After an incredible series of consistent albums starting with the Blood Of The Nations, Accept continued their winning streak in 2021 with the spectacular Too Mean To Die.
Setting the standard high for the rest of the year, Accept didn’t hold back on their songwriting capacity from start to finish. The Rise Of Chaos may be described as repetitive, however the band set out to harness their energy back to their roots in similar fashion to the retro style of Firepower by Judas Priest.
They chose a formula and stuck to it with satisfying results. As Firepower calls back to the Screaming For Vengeance/Defenders Of The Faith era of the group’s radio centered melodies without letting up on the aggressive riffs, Accept follows that brilliant strategy with Too Mean To Die.
A perfect one two punch for the album openers with Zombie Apocalypse and the title track. Arguably their best first impression since Beat The Bastards and Teutonic Terror, although it’s tough narrowing down which outcompetes the others.
Overnight Sensation is what would be panned as the radio single and can be deterred by diehard fans as the normie metal anthem that they’re probably tired of by now while insisting to others that it’s “ok.”
By the halfway point, the album winds down into more mellow directions with The Best Is Yet To Come being the most mature in terms of range. While it may sound familiar, the delivery sells the optimistic message of the song that would otherwise be chalked up as cheesy or try hard.
The last few minutes of the record are what might throw listeners for a loop as Not My Problem would seem to be the proper conclusion to a bombastic modern album with speed metal leanings. Yet, the band decided to pull a Far Beyond Driven on fans by letting Samson And Delilah carry out the last impression with a melodic song.
If there was any doubt that Wolf Hoffmann was running out of ideas, the four and a half minute closing track shows the emotional depth of his playing almost akin to Joe Satriani’s style.
Overall, there is no excuse to exclude Too Mean To Die from the 21st century catalog of Accept. It may not be Balls To The Wall, but they are ranking themselves among the best who graduated from the 1980’s and aged beyond their greatest hits.
Leave a Reply