The sheer joy of digging out some old heavy metal classics is just unbelievable sometimes. I have been on a massive prog wave for a year or so now and, a few weeks ago, I was looking through my collection for something simple, catchy and traditional to listen too. I stumbled accross this essential release from German heavy metallers Accept, and realized how extremely enjoyable this is. It's the 6th release, and the 3rd classic record in a row from these guys. Some might prefer Restless and Wild and Balls to the Wall over this. However no-one can deny the status this album has as the last album of Accept's golden era. UDO's trademark vocals twists and turns trough the whole record, carrying the melodies along with the simple and melodic riffs. The teamwork on this record shows that Accept got along well as a band, and was at the top of their career at this very moment. The solos are entertaining as hell, and the groovy and sometimes even jazzy rhythms creates a great atmosphere that makes you want to sing along to every single song. For there is not one single filler here.

This was approaching for more commercial success than the earlier releases. The production is therefore "louder", and some will say that the songs are more accesible. In all honesty though, this album contains just as much quality heavy metal as its predecessors. The album opener Metal Heart has made its way into the anthemic hall of fame with it's chanting chorus and memorable riffs in the same vein as Balls to the Wall and London Leatherboys.

As far as the lyrics goes, they tried to do more intelligent writing on Metal Heart. Midnight Mover is for example a slightly metaphorical approach on drug dealers. Not really compelling or deep, and I don't really care that much about the lyrics, as the music is the main source of quality here. Anyway, this is one of my all time favourite Accept songs. The riffs, the vocals, and the melodies are all great. This and Up to the Limit is never ever getting out of my head, and I don't really mind at all! The speedy Wrong is right shows off the faster side with double-pedalling and fast riffs. Screaming For a Love-Bite is an emotional song with a great chorus and a guitar solo loaded with feelings and melody. Too High to Get It Right and Dogs on Leads brings back the anthemic feeling, while the jazzy, but absolutely killer Teach Us To Survive spices things up a great deal.

After the groovy Living For Tonite, it's time for the epic album highlight Bound to Fail. The song itself is not particularly long or anything, but the intro leads, combined with the chants and powerful atmosphere, simply makes this epic! This is the song that made me buy this album, and got me heavily into this band. It deserves to finish the album that closes the short but heart-warming legacy Accept had and still has within the classic heavy metal genre

For those of you who, for some reason, are unfamiliar with this band, I'll use a few lines to explain what they sound like. The immediate comparison I made was with AC/DC. UDO's vocals sounds somewhat less twisted than Bon Scott/Brian Johnson. The guitars are more similar to Glenn Tipton and K.K Downing (Judas Priest), and the rythm section is pretty simple but extremely groovy. The drummer mostly uses simple and straight-forward hard rock/heavy metal patterns, sometimes including his pedal skills, and the bass adds a more bluesy and jazzy touch to the songs.

If you ever find yourself in the same mood as I did, and still does once in a while, you should dig out this or check them out as soon as possible for some, catchy, melodic and ear-pleasing classic heavy metal!