Accept
Metal Heart

THE REVIEW

It's 1985 and the iron wave that hit the musical world at the beginning of the '80s has now reached enormous dimensions. Riding this wave, whether you remember them or not, were also the Teutonic Accept. Among the pioneers of heavy metal and perhaps true precursors of the Power genre (listen to the famous track Fast as a Shark to believe it), this band has managed to give the genre significant musical depth, thanks also to their unmistakable style that makes them appear as the Heavy counterpart of AC/DC and which, in my opinion, also manages to match them artistically.

"Metal Heart," their sixth release after the acclaimed works "Restless and Wild" and "Balls to the Wall," is a health certificate that announces to the whole world how their sound was still vigorous and unstoppable, and can easily be pointed to as their highest artistic expression along with the two previously mentioned albums and the subsequent "Russian Roulette." With that said, inserting the album into the stereo offers a delightfully exciting sensation that can only grow in unison with the immediate entrance of the title track. With lyrics that are halfway between a futuristic-catastrophic action movie like Terminator and an anthem to the supremacy of the "metal race", "Metal Heart" grows slowly and powerfully, supported by the imposing choirs of the indispensable army of metalheads commanded by the charismatic Colonel Udo Dirckschneider, a vocalist with a particular voice that will capture your attention right away with his Brian Johnson-like singing style (although looking at the timeline, it should be said that Johnson uses a Dirckschneider style).

"Metal Heart" explodes in its contained aggression; it's measured, it's threatening, it's a declaration of war to anyone who wants to confront Accept, more determined than ever. In the midst of the song, you can't help but be pervaded by a sense of satisfaction, with the progression of a solo so metallic sonically that it feels like dental floss entering one ear and exiting the other without giving you peace, and following the cheering choirs of the chorus is a timeless emotion. The next track is the classic sudden thrill of novelty from Accept; after the threatening entrance, the atmosphere becomes decidedly lighter and more carefree, "Midnight Mover" is that classic '80s style song that would have been perfectly at home even in a disco of the time and to which one cannot remain indifferent. It continues at full speed with a classic from their repertoire, "Up to the Limit" is as rockish as you would want to find on the album, while "Wrong is Right" is a sound assault that will overwhelm you and steal your heart. The situation becomes sweeter with "Screaming for a Love Bite" which still maintains a pleasantly lively style, subsequently "Too High to Get it Right" takes back the headbanging stimulus with a Udo who cries and shouts like a black metaller in the grip of an exorcism.

A dark bass riff leads us into that atmospheric concentrate of times gone by, "Dogs on Leads", brilliant and hysterical. "Teach us to Survive" reveals sounds and a style that I could say came out of a '40s Noir film, particular and unstoppable, it effectively continues the pace of an album that so far shows no real weaknesses, and continues not to show them with the eruption of another classic from Accept's repertoire, "Living for Tonite". We've reached the end of the album... and what an end! Not even time to recover from the journey and "Bound to Fail" explodes in all its victorious solemnity. If the opener appeared like a declaration of war, the ending seems like the declaration of a foregone victory, with that air of megalomania that would fit perfectly as the soundtrack of a film like "Triumph of the Will", where Adolf Hitler delivered his speech inflaming the crowds and walked among the vast and proud German troops, just like in that film, Colonel Dirckschneider incites the final battle for his ecstatic army, and it can be sworn that given his origins he took inspiration from that historical documentary.

In conclusion, "Metal Heart" turns out to be a classic of Accept's repertoire and, consequently, of the entire Heavy Metal genre. Saying whether it's the best or not of their discography is a moot point; depending on tastes, everyone will designate their favorite. What is certain is that albums of this caliber cannot go unnoticed by a genre enthusiast. If you haven't yet experienced Accept, this might be an excellent opportunity to gift yourself something this Christmas—a record of high-crafted Heavy Metal.

With that said, I leave you with what is the title track's lyrics, it's a very simple and direct text, but it is a great testament to the passion for a musical genre and is the perfect transposition of the soul of a band too often left to languish in its past by the new generations of which I am a part.

It is 1999
The human race has to face it
They are confronted with the truth
Its secret - mysterious

A surgeon said it in the news
The human race is dying
But the result is no disease
Searching for you

Metal heart! metal heart!
They found it everywhere
Metal heart! metal heart!
Lifeless piece of steel

The scaring fact was even told
Total confusion
They found the same nightmare
Heartbeats - timebombs

Metal heart! metal heart!
Unplugged they're dying
Metal heart! metal heart!
Unplugged they die

Metal heart! metal heart!
They found it everywhere
Metal heart! metal heart!
Lifeless piece of steel

Metal heart! metal heart! metal heart!
Unplugged they're dying
Metal heart! metal heart!