Accept Album: “Balls to the Wall [Remaster]”

I remember in 1984 when I first heard the song "Balls to the Wall" on the radio. The song was by an intriguing German band I never heard of: Accept. Needless to say the song utterly blew me away! It sounded like AC/DC but way more sophisticated and with a vocalist that, while reminiscent of both of AC/DC's singers, was even MORE over-the-top, if you can believe that. Anyway, I immediately went out and purchased the album "Balls to the Wall."

After digesting it I concluded that, although "Balls" was indeed the best song on the recording, there were about four or five other songs of premium quality. As for the rest, they were decent; I certainly wouldn't call them 'filler,' like a lot of songs on just about every Iron Maiden release.

As for the lyrics, they were generally intelligent and covered a good spectrum -- politics on a social, sexual and global level, but some left me baffled like "Love Child" where singer Udo states: "Feeling the power of lust when the guy's passing by" and "Don't know what I am, a woman or a man." It helped later when I found out the lyrics were written by their female manager Gaby Hauke (i.e. "Deaffy").

Here's a run-down of the songs:

1.) BALLS TO THE WALL (5/5 Stars). This is nothing short of a masterpiece -- musically kick-a$$ and lyrically profound. It's a paean for the rights of the oppressed and a call to revolution.

2.) LONDON LEATHERBOYS (4/5 STARS). This one has riffs reminiscent of Judas Priest's "Killing Machine," but the song itself is arguably better. The lyrics detail the tragic story of a London bike gang.

3.) FIGHT IT BACK (3/5 Stars). This is a likable, aggressive number that addresses freedom from conventional social drudgery (e.g. 'punching in' and doing your time).

4.) HEAD OVER HEALS (5/5 Stars). Starts out with a lonely bass riff followed by a creative guitar accompaniment. This is one of the best songs on the album. The lyrics interestingly deal with going to a park late at night and stumbling upon people having sex (!), subsequently becoming entranced.

5.)LOSING MORE THAN YOU'VE EVER HAD (5/5 Stars). This song shows that Udo can do much more than scream in an irritating manner. The mature lyrics personally address the ex-boyfriend of an abused woman (as in 'give it up, you've lost her'). This song is emotionally potent and is one of the highlights of the CD.

6.)LOVE CHILD (3/5 Stars). Decent number about a charismatic dude that oozes sexuality and incites lust.

7.)TURN ME ON (3/5 Stars). This one has an infectious chorus and a smoking lead guitar solo; the subject matter is obvious.

8.) LOSERS AND WINNERS (2/5 Stars). I'm not a big fan of this ditty; the lyrics are inoffensive but dumb. Example: "Write a letter (What's the matter) You'll feel better (Write a letter)." Without a doubt the least of the numbers on the album.

9.) GUARDIAN OF THE NIGHT (4.5/5 Stars). Starts out with a nice acoustic piece and then gets ultra-heavy (for that era, at least). The lyrics deal with a night-loving misfit that is unable to fit into conventional society.

10.) WINTERDREAMS (5/5 Stars). This one begins with a moody, plodding bass followed by an acoustic guitar, leading to some power chords in the distant and UDO's great singing voice. The chorus is melodic and acoustic in nature. The lyrics deal with a person experiencing a beautiful and surreal moment of magic in the middle of a winter snowfall.

BONUS SONGS: Live versions of "Head Over Heals" and "Love Child" are included. These songs prove one thing: Accept are perfectly capable of recreating their songs in a live setting; in fact, both songs sound even better than their studio counterparts. Udo is nothing short of magnificent live!

As for the heavily criticized cover art/photo: I like it and think it's completely fitting to the themes covered on the disk. I say this with an unblemished record of staunch heterosexuality, I might add. Interestingly, Motley Crue's debut album "Too Fast for Love" had a very similar cover (albeit inferior) and was released about the same time.

The sleeve features the best close-up picture of the band ever taken. It's just a great picture (and, yes, I say that with an unmarred record of heterosexuality as well).

FINAL ANALYSIS: This 1984 metal recording is a mandatory purchase if just for the song "Balls to the Wall;" fortunately there's so much more. Needless to say, I refuse to even take calls from metal friends that don't have this in their listening arsenal.

This was one of the great metal albums of the 80s & now it sounds better than ever. What a great idea to remaster this! It sounds killer & the packaging is nice too. The two bonus tracks are from the live EP Kaizoiku Ban (?; pardon my spelling) & shows just how great a live band they were as well. Pity I never got to see them. Let's hope they do justice to Restless & Wild & Metal Heart as well with an updated remaster.

I got this album in 84 after hearing the song Balls To The Wall on the radio show Metal Shop (anyone remember that show?). I own over 1000 cds and this album has always been in my top 10! Udo's vocals are a bit rough and may not be for everybody, but I will take real emotion and good vocal melodies over some pretty boy singer anyday. Wolf's guitar work is biting and superb. His solos bring tears to my eyes, especially HEAD OVER HEELS. Wolf is up there with Michael Schenker as one of the best European guitarists ever. Stefan (drums) and Peter (bass) help give this album it's BALLS. I think we are all heavily influenced by the first album we hear from a band (sentimentality), but this album IS their BEST! Followed closely by Restless and Metal Heart. GOD BLESS YA!

This band was so good it's criminal they weren't bigger. I got to see them twice during their heyday and they were absolute killer! If you are going to play heavy metal, THIS is how it should be played. This band remains grossly underrated as is guitarist Wolf Hoffmann. They blow many of today's bands out of the water. A band like Motley Crue may have sold more records and had more popularity but musically they aren't in Accept's league. for me anyway. And I saw Motley Crue in their heyday.

This CD burns. Udo Dirkschneider's vocals may not be to everyone's liking but he's right for this band. When these guys played you knew they meant business, no half-stepping here! The guitar work is absolute killer. Accept's music should be required listening for all aspiring metalheads because this is how it should be done. BALLS TO THE WALL indeed!!

www.electriceyes.us

Before you play this album make sure you've got the volume way up high. The opening riff will sweep you to a higher level.

This album had everything going against it. The follow up to Restless & Wild, the seemingly worst cover artwork imaginable for a heavy metal album, subject matter to make some cliched people reject it outright and to top it all off a song title (London Leatherboys) that, coupled with the cover image would make any metal record exec marketer of the time want to jump off a high building.

But surprise, surprise it's now considered a metal classic. That is Accept. No compromise. Yes, at it's release it probably cost them some new fans but those that were already on board knew where the band were coming from.

'Turn Me On' has a guitar solo on it that is often overlooked but is probably as good as you will ever get with regards to a solo fitting into the overall style of a song. Tie that in with it's tremendous opening riff and you have a snapshot of what Accept is all about. Near on perfection.