ACCEPT ’Teutonic Titans 1976-2026’

ACCEPT
Teutonic Titans 1976-2026
Napalm Records
https://www.acceptworldwide.com

If you’re a Metal fan of a certain age, you surely remember the Deadline/Cleopatra Records tribute albums.  Essentially, the label would gather a bunch of Hard Rock and Metal luminaries for covers of songs by VAN HALEN, ALICE COOPER, OZZY OSBOURNE and others.  The musicians involved were no slouches either.  

I mean, they weren’t exactly busy with their bands at the time, but the point I’m making is they were professionals.  Most of these tribute compilations were of high quality and production.  Cleopatra Records is still doing similar all-star compilations today.

For some reason, over the last decade or so, bands have been doing tribute albums of themselves, for lack of a better term.  Some may call this re-recording, but more and more bands are “re-recording” themselves AND bringing in their musician friends.  This is the case with the latest release by ACCEPT, ‘Teutonic Titans 1976-2026’.

The release is in honor of ACCEPT’s 50th anniversary.  Joining them on the album are:

Tobias Forge (GHOST)
Ray Luzier (KORN)
Phil Anselmo (PANTERA)
Kirk Hammett (METALLICA)
Mikkey Dee & Matthias Jabs (SCORPIONS)
Rob Halford & KK Downing (JUDAS PRIEST)
Billy Corgan (SMASHING PUMPKINS)
David Ellefson (MEGADETH)
Bobby Ellsworth (OVERKILL)
Hansi Kursch (BLIND GUARDIAN)
Chris Jericho (FOZZY)
Ralf Schepers (PRIMAL FEAR)
BillY Sheehan (MR.BIG)
Ola Englund (THE HAUNTED)
Jeff Loomis (NEVERMORE)
Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS)

Look, you’ve read the line-up, I don’t need to tell you this record sounds great.  Everyone adds their own little stamp to the ACCEPT song for which they appear..  I did not receive a complete list on who plays on what, so I hope that is made clear when the album is finally released.  On some of the songs you can tell who is trading lines with ACCPET vocalist Mark Tornillo, because their voices are so distinct and iconic.  Some vocals will stump you, and there’s no way you can figure out which guitarist or drummer is performing.  I love the fact that the songs are in chronological order from ACCEPT’s early days until today.

Despite the stellar musicianship on this release, there are still a handful of problems.  First of all, why is ACCEPT going the all-star route instead of performing the songs themselves?  Mark Tornillo has been in the band for 17 years now and to my knowledge, ACCEPT has never put out an album of Mark covering classic ACCEPT material.  Why should he be a background player here? It makes more sense for ACCEPT to cover ACCEPT for their 50th anniversary than it does to bring in outside musicians.  

Next up, former ACCEPT vocalist Udo Dirkschneider pretty much did the same thing last year on ‘Balls To The Wall Reloaded’.  Sure, he was just covering one ACCEPT album, but he also covered classic ACCEPT material under the DIRKSCHNEIDER banner with the release of ‘Live: Back to the Roots’ in 2016.  

Lastly, how many times do we listen to a covers album?  Once? Twice? Three times?  If you’ve got a hankering for “Balls to the Wall”, are you going to throw on the Halford/Jabs guest spot version, or are you going to throw on ACCEPT’s 1983 classic?  The same could be said for “Fast As A Shark”.  Do you want the Anselmo/Hammett/Dee guest spot version, or the 1982 banger?  You’re a liar if you say the new one, or there’s room for both.  The Udo guest star album was pointless too.

Again, I am not knocking the performances.  They are top-notch.  ‘Teutonic Titans 1976-2026’ may have been a fun project for ACCEPT to noodle around with their friends, but for the listener, it will be soon forgotten.  

3.0 Out Of 5.0