Wolf Hoffmann - Accept
Accept is back, and I shit you not, better than ever! Blood of the Nations, the first album with new vocalist Mark Tornillo (Ex- TT Quick), is not only one of the best metal records I have heard this year, but a true testament that real metal will never die. It makes perfect sense that one of the bands that was on the frontlines of the heavy metal revolution is still leading the charge after forty plus years. I was joined by my friend and fledgling music scribe, Bradley Mayer, as Wolf Hoffmann, one of the top shredders of all time, called in to give Metal Exiles the scoop on the new record, new label and new spirit of the mighty Accept.
Interview with Wolf Hoffmann of Accept
By Rob ”Bubbs” Harris and Bradley Mayer
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) This new Album is a heavy metal masterpiece. It makes me feel good to know that the bands that started this wonderful movement are still more than relevant and capable of making top-notch records. How happy are you with the reception so far?
Wolf: I am so glad that it is finally out and available to the people. We’ve been done with the record since February, so it’s good to be able to view the reactions of the fans. I honestly think this is one of the best albums Accept has ever done.
Metal Exiles: (Bradley) I’ve always been a huge fan of your sound, and I know you are a Marshall man, so I was curious as to what gear you used on Blood of the Nations, as it still has that same killer sound that is unmistakably Accept.
Wolf: Part of that is deception, I think. I actually used completely different gear for this record. I suppose it sounds like me because I’m the one playing it, I guess. I have all of the Marshalls here in my studio, but we recorded the album over in England, so I did not bring all of my gear with me, because that would be too much trouble. Fortunately, Andy Sneap, our producer, has a huge collection of stuff in his studio over there, so we tried a few different things. We tried Randalls, Marshalls and all kinds of stuff, but we ended up going with a 5150 EBH for the recording. To be honest though, they all rather sounded the same to me. I have a certain style of guitar playing that I think you will hear no matter what kind of amplification I use.
Metal Exiles: (Bradley) I read that you moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Are you still located there?
Wolf: Yep. That’s where I’m calling from right now.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) Well, it is cool to see that you did not let that Nashville vibe seep into your music at all. I’m not sure how an Accept country record would go over.
Wolf: That’s usually the first thing I hear when I talk to people about living in Nashville. I didn’t move here to make local music. You will never hear me making a country album, I guarantee you.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) How important is it to you to stay true to Accept’s sound and the spirit of heavy metal?
Wolf: It is mandatory, man. We all got really into the songwriting process and had a ton of material to work with. In fact, we could have made three albums out of all of the songs we had, but not all of them were dead on Accept. So we figured that, when in doubt, go with the songs that sound like Accept, not Accept-ish. Andy was a lot of help in that area as well. He loves our music and knows what we are all about, so he helped us choose the songs that represent us best.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) “Pandemic” is a perfect example of that. That song says, “Hey, we’re here. We are as kick ass as ever, and we’re not going to stop. Take that!”
Wolf: Right, that was one of the first tunes we wrote for the album. Peter (Baltes) and I write most of the music, and that riff was one of the first ones we jammed on when composing this record. That was when we knew that we were on to something extraordinary.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) About the songwriting process, Mark (Tornillo) sounds great and fit’s the band like a glove. Does he have his own voice in the music, besides just being the singer, or the new guy?
Wolf: Oh, absolutely. We love Mark, and we encourage him to be himself. We also like the fact that he isn’t trying to go out an imitate Udo. That’s one of the things that is so great about Mark, and what made us feel as if we really struck gold with him, was the fact that he is the way he is. He doesn’t act any different because he’s the singer of Accept than he would any other time. We never even tried anybody else. When this all came together, it started as an impromptu jam session. We knew Mark lived close by, so we asked him to come and join us for the day. That jam session was so amazing that it led to the complete reformation of the band. There were no auditions for other singers. Once we jammed with Mark, we knew we would never find a better guy. It would have been stupid of us not to give it a go with Mark, to be honest.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) Do you guys ever give him a hard time for being the only American in the band? Nothing negative, but do you like to fuck with him a bit?
Wolf: (Laughs) The rest of us are still very German in the way we live and do things, and mark is a pure Jersey boy, with the accent and all, so it’s funny to us. However, he likes to mess with us crazy Germans just as much as we like to mess with him. We all get along really well.
Metal Exiles: (Bradley) When you were getting started in music, who were the guitarists that really influenced you into becoming a career musician?
Wolf: Well, back in the day, when I was a teenager, I think Ritchie Blackmore is an obvious one. I also really liked Uli Roth a lot as a guitarist, even though I wasn’t a huge fan of all of his music, per se. Angus Young, definitely. I’ve also been a big fan of Judas Priest’s riffing. Their soloing can be a bit much sometimes, but their riffing and songwriting is amazing.
Metal Exiles: (Bradley) You guys have already done a good number of US shows already, but is there a full scale US tour in the works?
Wolf: We just announced a bunch of US dates, actually. We will be starting at the Prog Power Festival in Atlanta in September, and there are about 15 more dates after that, which will carry on into October.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) Hammerfall is also playing Prog Power this year. It’s no secret that Accept has been a huge influence on them. I know you guys have gotten together and jammed before. Any plans to mix it up with those dudes in Atlanta?
Wolf: We’ve known those guys for years. We’ve done some shows together before and had a great time. I’m not sure how it will work this year at Prog Power. I think we are playing on different days, so it depends on if we are still in the same place when the time comes. It isn’t an impossibility, that’s for sure.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) How much of the new material are you playing live?
Wolf: It really depends on how we are feeling from show to show. For the most part, we are doing three or four songs, so that we can allow time to do the old tunes that the fans want to hear. Sometimes though, we may do a little more, or a little less. We don’t always use the same new songs though. We like to switch it up so that all of the new songs get a chance to be played live.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) Having made so many great albums, and having just made one of the best yet, do you feel as if this is just the tip of the iceberg? Of course, the road wasn’t always a smooth one. Was there ever a time when you felt like giving up on Accept?
Wolf: Yeah, I think we are truly better than ever at this point. For a long time, I thought that it was dead and over. We didn’t have a lead singer, and Udo never wanted to do anything, so it was pretty much done. Like I said before, we had that jam with Mark and it was the spark that reignited the band.
Metal Exiles: (Bradley) Throughout Accept’s career, you guys never got caught up in the excess and dangers of drugs and booze, often associated with the rock and roll lifestyle. For the most part, you have all maintained a tight and clean lifestyle and professional demeanor.
Wolf: That is correct. I mean, I don’t see anything wrong with having a few drinks from time to time. I am German, after all. I like a few beers once in a while. We certainly aren’t a bunch of saints or anything, but we have always just been more into making the music, rather than indulging in the perks, so to speak. Personally, I never got into doing drugs. Never have, never will.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) Thanks for the chat, Wolf. Thanks also for letting Brad sit in with us. The new album is fantastic and we wish you all the best with touring and writing the next one.
Wolf: Thank you both so much. It was my pleasure.
http://www.acceptworldwide.com/
Buy Blood of the Nations
Interview with Wolf Hoffmann of Accept
By Rob ”Bubbs” Harris and Bradley Mayer
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) This new Album is a heavy metal masterpiece. It makes me feel good to know that the bands that started this wonderful movement are still more than relevant and capable of making top-notch records. How happy are you with the reception so far?
Wolf: I am so glad that it is finally out and available to the people. We’ve been done with the record since February, so it’s good to be able to view the reactions of the fans. I honestly think this is one of the best albums Accept has ever done.
Metal Exiles: (Bradley) I’ve always been a huge fan of your sound, and I know you are a Marshall man, so I was curious as to what gear you used on Blood of the Nations, as it still has that same killer sound that is unmistakably Accept.
Wolf: Part of that is deception, I think. I actually used completely different gear for this record. I suppose it sounds like me because I’m the one playing it, I guess. I have all of the Marshalls here in my studio, but we recorded the album over in England, so I did not bring all of my gear with me, because that would be too much trouble. Fortunately, Andy Sneap, our producer, has a huge collection of stuff in his studio over there, so we tried a few different things. We tried Randalls, Marshalls and all kinds of stuff, but we ended up going with a 5150 EBH for the recording. To be honest though, they all rather sounded the same to me. I have a certain style of guitar playing that I think you will hear no matter what kind of amplification I use.
Metal Exiles: (Bradley) I read that you moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Are you still located there?
Wolf: Yep. That’s where I’m calling from right now.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) Well, it is cool to see that you did not let that Nashville vibe seep into your music at all. I’m not sure how an Accept country record would go over.
Wolf: That’s usually the first thing I hear when I talk to people about living in Nashville. I didn’t move here to make local music. You will never hear me making a country album, I guarantee you.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) How important is it to you to stay true to Accept’s sound and the spirit of heavy metal?
Wolf: It is mandatory, man. We all got really into the songwriting process and had a ton of material to work with. In fact, we could have made three albums out of all of the songs we had, but not all of them were dead on Accept. So we figured that, when in doubt, go with the songs that sound like Accept, not Accept-ish. Andy was a lot of help in that area as well. He loves our music and knows what we are all about, so he helped us choose the songs that represent us best.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) “Pandemic” is a perfect example of that. That song says, “Hey, we’re here. We are as kick ass as ever, and we’re not going to stop. Take that!”
Wolf: Right, that was one of the first tunes we wrote for the album. Peter (Baltes) and I write most of the music, and that riff was one of the first ones we jammed on when composing this record. That was when we knew that we were on to something extraordinary.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) About the songwriting process, Mark (Tornillo) sounds great and fit’s the band like a glove. Does he have his own voice in the music, besides just being the singer, or the new guy?
Wolf: Oh, absolutely. We love Mark, and we encourage him to be himself. We also like the fact that he isn’t trying to go out an imitate Udo. That’s one of the things that is so great about Mark, and what made us feel as if we really struck gold with him, was the fact that he is the way he is. He doesn’t act any different because he’s the singer of Accept than he would any other time. We never even tried anybody else. When this all came together, it started as an impromptu jam session. We knew Mark lived close by, so we asked him to come and join us for the day. That jam session was so amazing that it led to the complete reformation of the band. There were no auditions for other singers. Once we jammed with Mark, we knew we would never find a better guy. It would have been stupid of us not to give it a go with Mark, to be honest.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) Do you guys ever give him a hard time for being the only American in the band? Nothing negative, but do you like to fuck with him a bit?
Wolf: (Laughs) The rest of us are still very German in the way we live and do things, and mark is a pure Jersey boy, with the accent and all, so it’s funny to us. However, he likes to mess with us crazy Germans just as much as we like to mess with him. We all get along really well.
Metal Exiles: (Bradley) When you were getting started in music, who were the guitarists that really influenced you into becoming a career musician?
Wolf: Well, back in the day, when I was a teenager, I think Ritchie Blackmore is an obvious one. I also really liked Uli Roth a lot as a guitarist, even though I wasn’t a huge fan of all of his music, per se. Angus Young, definitely. I’ve also been a big fan of Judas Priest’s riffing. Their soloing can be a bit much sometimes, but their riffing and songwriting is amazing.
Metal Exiles: (Bradley) You guys have already done a good number of US shows already, but is there a full scale US tour in the works?
Wolf: We just announced a bunch of US dates, actually. We will be starting at the Prog Power Festival in Atlanta in September, and there are about 15 more dates after that, which will carry on into October.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) Hammerfall is also playing Prog Power this year. It’s no secret that Accept has been a huge influence on them. I know you guys have gotten together and jammed before. Any plans to mix it up with those dudes in Atlanta?
Wolf: We’ve known those guys for years. We’ve done some shows together before and had a great time. I’m not sure how it will work this year at Prog Power. I think we are playing on different days, so it depends on if we are still in the same place when the time comes. It isn’t an impossibility, that’s for sure.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) How much of the new material are you playing live?
Wolf: It really depends on how we are feeling from show to show. For the most part, we are doing three or four songs, so that we can allow time to do the old tunes that the fans want to hear. Sometimes though, we may do a little more, or a little less. We don’t always use the same new songs though. We like to switch it up so that all of the new songs get a chance to be played live.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) Having made so many great albums, and having just made one of the best yet, do you feel as if this is just the tip of the iceberg? Of course, the road wasn’t always a smooth one. Was there ever a time when you felt like giving up on Accept?
Wolf: Yeah, I think we are truly better than ever at this point. For a long time, I thought that it was dead and over. We didn’t have a lead singer, and Udo never wanted to do anything, so it was pretty much done. Like I said before, we had that jam with Mark and it was the spark that reignited the band.
Metal Exiles: (Bradley) Throughout Accept’s career, you guys never got caught up in the excess and dangers of drugs and booze, often associated with the rock and roll lifestyle. For the most part, you have all maintained a tight and clean lifestyle and professional demeanor.
Wolf: That is correct. I mean, I don’t see anything wrong with having a few drinks from time to time. I am German, after all. I like a few beers once in a while. We certainly aren’t a bunch of saints or anything, but we have always just been more into making the music, rather than indulging in the perks, so to speak. Personally, I never got into doing drugs. Never have, never will.
Metal Exiles: (Bubbs) Thanks for the chat, Wolf. Thanks also for letting Brad sit in with us. The new album is fantastic and we wish you all the best with touring and writing the next one.
Wolf: Thank you both so much. It was my pleasure.
http://www.acceptworldwide.com/
Buy Blood of the Nations
