking was getting heavy — very, very heavy. Including, I mean, Kerry as well. I mean, there was one show in Holland, [Kerry] said his equilibrium or something with his hearing, but I think it was that tall glass of vodka that he poured himself before getting on a ferry in London, and he splashed it with Coke. So here we have a large, 32-ounce fucking… a full bottle of vodka with a splash of soda. You're gonna wake up the next day and you're gonna tell me it was, 'Oh, my hearing. Something with my hearing. I couldn't stand up straight.' No, you were fucked up, man. [Laughs]"
On playing two songs with METALL
In the June 2014 issue of Decibel magazine, former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman was asked to explain why he chose to release a mostly instrumental album in this year's "Inferno" after advising aspiring musicians in a recent interview that they should avoid instrumental music because it's a dead-end street. "Yeah, I'm a hypocrite," Marty said. "The funny thing about artists is that they often contradict themselves, and I'm certainly guilty of that. But I really do think instrumental music is a dead-end street if you're an aspiring musician.
"I've been playing for a long time, and I've got a certain fan base. And the good thing about my fan base is that it's not just one set of people. In Japan, most people know me from a particular television program — they don't even know that I do music. Some people only know me from my solo albums. Other people only know me from my past career, which is certainly the case in America. So, people know me from many different things, which affords me the luxury of doing whatever I want, be it instrumental or vocal. But if you're just starting out, instrumental music is tough to make a career out of. And to be honest with you, l'm not really a fan of instrumental music. I don't listen to much of it. Usually when I hear it, I get pissed off because I'd do it differently. That's an honest answer. The music I listen to is 100 percent music with vocals, and that's how I set out to make my instrumental music. It's hard to explain, but it's a different mentality than someone who is immersed in instrumental music. But yeah, you can pretty much say I'm a hypocrite."
Friedman told GuitarMessenger.com at this year's NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show, which took place in January at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California: "Instrumental music is a tough genre. It's the funnest thing to play, because you don't have to deal with any singers. But in reality, it's a very limited amount of people who can stand it.
"It sounds hypocritical for someone who's released so many instrumental albums, but I think that's the standard to which I make my instrumental music. It's like for someone who can't stand instrumental music; it has to be at this level of stuff. It's far beyond showing your chops and showing what you can do. And the worst thing is how versatile you are, because I don't want to hear a country song, a blues song, a metal song, a rap song all on the same album. A lot of instrumental guys tend to do that because it's like a résumé, which is fine for a résumé, but not for a listening album.
"There are four songs on my new album, 'Inferno', with vocals, so it's a band vibe on some of it. It's almost like CACOPHONY, [which] had some vocal songs and some instrumental songs. Sort of like that, but there are more instrumentals on 'Inferno'.
"Instrumental music is kind of a dead-end street… The reality is, the more you can fit yourself into a band context the better you will be for the long run, and the better you will be for the more experiences you'll have.
"If I was only doing instrumental music, I think I would pull my hair out. There's a time and place for it. When I do it, you can bet that there's no stone unturned. It's going to be the rad stuff and it's definitely not a show-off type of thing and it's not an arrogant type of thing.
"My advice is, collaborate with as many people as you can. Play in a band.
"Being by yourself, doing everything by yourself… unless you're someone like Prince, who's a god, I wouldn't want to put all that work on you. Be part of something great."
Friedman's new solo album, "Inferno", was released in May via Prosthetic Records. The CD containa several collaborations with players influenced by Friedman, including Alexi Laiho (CHILDREN OF BODOM), REVOCATION guitar whiz David Davidson and the flamenco/metal acoustic duo RODRIGO Y GABRIELA. In addition, the album includes Friedman's first songwriting collaboration with Jason Becker since the pair played together in the pioneering duo of guitar mayhem CACOPHONY.
"Sociopaths" lyric video:
