ACCEPT — Blind Rage (review)

Album · 2014 · Heavy Metal

5/5 · 2014-09-05
Kingcrimsonprog

Blind Rage is the 14th full-length studio album by the legendary German Heavy Metal band Accept, and the 3rd since their triumphant reformation with the new Mark Tornillio-fronted line up. It was released on Nuclear Blast Records in 2014 and was masterfully produced (as with their previous two records) by veteran British producer Andy Sneap.

Right off the bat, let me just say that I absolutely love this record and would highly recommend that any fan of the bands previous two records buy it without hesitation. Moreover any fan of the band or even just the genre should consider buying it. On my initial listen, it sent giddy shivers up my spine and had me thinking of phrases like “album of the year” and “career highlight” straight away, and even now when the early excitement has been tempered and attempts have been made to be rational and objective, this still feels like a very strong and important record on every single listen. It is at once both an immediate hit and a massive grower.

The style on the album is more-or-less the same style of modernized pure Heavy Metal from the last two albums; teetering smoothly on brink of early Power Metal and Hard Rock, topped off with the cherry of Mark Tornillo’s gravely Udo Dirkschneider-meets-Lemmy Kilmister (by way of Brian Johnson) vocal style. If you like pounding double-kick drums and guitar solos you want to sing along to, this is the sort of stuff for you. There are big riffs and chant-along backing vocals all over the place designed to make everything feel memorable and make you want to pump your fists in the air.

There are tracks here that could neatly slot into either of their previous two albums without looking out of place at all, and so in many ways, the album is partly a continuation of what the reunion line-up has been doing so far.

In other places however, the album has its own identity and overall it isn’t just a carbon copy of either Blood Of The Nations or the superb Stalingrad. Blind Rage diversifies into softer, more melodic and anthemic directions as well. Tracks like “Wanna Be Free” and “Dark Side Of My Heart” almost harken back to the Metal Heart spirit in a way. This makes sense as the band mentioned the classic Accept sound a lot in interviews at the time of this album’s promotion and the climax of the album-closer “Final Journey” sonically references the track “Metal Heart” itself.

Highlights include “Dying Breed” – a mid-paced number which lyrically pays tribute to other legendary bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Saxon etc. – as well as the catchy single “Stampede” (a real grower indeed) and the speedier “Bloodbath Mastermind.” That being said this is an absolutely rock-solid album with no filler or weak moments at all.

Overall, Blind Rage is an absolutely stunning record. There are so many memorable moments and catchy riffs on here that it almost doesn’t hit you right away just how very well-written and impressive it is. The performances are great, the production is immaculate and I have nothing but praise for the songs themselves. I highly recommend picking yourself up a copy if you are in any way interested.

****

The edition I bought comes in a fat digipak contained within a slipcase. It is packaged with the Live In Chili 2013 concert on Blu Ray.

The tracklisting is as follows: Intro/Hung Drawn And Quartered/Hellfire/Restless And Wild/Losers And Winners/Stalingrad/Breaker/Bucket Full Of Hate/Monsterman/Shadow Soldiers/Amamos La Vida/Guitar Solo/Neon Nights/Bulletproof/Aiming High/Princess Of The Dawn/Up To The Limit/No Shelter/Pandemic/Fast As A Shark/Metal Heart/Teutonic Terror/Balls To The Wall

Here are the Blu Ray specs: Resolution 1080p, Sound PCM Stereo, Region All, Running Time 121mins.

This is excellent value for money as it isn’t the usual low–quality bonus disc; the performance is great, it sounds pretty decent, the editing is fairly tasteful and in all honesty it almost feels like a proper release that could stand up as its own product if it had more sound options and a few extras. Very occasionally it looks overdubbed or there’ll be a silly editing choice, but it is for the most part well-made. It is great to see the reunion line-up absolutely tearing it up live and the mix of newer material with the usual concert-favourites makes it feel vital and exciting.

If the price difference isn’t too much I’d definitely recommend getting this version.

****

**Oh, and if you found this review by search engine, when you discover it again on Amazon it is me posting it. It hasn’t been copied and pasted off here by a stranger, I post my reviews on Amazon as ‘Gentlegiantprog “Kingcrimsonprog.”’ So please don’t unhelpful-vote it because you thought it was stolen from me.**