The clip below features former Accept guitarist Herman Frank discussing his new band, Panzer, with Metalholic's Rustyn Rose and Metal Wani's Owais "Vitek" Nabi. Frank talks about the debut Panzer album, Send Them All To Hell, songwriting, how the band formed, future plans and much more.

Frank and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann recently parted ways with Accept. A band statement reads as follows:

"Accept would like to thank Herman Frank and Stefan Schwarzmann for being with us  these last 4+ years, for making themselves available whenever needed and for rocking their asses off! We and the fans all knew that they had their own careers and that eventually we would run into scheduling and other conflicts beyond our control. Herman and Stefan are now ready to take on the world, with their own band Panzer, a Nuclear Blast Record deal under their belts and a new album!

We are parting as friends and wish them nothing but success!"

Panzer, which is comprised of three undisputed genre legends - vocalist and bassist Schmier (Destruction) guitarist Herman Frank (Accept, Victory), as well as drummer Stefan Schwarzmann (Accept, Running Wild) - have released the official video for the song “Death Knell”, taken from their debut, Send Them All To Hell, out now in Europe and scheduled for January 13th in North America via Nuclear Blast. The clip that was filmed in Hannover and produced by Kai Swillus.

The artwork was created by Hungarian artist Gyula Havancsák, who also created the recent artworks of Destruction and Headhunter. “Together with this great and crazy guy, we have visualized the most brutal Panzer ever,” adds Schmier. "You will find a lot of details that you won’t recognize at first sight - hints to our lyrics and stuff that goes deeper than just the first martial impression! We will show you an intense cover trailer that will show all the fine points of this classical metal art that fits perfect with our music very soon!"

Send Them All To Hell tracklisting:

“Death Knell”
“Hail And Kill”
“Temple Of Doom”
“Panzer”
“Freakshow”
“Mr. Nobrain”
“Why?”
“Virtual Collision”
“Roll The Dice”
“Bleed For Your Sins”
"Mr. Nobrain" lyric video:

"Panzer" lyric video:

The initial idea was born when drummer Stefan Schwarzmann, who has relocated to Switzerland about seven years ago, had a chat with the owner of renowned Swiss club Z7 in Pratteln. The two tried to figure out a way to fill the empty space within touring and recording, the venue has been facing with its most frequently playing bands. To make a long story short: Nobert Mandel (owner of Z7) had the idea of a trio, with both Stefan and Herman in it. The only vacancy for bass and vocals wouldn’t stay open for long, as Stefan had the phone number and mail address of Destruction's Schmier right at hand – and so “The German Panzer” was born!

Commented Schmier: “When Stefan Schwarzmann, drummer of Accept and an old friend came to me with the idea of putting a band together, I first thought he tried to fool me… hahaha! But the idea sounded amazing from the beginning and after the first meeting with Herman Frank, the German guitar legend,  that everybody knows from his work with Accept and Victory and Stefan, we realized really fast, that this team could really kick some serious ass together. And Instead of talking too long about it, we started writing songs right away and within some weeks had half of the album recorded and it sounded wicked! We don t wanna re-invent the metal-wheel. We play the music we love, easy as that and it’s great fun cause we all dig this shit since we are teenagers!"

Naming a band after fierce war machinery might seem a bit off for some, but if you take a look at the lyrics, this is picture perfect. The lyrics provoke, criticize and are part of the art. “My lyrics criticize... I don’t pray,” adds Schmier.

And as difficult as the search for a name was at first, with all members being German die-hards and organizers of the Teutonic scene, Panzer seemed to be the name everybody remembers right away.

As for the album title, Send Them All To Hell was almost mandatory, as these are the first words to be heard on the record, with Schmier whispering them into the mic. With the exception of two tracks that feature all three members, all songs are written entirely by Herman Frank and Schmier.

If you like it heavy, more melodic or if you dig speed metal, then Panzer will hit right on. Or to say it with Hermann Frank: “No left - no right! Just straight forward like a Panzer!”