Accept - Blind Rage (2014)

The second era of the German heavy metal band Accept has now reached its third album, and if you expected something else from the band than what they showed in both "Blood of The Nations" and "Stalingrad", think again. "Blind Rage" is another album filled with heavy riffs, catchy melodies and a Mark Tornillo that still sounds frighteningly similar to Udo Dirkenschier.

I highly enjoyed both "Blood of The Nations" and "Stalingrad", so I was not worried at all over "Blind Rage" being a bad album, but I had some concerns over this album being a bad copy of its predecessors. And even if my concerns did not fully come true, "Blind Rage" is still a weaker album. But it still packs quite a punch with several songs that keeps this era of Accept going strong.

The single "Stampede" is a typical steam roller that opens the album in a furious tempo, a tempo that I thought would be more present with the album title in mind, but only a few tracks has some speed in them, like the earlier mentioned "Stampede", "Final Journey" and "Trail of Tears". Instead of relying on pure speed and force, Accept focuses on creating good riffs and making songs that fits those riffs, which is ultimately what Accept does best. Two songs that I think can become future fan favourites are the heavy and groovy "Dying Breed", and the slow, but sing a long friendly "Fall of The Empire". Just two of the songs to listen extra carefully on in "Blind Rage".

The biggest strength with this Accept era has been the amazingly high low point on the records, a low point that unfortunately has been lowered on this record. Besides from the plaintive "The Curse", there is no song that is actually bad, but there are more songs in this album that just feels bland. Songs like "Wanna Be Free" and "From The Ashes We Rise" just swipes through without me noticing them. Sure, it is more or less impossible for a band to go through a career without putting out some fillers, so I am not surprised that they came on this album.

Despite being a slightly worse album than its two predecessors, "Blind Rage" makes sure that Accept keeps their status as one of the hottest old bands out there today. Hoffman and co. does another great job with delivering true heavy metal to the people and doing it with such style and confidence. You simply do not have to be blind to see that this album is another fine quality piece from the experienced Germans.

Songs worthy of recognition: Dying Breed, Stampede, Fall of The Empire

Rating: 7,5/10 Bloodbath Masterminds