Accept played Count’s Vamp’d on Sunday, October 9, 2022, with support act Narcotic Wasteland.
Accept have long been greats in the heavy metal world. While best remembered for their classic 80s tenure with vocalist Udo Dirkschneider, the band has had a tremendous revival in recent years with the coming of former TT Quick singer, Mark Tornillo, with whom they’ve recorded several records and shown that they’re far from over. There have been some lineup changes, particularly in recent years with the departure of longtime bassist Peter Baltes, leaving guitarist Wolf Hoffmann as the band’s sole remaining classic member. But these changes haven’t stopped the band from tearing it up on live stages around the world. TOO MEAN TO DIE, the band’s most recent studio album, was released in 2021.
It had been a whopping EIGHT years since Accept last played Vamp’d! Being a German-based band (although singer Mark Tornillo hails from New Jersey), they’re not one who engages on American tours often. So any time they do, it’s cause for celebration for headbangers. I was at that show eight years ago, and remember it being one of the hardest, heaviest, and loudest gigs I’d ever seen (it’s also the reason I now wear ear plugs to shows!) Not to mention they packed Vamp’d to capacity and likely sold out the venue; something that was probably the case here given the massive crowds assembled. Vamp’d is a fantastic venue and one of my favorite houses of rock in Sin City, but it’s nights like this that push the place to its limits. Fans were packed in like sardines, but that didn’t stop them from rocking out.
I wasn’t familiar with the support act for the evening, Narcotic Wasteland. Unfortunately, I did arrive a few minutes late and didn’t catch all of their set, but the first thing I noticed about these guys was that they were hard and heavy to the extreme, with killer drum beats and riffs that didn’t let up. If it’s a game of heaviness, these guys were certainly winners, giving even the subsequent set from Accept a run for its money in that department. Unfortunately, the guttural vocals weren’t doing an otherwise stellar band any favors. I admire and respect singers in a variety of different styles, but this singing was barely musical. Relegate this guy to rhythm guitar and hire a more melodic singer, and it could be an amazing band. The heaviness and loudness are already there… they just need to change the singer and they’ll be set.
And what of Accept? This was a gig I’d been waiting for since I saw the band at the venue a full eight years ago. And in that time, there have been new albums from the band and lineup changes alike. Peter Baltes’ departure was certainly a disappointment, but these guys always assemble killer musicians who know how to rock the world and get audiences in many countries banging their heads. Not to mention Wolf Hoffmann is easily one of the rock and metal world’s most diverse and underrated axemen; the guy has even put out classical-style solo albums that must be heard to be believed!
Chemistry and stage moves can make or break a show. And I’m pleased to say these guys have on-stage personalities and a presence that can’t be denied. The guitarists and frontman Tornillo were constantly moving around, never letting up, in the audience’s faces to deliver the hard and heavy, not to mention a pretty damn powerful drum presence; I always admire bands who insist on bringing their own drums rather than just setting for the Vamp’d house kit, and this setup was massive! The only weak link in the band was the new bass player; he literally just stood behind a microphone and played his bass, barely moving at all. It’s sad when the drummer, who’s seated, moves around more than one of the guys standing! If anyone in the band is reading this review, fire this guy and see if Rudy Sarzo is available. He’s the one bassist that could match the energy and stage presence of everyone else in Accept. Hell, the guy from Narcotic Wasteland wouldn’t be half bad in this position!
Luckily, the musical performances were fantastic, and it was a pretty wide and sprawling setlist. While they dug into Accept classics, the set didn’t skimp on material form the Tornillo-fronted records, either. And rightfully so since those releases kick ass! “Pandemic” and “Teutonic Terror” have become obligatory additions to any Accept setlist, just showing how much of an impact the former TT Quick frontman has had on the group. A medley of tracks that incorporated “Losers and Winners” was another highlight, as were many other songs one would expect from the classic Udo Dirkschneider, including “Metal Heart,” “Midnight Mover,” “Princess of the Dawn,” “Restless and Wild,” and “Fast as a Shark” (complete with that goofy pre-recorded polka intro we’ve all come to love!) The band wasn’t above digging slightly deeper into the catalogue, even giving us the title track from the oft-overlooked OBJECTION OVERRULED record! A trio of encores closed the night with “Son of a Bitch,” “Balls to the Wall” of course, and for one final closing surprise, the title cut from the band’s 1980 sophomore album, I’M A REBEL! While I do wish the band would’ve performed “London Leatherboys” and the title cut from STALINGRAD, I won’t deny this was a well-chosen setlist that had the packed audience banging their heads.
The Teutonic Terror that is Accept returned to Vegas, delivering the hard and heavy once again. Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait another eight years to see them play out here next! I do see a lot of potential in Narcotic Wasteland and what they could deliver with a more melodic vocalist; they’re certainly already heavy enough. Accept’s performance was one for the ages, with a stagnant bass player being the only weakness in a stellar and otherwise energetic heavy metal band. That said, no one should pass up a chance to see the band live on stage with Mr. Tornillo’s vocals and Wolf Hoffman giving the audience the axe.
