Accept
Breaker

THE REVIEW

"Breaker" is a subtle barbed wire that threads through the ears of the desperate pin-up on the cover and exits the skull in the form of pain, a clear hammering, the same wire that wraps and lacerates the Flying Vs in the internal booklet, producing aching riffs that penetrate the flesh like poisoned darts that, however, do not kill: the beneficial poison of Mithridates without side effects.

Born in 1981, in the midst of the N.W.O.B.H.M., "Breaker" thus becomes Continental Europe's answer to the Anglo-Saxon heavy metal just at the time when the genre's protectors were fading: the Judas Priest with the well-born but little-sold "Point Of Entry" and the AC/DC's dull bestseller "For Those About The Rock." Accept remodel their sound starting with the tough "Thunder & Lightning," taken from "I'm A Rebel," by injecting speed and melody into an irreverent sound fabric. The musical maturation of the five men, compared to the previous full-length, is palpable, starting with Udo, whose wild and rustic voice indelibly marks almost all of the album's ten songs, as passionate as are the guitarists Fischer and Hoffmann, particularly the latter, capable of producing prodigious club riffs, as well as poignant solos, never redundant, without distortion at all costs, while the rhythm section is rowdier than ever, with drummer Kaufmann accelerating and playing double in the manner of Les Binks, former Judas Priest.

The opener "Starlight" is a blast of metal wind through the hair of the listener mesmerized by the new sound created by the Solingen quintet, compact and aggressive, in service of an accelerated rhythm, where singer Udo seems to be screaming towards the starry sky, with a moan that loses itself in the dark air. The title track has a riff to whistle in the shower, this time propelled by Kaufmann's double and the catchy refrain. So no watered-down Hard Rock, no A.O.R, no polished rock, but just a good burst of heavy energy that restarts with each song except for the two ballads, which are "Can't Stand The Night," similar to a soundtrack of an improbable film shot in Munich, where Udo's rough voice serves as a counterpoint to a hard and timid guitar, and the charming "Breaking Up Again" in which bassist Peter Baltes grafts his gentle and mournful voice between the notes of an arpeggio that smells of Dire Straits, without taking away from the album's tension: a tacit truce between the group's melodic vein and its fans still attached to the ballads of the '70s. The song is sad, similar to "Before The Dawn" by Judas Priest, but perhaps even more delicate. Also standing out are "Run If You Can" and "Midnight Highway," always hard-hitting and engaging but also easy to listen to, especially the second, both characterized by the quickly digestible, boisterous chorus. There's room for some faltering like the song "Burning," suspended between a live scenario (real or fake?) and party-like metallic rock.

"Son Of A Bitch" remains, however, the album's signature song, a timeless anthem (with an unabashedly candid lyric), that ensnares with its slow yet free of radio sappiness progression: initial screw-like riff that imprints itself in the mind, decisive drum beats, and roaring, defiant, sneering voice (Bon Scott blesses from the high heavens) that slides amidst the arena chorus and a mini classical music interlude. Accept are ready for the challenge with Judas Priest that will be fought with "Restless And Wild" with a motorized sound similar to "Screaming For Vengeance" (but with added rolls), even if all this happens without Jorg Fischer, who leaves, probably disappointed by the little space he managed to carve out (only rhythm and few solos). "Breaker" is Accept's early card, photographing them in perfect form but also able to improve further, capable of hard-nosed tracks as of melodic excursions, a peculiarity that will be seminal in the German scene dominated by the Scorpions.

Accept develop classic heavy metal without intensifying its violence, but rather by giving it that touch of melody that makes it appreciated even by an audience tied to old Hard Rock, as well as by the growing legions of thrashers who were about to set the law in extreme music, also influenced by the five metal minstrels from Germany.