REVIEW: ACCEPT “HUMANOID”

Go ahead and name 2024 the happiest year for Traditional Metal fans since the 80s! Five months in, and we’ve had new releases by Saxon, Judas Priest, Bruce Dickinson, Riot V, David Reece, The Rods, Blaze Bayley, and on April 26th the German legends Accept dropped their 17th album!

‘Humanoid’, the 6th record of the Mark Tornillo era, is the band’s first work through Napalm Records, and Andy Sneap came along for the ride, making sure everything remains consistent for those who enjoy this part of the catalogue.

The artwork is once again by Havancsák Gyula, who was responsible for the covers of ‘Too Mean to Die’ (2021) and ‘The Rise of Chaos’ (2017). Even though not my favourite Accept covers, the material looks great and probably even better on vinyl. And you know what? It’s not A.I., so kudos to the band! It also nods to 1985, revisiting the heart shape from ‘Metal Heart’. Given the theme of the album, it’s a fortunate choice, as I am sure it will entice some old-school fans to check ‘Humanoid’ out.

Although not a concept album, at this point, you probably have a hint of the recurrent theme you will find throughout some of the songs: the impacts of technology on humanity, especially in the context of Artificial Intelligence’s rapid development. However, there is more here than just a grim tale of man versus machine. The lyrics explore a spectrum that ranges from partying hard to self-reflection on aging and death. The latter certainly carries extra weight when declaimed by a band about to celebrate unbelievable 50 years on the road.

That being said, I am aware some people don’t necessarily love the lyrics in their recent albums, and I confess there are more rhymes here than I wish. But the music, the performance, and the production echo what we’ve been listening to since ‘Blood of the Nations’ (2010), and that’s good enough for me. It’s straight-up metal, riffarama extravaganza, and the most tasteful leads you will find out there. Wolf Hoffmann is one of the most well-rounded guitar players in the Metal scene. He’s consistent, a rifflord, a precise soloist, and has lots of personality. You can tell a song belongs to Accept from the very first guitar bar, and you can tell when a solo belongs to Wolf.

The album opens with ‘Diving Into Sin’ and its unlikely Middle Eastern-sounding intro that I am sure everyone is talking about. I really love how unpredictable that is for these guys. I had to check my phone to make sure I was playing the right artist. Don’t get me wrong, I want Accept to sound like Accept, but that got me really excited for what would come next. If you feel caught by surprise as well, fear not: as soon as the drums and guitars come in, you’re quickly dragged back to Acceptland. A Painkiller-like riff and a drumbeat at the perfect HPM (headbangs per minute) carry this track, which I believe is my favourite from ‘Humanoid’. Earworms: 1. Great solo, but pay attention to the rhythm behind it. 2. The wah-wah part between 2:54 and 3:04 is pure gold! 3. Mark screaming after the solo, “You’re finally letting go…”. That’s what I’m talking about! They could be singing about apples and puppies, and I would still stand behind them.

The title song starts strong. What a great guitar theme and syncopation! It sounds like it’s preparing you to face great danger: a boss-level kinda thing. Not my favourite track, but I understand why it was picked to name the album and as the first single. ‘Humanoid’, the single, came out on February 28th, accompanied by a music video that purposefully integrates A.I. animation and footage of the band. Earworms: 1. The guitar theme, of course. 2. The change of tempo in the second verse, around 1:46. 3. Again, flawless leads, but what is this nasty riff supporting the second solo, starting around 3:09?

‘Frankenstein’ is another great intro. An awesome Hard Rock guitar riff – possibly one of my favourites in the entire album – paired with a bass that sits in the perfect place in the mix. The bass grounds the song at all times and sticks to what it’s asked for. ‘Frankenstein’ was the last single released before the album came out and it also counts with a video, this time fully A.I. generated. Not really sure about the video or the lyrics in this one, but the instrumental and melodies make it one of the most memorable moments in ‘Humanoid’. Earworms: 1. The intro riff. 2. The bass gluing it all together. 3. The leads and guitar harmonies between 1:34 and 1:45. 4. Mark’s screams and the guitar solo starting at 3:17. That’s epic and reminded me of Gamma Ray’s ‘Heavy Metal Universe’.

The forth song, ‘Man Up’, seems to be a fan favourite, and I can say it’s definitely among the strongest tracks in the album, in my opinion. Martin Motnik delivers a prominent bass line and a solid tone. And am I the only one that thinks that, sonically, this is a slower and more melodic distant cousin of ‘Balls to the Wall’? Follow me here for a moment: the bass driving the verses overlaid by the open guitar chords, the bass and drums after the first chorus asking for Udo to come out and start saying “Come on man, let’s stand up all over the world…”, and the pinch harmonics round 3:12. Even the lyrics can be read as a softer version of ‘Balls…’. Comparisons aside, I really like this one. The gang vocals in the chorus are crowd-ready and I love Mark’s melodies counterpointing them. Earworms: 1. The chorus melodies. 2. The bass lines. 3. The last guitar solo (3:48).

And then we have ‘The Reckoning’, the second single and my favourite video among the three that came out so far. Classic band-playing-live-in-a-dark-warehouse-with-fire-blowing-everywhere videoclip. Probably the best tune of the three as well. I must confess that listening to it in the context of the album, ‘The Reckoning’ didn’t grab that much of my attention, but I do think the video, as straightforward as it is, enhances the song. The band has such a Metal presence and there’s something to be said about seeing Wolf and Philip Shouse wielding the Flying Vs and doing some traditional Accept choreography. Earworms: 1. The drums sound so big and cymbal chokes are a beauty! 2. The lead guitar during the choruses that makes them urgent! 3. All guitar solos. These are among the best in the album! 4. Bonus eye candy for the choreographies in the video.

‘Nobody Gets Out Alive’ is an upbeat Hard Rock track that gives me an ‘I’m a Rebel’ vibe. I’m not sure there are a lot of technicalities I can mention about this one. It’s a pretty straightforward song. But for some reason, it’s in my top 3 for this album, alongside ‘Diving Into Sin’ and ‘Man Up’. I can see this one closing a main live set, right before the encore. Earworms: 1. The chorus is great! 2. The overall vibe.

‘Ravages of Time’ is the ballad of the album, and I am a sucker for Accept ballads. I would probably butcher the melodic concept Wolf usually applies to his slow songs and solos if I try to pinpoint a certain scale or mode here, but what I can say is that they all give me a very melancholic, Cold War-like, Eastern European feeling. And that goes all the way back to ‘Breaking Up Again’, from ‘Breaker’ (1981). This one is no different: it takes me exactly to the sad place I want to be when I listen to Sad Accept. I am a big fan of Mark in general, but I really like him singing ballads. His delivery is very emotional and expressive, and I think this is his peak in ‘Humanoid’, where he confronts the realization of getting older. Earworms: 1. Mark’s performance in the entire song. 2. The lines “The moment that it hits you, you start to understand we’re just here on borrowed time” hit particularly hard.

‘Unbreakable’, in my opinion, should wrap up the album. I do think this is the last song in ‘Humanoid’ I really enjoyed. This is a powerful Heavy Metal hymn screaming about the resilience of the band, striving through so many decades and line-up changes. In a concert setting, this is probably the one I would like to see live the most. It reminds me of ‘Pandemic’ from ‘Blood of the Nations’. Earworms: 1. The bridges after the choruses, where Mark goes full on Andi Deris. 2. The gang vocals in the chorus. 3. The guitar theme at 3:29, that loosely refers to ‘In The Hall of the Mountain King’.

‘Mind Games’ is probably the song that reminds me the most of the Udo era, especially the chorus. I heard somewhere that ‘Mind Games’ was the first song Wolf was sure would make the album when the band was writing ‘Humanoid’. However, it really doesn’t do much for me. Earworms: 1. The solo is pretty good, with the guitar harmonies in the slower part being the highlight (2:56).

‘Straight Up Jack’ is an open homage to AC/DC and Bon Scott, but it just sounds like a bad AC/DC song to me. The lyrics are hard to ignore; and this one, more than any other track, gives me a Bonus Track vibe. Even with ‘Nobody Gets Out Alive’ in the tracklist, ‘Straight Up Jack’ sounds misplaced on ‘Humanoid’. But I believe the band is proud of it, and I respect that. Earworms: 1. The intro guitar riff.

‘Southside of Hell’ closes the official tracklist (apparently there is a version with a bonus cover of ‘Hard Times’ by Curtis Mayfield). That’s a bit of a recovery to me, as I like this one better than the two before. I know some people who consider this one the best song on ‘Humanoid’. It is heavy and fast, but not as memorable as the first part and a half of the album to me. Earworms: 1. Christopher Williams has the chance to show off his drum skills a little more on this song.

CONCLUSION

The band is on fire. It’s impressive that with such a long career and track record of releases, in 2024, Accept is releasing an unapologetically Metal album like ‘Humanoid’. We don’t need them to reinvent the wheel. It’s classic Accept, it’s modern Metal, and it’s pure Wolf Hoffmann. Mark Tornillo sounds great, the band is tight, and I love the production!

If you are a Metal fan and, more than anything, an Accept fan, you will not find a bad song on this album. There are no bad songs, solos, or choruses. The last 3 are just not as strong as the rest to me. Not that this applies to every artist or every album, but in a day and age when people’s attention span is extremely short, those of us who still consume the album format could benefit from leaner releases. The first 8 songs here make a very solid album. The last 3, personally, bring my overall score down a bit.

All in all, ‘Humanoid’ is exactly what I could wish for in a new Accept release.

TheNWOTHM Score: 7.5/10

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