ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann spoke to France's "213Rock" podcast about the band's upcoming album, "Too Mean To Die", which will be released on January 15, 2021 via Nuclear Blast. You can now listen to the chat below.
Speaking about how the coronavirus pandemic affected the creation of "Too Mean To Die", Wolf said: "We didn't really feel like we wanted to respond to all the craziness and the corona [crisis]. This whole year has been so crazy and sad in a way because people are just locked away in their homes and all that. So we thought we don't wanna contribute any more to that. Why don't we just give 'em an in-your-face heavy metal album and maybe that's gonna lift up everybody's spirit more. So that's why we decided to go full force ahead and nothing else — no compromises."
Hoffmann also discussed ACCEPT's musical approach this time around, in particular for the "Too Mean To Die" title track, which was released as a lyric video earlier this month.
"Like I said, it's an in-your-face heavy metal album, and especially that song is kind of a statement right upfront that kind of sets the tone for the whole album," he explained. "Nowadays, I always try to write songs that really remind you of the '80s but at the same time, they are fresh and new ideas and exciting, with a new sound, but they always sort of have that old-school vibe also. That's what we're going for a lot of times."
The first single from "Too Mean To Die", "The Undertaker", was released in a two-track format, with a previously unreleased live version of "Life's A Bitch" recorded in Oulu/Finland 2019. It is available digitally and as exclusive seven-inch vinyl in three colors, each limited to 300 pieces. Colors for Europe are gold and marble and red for the USA.
"Too Mean To Die" was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with British producer Andy Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, MEGADETH), who has been responsible for the magnificent studio sound of ACCEPT since 2010. It will be ACCEPT's first LP without bassist Peter Baltes, who exited the group in November 2018. He has since been replaced by Martin Motnik. ACCEPT's lineup has also been expanded with the addition of a third guitarist, Philip Shouse, who originally filled in for Uwe Lulis during last year's "Symphonic Terror" tour, before being asked to join the band permanently.
ACCEPT's previous album, 2017's "The Rise Of Chaos", marked the band's first release with Lulis and drummer Christopher Williams, replacing Herman Frank and Stefan Schwarzmann, respectively.
ACCEPT's latest release was "Symphonic Terror - Live At Wacken 2017", featuring the band's performance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany.
ACCEPT 2020 is:
Wolf Hoffmann - Guitar
Mark Tornillo - Vocals
Christopher Williams - Drums
Uwe Lulis - Guitar
Martin Motnik - Bass
Philip Shouse - Guitar
Photo credit: Deaf Music
