Accept – Wolf Hoffman

Accept are without a doubt up at the top when it comes to heavy metal. The German pioneers of the classic heavy metal sound have long dominated the scene with their unmatched discography despite a couple of hiatuses, reunions and line-up changes. 2014 however sees the return of these legends with a roaring triumph of a new album ‘Blind Rage’ and I had the pleasure of speaking with the guitar mastermind and co-founder of Accept, Wolf Hoffman ahead of their Australian tour in November!

Of course the first order of business was to get the lowdown on the new album, the writing process, what the title means, etc and Wolf was more than excited to talk about it “ It’s definitely one of our best albums! The title is just something we all really, really loved, there’s no real concept behind it; it just perfectly describes what this album is about, our sound which has that classic aggressive, metal feel! Many people have asked me how this one is different from our previous releases and to be honest it is a classic ACCEPT album, just with some modern elements to it. We’ve tried to maintain the same style that we’ve used ever since we started out 30 years ago and try to keep the writing process the same, so there’s not really much change in the style of music or even the composition. As always, it was Peter and I who came up with the general ideas and concept, which we usually get done at my studio. We work around those basic ideas, and then Mark gives us his opinions and makes any changes. And we just go on from there really! Especially with ‘Blind rage’ that’s what we did and I feel this album takes us to a whole other level, it’s just some of our best work yet!”

The band worked with the legendary Andy Sneap who has worked with the likes of Arch Enemy, Kreator, Carcass and Megadeth, among others. Having worked with him on the two previous albums ‘Stalingrad’ and ‘Blood of the Nations’ and Wolf shared his thoughts on what it was like working with him once again!”Andy is a really cool guy, fantastic to work with, not complicated at all and it was great to be working with him again, having him add his signature sound to ‘Blind Rage’! I mean, obviously his style and the way he does things works well for us which is why we decided to work with him again for ‘Blind Rage’. He’s really guided us when we were going through that transition period and making a comeback and he knows how we work, the way we do things; he’s become such a good partner, a good friend, it just seemed right to work with him again!”

It’s never an easy question to answer for bands when you ask them their favourite songs off one of their albums and this was a fun answer from Wolf! “ *Laughs* That’s always a tough one to answer because it’s like choosing between your kids. I do think that each track on the album stands out in it’s own way, that’s how we’ve done it but when we’re doing the set list for all our shows, it’s hard that time because you have to get rid of a few of your kids, kick them off the list!”

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbUXHTWZ9vk

For old, die-hard fans of this lot, there is no doubt that this album will be a treat and for new fans, a definite smack in the face! We spoke about how the reception has been towards the new album so far. “It’s been awesome! It’s been an overall positive response so we’re very happy about that. But to be honest, we don’t base our performance on expectations really. Of course we want to make our fans around the world happy, but more than that, it’s all about us progressing as a band. We like to keep doing what we do, but only improve and get better. We put the pressure on ourselves so we have the best possible material!”

Accept has been through a few line-up changes over the years, but the current line-up has proved to be a winning factor for the band with the addition of Mark Tornillo in 2009. Wolf agreed with this 100%! ” Mark has really become one of us and has made us a stronger band altogether. Peter and I are still the backbone of the band, having been together since the ’70’s, that’s almost 35 years, but what we have today is awesome. Changes are not something unexpected or unnatural, it’s bound to happen and for us we just go with it! Nothing has changed the essence of who we are or how we make music!”

We also spoke about Wolf’s one true love: his signature guitar. “ My Flying Fortress V is a real beauty! I’ve had the chance to work with a number of guitar companies and that’s how I met Hans Peter Wilfer, owner of German guitar company Framus. We were casually talking about guitars and I was telling him how I didn’t really have any guitar that was exactly to my liking, which is when he came forth and said ‘lets build you one’! And two years later, that’s what I have today; that guitar is my pride and my love! It has everything I want in a guitar that I play especially that flying V shape which I’ve always felt comfortable with. I never leave home without my Flying Fortress!”

Wolf has lived in Nashville for quite sometime now and he mentioned why he loves it there! “Well, I mean of course, I love Germany, Germany’s home and you always do miss home. But then I also love Nashville. It’s a beautiful place, beautiful people, perfect city for music! I’m surrounded by musicians, producers, sound engineers, everywhere I go and it’s really a great place to work and live!”

Blind Rage – Out now via Nuclear Blast Records

This will be Accept’s very first time touring Australia in their long and glorious 3 decades and Wolf is stoked along with the rest of the band. I also asked him what sort of set list the Aussie fans can expect given that there’s 30 years of material to fit into one show! “Oh we’re very happy! We’ve been together almost 30 years now and things never really worked out for us to do a tour there, I mean, it’s literally on the other side of the world *laughs* But after 30 years we’re finally coming there with the new album, and we’re really looking forward to meeting all our Australian fans and showing them what we can do! As for the set list, I actually don’t really know, but definitely some stuff from the new album and lots of the Accept classics for sure!”

The mighty Wolf Hoffman had one last message for his Australian fans! “Accept’s finally making it after 30 years to your country and we have to see each and every one of you there! Like I said 30 years, it’s been a long time coming so you can expect us to give the shows everything we’ve got. It’s going to be wild and we can’t wait to come and play for all of you! See you soon!”

Purchase your copy of ‘Blind Rage’ now via JB Hi-Fi, Nuclear Blast Records and NerveGas!

Catch Accept on their first ever tour of Australia in November! Dates below.

Tickets available from Metropolis Touring – www.metropolistouring.com

Accept 2014 Australian Tour

November 2014
Friday 14th @ Factory Theatre – Sydney
Saturday 15th @ The Corner Hotel – Melbourne – SOLD OUT
Sunday 16th @ The Hi Fi – Brisbane
Monday 17th @ The Corner Hotel – Melbourne

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