Accept "The Rise of Chaos" CD

Despite liking the Mark Tornillo-fronted era of Accept, ‘The Rise Of Chaos’ kind of passed me by initially. Looking back, the inconsistency of its predecessor ‘Blind Rage’ combined with the promise of a somewhat more straightforward album and a few bouts of extreme lyrical simplicity in the preview tracks probably contributed to that. That was clearly a mistake. First of all, complexity was never Accept’s forte and while I love ‘Stalingrad: Brothers In Death’ for its melodic depth, ultimately one just wants to hear Accept pound out ballsy, effective heavy metal. As such, ‘The Rise Of Chaos’ is a triumph.
Most of the adjecives associated with Accept – solid, dependable, workmanlike – can be interpreted as both positive and negative. ‘The Rise Of Chaos’ will not do much to change whichever interpretation you adhere to. Musically, this is exactly what one would expect: simple, powerful riffs, raw lead vocals, gang chants, Wolf Hoffmann’s classically-inspired guitar solos… Just like Accept always has been. The album is distinguished by its atmosphere, however. It’s not defiant and euphoric like ‘Stalingrad’, neither is it quite as melancholic and dynamic as ‘Blind Rage’. Instead, there is an undercurrent of disillusionment and nostalgia running through most of the songs.
This does not mean Accept has gone all reflective on ‘The Rise Of Chaos’. The main mission of the band is clearly to still churn out a bunch of fist-pumpers that are easy to sing along. It just means that even the simplest tracks are not quite the party anthems that the likes of ‘Balls To The Wall’ were. The social observations in the lyrics generally have the depth of a puddle, but there is a larger number of outright minor key guitar riffs this time around to greatly enhance that atmosphere. Even while you’re shouting along the title of opening track ‘Die By The Sword’.
It helps that Accept has Mark Tornillo singing these days. He has the same shrieky approach as Udo Dirkschneider, but he is better able to carry an actual melody. His voice truly gives songs like ‘Worlds Colliding’, closing track ‘Race To Extinction’ and pensive album highlight ‘Koolaid’ an extra shot of emotional depth. The latter fits alongside lower-key, more melodic latter day Accept songs like ‘Shadow Soldiers’ and ‘The Curse’ nicely. Those who prefer to hear Accept in their simple, pounding glory need not worry: the likes of ‘No Regrets’, ‘What’s Done Is Done’ and the aforementioned ‘Die By The Sword’ should still be more than satisfactory.
Even though it is subtle, the greater degree of melodic sophistication really make ‘The Rise Of Chaos’ a more worthwhile album than ‘Blind Rage’, which was an album of highlights rather than an album with a pleasant, continuous flow. Only the cringeworthy lyrics of the somewhat too straightforward ‘Analog Man’ make me reach for the skip button at times, but as a whole, ‘The Rise Of Chaos’ is an excellent latter day Accept record. There are not many classic metal bands that release material that is at least on par with their heyday material these days, but Accept is one of the best examples of how to do it.
Recommended tracks: ‘Koolaid’, ‘No Regrets’, ‘Race To Extinction’, ‘Die By The Sword’

Official promo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...