Review Summary: The cd is solid but, is not without issues.
Well, the new cd is now here & with new singer. Personally, I'm going into this review as though reviewing a "new band" since, the UDO days were long ago.
All in all the album is solid in its own right due to the experience of the band members & those on the production side of things. However, I was hoping for a lighter topic cd as there are too many bands going this direction & who are also much heavier than Accept in terms of music. MAny of the Accept fans savor the restless & wild, breaker, metal heart & balls to the wall releases which have shorter, to the punch songs with melodic solos & catchy, sing-a-long hook lines & memorable guitar chops that become forever etched into our minds. I have a hunch fans of the 80's releases were hoping for something more on those lines. Honestly after listening to the cd several diff. times over close to a few weeks, little is memorable nor am I humming any of the songs to myself. This isn't to say that the cd is weak, I'm just not crazy about the song topics in general & how its all laid out with songs that ramble on too long & blur together a bit. . Wolf is a solid guitarist though, I felt he could've been more select & creative with his solos to make them standout a bit more or, alter his guitar sound, tone at times as he did with te 80's releases to create a seperation from the othe solos on the cd. For example: head over heals solo & balls to the wall. Each one clearly has its own unique & creative identity. I found this lacking here & also on some of the 90's Accept releases. However, wolf's playing is still undeniably top notch. I found this same issues with the michael schenker release : adventures of the imagination...which lacks a personality in the playing as it seems (to me) to be clinical & sterile. I think the better a guitarist becomes, the less he plays in general or, it becomes "by the book", like listening to a good, well schooled studio player.
The new singer did a solid job as the listener should view this cd as being from a new band, minus the UDO connection. I do feel that there is an obvious attempt here for the singer to sound a bit like UDO which is a mistake since, a talented band like Accept, led by one of the best axe slingers out there, should have confidence in their own style. I feel the new singer will settle in more with his own style & personality on the next few cds. If, the old Accept fans can't deal with UDO gone, so be it.I honestly feel had UDO sung these exact songs, there would be no big difference other than UDO wrapping each song with more of a unique warmth & personality.The material itself is slightly limited in the commercial sense thus, can only go so far in my opinion. UDO' limits wouldve also been exposed for as we all know, his voice isn't exactly pleasant on the ears when asked to go too high in range etc..(nails on chalkboard) which can cheapen a song.
Would I buy this CD again ? probably not. Do I like the cd cover? no. will this disc change your life or inspire you? (likely not) Its still good for the classic metal scene though, it lacks originality...being a bit typical...not unique...not creative enough for my ears which have heard alot of hard rock & metal. This band needs creative seperation from other bands out there, something fresh, unique & more creative that shows off Wolf's playing more.
