Reactivated metal legends ACCEPT will be supported by KING'S X for shows in the US this September/October. More dates have been announced, and now include:

September

23 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Chance
24 - Baltimore, MD - Ram's Head Live
25 - Sayreville, NJ - The Starland Ballroom
27 - New York, NY - B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
29 - Foxborough, MA - Showcase Live

October

1 - Reading, PA - The Silo
2 - Mount Clemens, MI - The Emerald Theatre
9 - Chicago, IL - The Arcada
12 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues
13 - Houston, TX - House of Blues

Accept recently signed with Universal Japan for their comeback album, Blood Of The Nations. The release date has been set for September 4th.

Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann comments on the deal: "Japan was our last missing component in the international marketplace, which we have completed now with Universal! They are the perfect partners for us over there. Japan has always been a terrific market for us. We had tremendous success there in the past, so we are very happy to come back to Japan after all these years.

Rock music is still a big thing in Japan and every good rock band in the world has Japan on their wish list. We can see from our website that we have a lot of fans there. We are excited and looking forward to bring them our new album and our great live shows."

Blood Of The Nations will hit the streets on August 20th in Europe and September 14th in North America. An exclusive track-by-track run down by BraveWords.com scribe Mark Gromen can be read below:

‘Beat The Bastards’ – A real kick-off to the album, especially in light of the two pre-released singles which follow: “Cut the ripcord, don’t look back. Burn the bridges down. Grab the hammer, clench your fist. Beat the bastards down!” Come the chorus, could be forgiven for not knowing about any substitutions at the vocal position. A classic Accept rocker!

‘Teutonic Terror’ – Mid-tempo, with Tornillo’s gritty voice at the fore, screeching into higher register. Multiple voice ‘whoa, whoa’ chorus.

‘The Abyss’ – opens with slower Accept trademark, then delves into less conventional territory, albeit build around Tornillo’s Udo-inspired rasp (chorus). When they threaten to venture down the Accept of old pathway, veers off, preferring not to be a carbon copy of those classic riffs (as found elsewhere). Brief mid-section of piano and smooth voice. Just six seconds short of seven minutes in length.

‘Blood Of The Nations’ – With both Peter Baltes (bass) and Wolf Hoffman (guitar) living in the USA, the lyrical standpoint deals with the role of serving as global policeman, even if it’s talking about a coalition of nations, in partnership. Can’t prove it, but have a sneaking suspicion that an “s” was added to the title, just to make it more palatable, internationally. Particularly the group chorus gives it a mid-tempo HammerFall feel.

‘Shades Of Death’ - Longest song at 7:33. Acoustic begun, alongside symphonic strings. Never gets above the ‘Neon Nights’/‘Dogs On Leads’ tempo.

‘Locked And Loaded’ – Sounds like something Halford might have written (come to think of it…). Searing Priest twin leads!

‘Kill The Pain’ – Acoustic begun, alongside symphonic strings. Unsuccessfully attempts to recreate the magic of ‘Seawinds’.

‘Rollin Thunder’- Upbeat, chugging Accept riffs, but the way Hoffman ends the song, just going off on guitar is what makes the tune.

‘Pandemic’- a mid-tempo ode to the music we all love: “It’s a metal disease.” Simple, repetitive lyrics/chorus and trademark guitars. Can almost envision the onstage, synchronized guitar sway.

‘New World Comin’ – Despite the start, definitely, the least “Accept” of the bunch. Come the chorus, you can hear the New Jersey influence, in the form of Bon Jovi “whoa, whoa”. Bluesy.

‘No Shelter’ – the comeuppance for an unspecified white collar criminal. Alternates between piston pumping, proto thrash and more subtle parts, accent heavily on the former. Think ‘Losers & Winners’. Again, Hoffman goes fretboard crazy in the final third.

‘Bucketful Of Hate’ –The sporadic music box notes which open give way to more of that trademark Accept riffage. Tornillo wails the titular phrase atop backed chorus, ends with a sitar sounding flourish and gradually fade-out downbeat melody. Probably better closing songs elsewhere on the disc.

Given my (considerable) reservations about continuing without the recognizable Dirkschneider, to say nothing of their less than impressive (plodding, one dimensional) previous stabs at resurrection: Death Row and Predator, this is a VERY pleasant surprise. Apparently there’s plenty of ideas left. Bring ‘em on!

Accept 2010 is:

Wolf Hoffmann – guitar

Peter Baltes – bass

Herman Frank – guitar

Mark Tornillo – vocals

Stefan Schwarzmann – drums