Accept Restless And Wild CD

Accept includes: Udo Dirkschneider (vocals); Hermann Frank Jr., Wolf Hoffman (guitar); Peter Baltes (bass); Stefan Kaufmann (drums).
Personnel: Udo Dirkschneider (vocals); Jörg Fischer (guitar); Stefan Kaufmann (drums).
Audio Mixer: Michael Wagener.
Recording information: Dierks Studios, Cologne, Germany (03/1982-06/1982).
Author: Udo Dirkschneider.
Photographer: Stefan Bohle.
Unknown Contributor Role: Herman Frank.
In the rankings of heavy metal heroes, Accept are too often swept aside, but they were key in the creation of thrash and speed metal, two of the most dominant subgenres of the 1980s and beyond. Ample evidence for their contribution is presented on their fourth album, 1982's RESTLESS AND WILD. Opener "Fast as a Shark" is indeed that, racing full force with some of the fastest drumming to be heard up to that point. The rest of the album isn't nearly as juiced up, but features an undeniably tough metallic crunch that was virtually unmatched at the time. "Ahead of the Pack" is a spiked wristband anthem, perfect for shaking the foundations of a European soccer stadium, "Neon Nights" oozes after-dark danger, and "Flash Rockin' Man" prefigures Motley Crüe by several years. BALLS TO THE WALL may be their calling card, but RESTLESS AND WILD is Accept in peak form.
Accept's creative breakthrough, 1983's Restless and Wild, begins with one of the most unexpected, surprising, and hilarious mock intros ever recorded. Untold thousands no doubt furrowed their brows in confusion at the perky German folk song emanating from their speakers, only to be rudely interrupted by a scratching needle and Udo Dirkschneider's incomparable shriek, as the band launch themselves into the stunning violence of "Fast as a Shark." Not just a thrilling, light-speed juggernaut, the song was probably the last thrash metal prototype waxed in the pre-thrash era (officially inaugurated by Metallica's Kill 'Em All a few months later). Though nowhere near as frenetic, the title track and "Ahead of the Pack" are just as fierce, and despite a sudden stumble with the mediocre "Shake Your Heads" (an overtly cheesy, Judas Priest-style metal anthem, and the album's only stinker), the dramatic "Neon Nights" ends side one on the upswing once again. As for the album's second half, it's pretty much beyond reproach. Introduced by the solid "Get Ready" (another nod to Priest with its "Living After Midnight"-inspired drum intro), it builds from strength to strength with increasingly mature and melodic (though lyrically obscure) tracks such as "Flash Rockin' Man," "Don't Go Stealing My Soul Away," and the colossal "Princess of the Dawn." The latter closes the album as it began, in unexpected fashion, when its extended outro is abruptly interrupted mid-verse. The bottom line here is that this, like its successor Balls to the Wall, is an essential heavy metal album, and any fan worth his salt should own them both. But for the sake of first-time visitors, Restless and Wild is the slightly grittier, less melodic of the two. Whichever you chose, you can only win. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia