Accept frontman Mark Tornillo, who officially joined the German metal legends in 2009, is featured in a new interview with The Aquarian Weekly. Following is an excerpt from the chat.

The Aquarian Weekly: Do you feel your entrance in 2012 sparked a renewed popularity for Accept? Before you came aboard the best people could hope for was reunion show. Now they’re gotten a whole new Accept experience of new material. 

Tornillo: "When I was asked to join the band, it was, 'Do you want to make a record and do a tour?' If we weren’t going to make new music… I think I would’ve bowed out. I don’t want to be one of those bands that just puts out one song and goes out and rests on their glory. When we announced that I was joining the band, online just lit up and hated the idea.

I was a pariah for God’s sake. We all looked at each other and were like, 'We better make one hell of a damn record.' So that’s what we did. We spent a lot of time working on Blood of the Nations and I think we delivered a killer album. Say what you will; ome people love it, some people don’t, some people say no Udo, no Accept. Some people love what we’re doing, but all I know is we’re not living on past glory. We’ve done five new albums since I’ve been in the band. 

The initial reception didn’t sit well with me. I wasn’t happy about it. Although once we started recording, I saw where things were going and I felt a whole lot better about it. Then we started playing live shows. The first live show was The Gramercy in my backyard [of New York City]. I kind of knew what to expect there. Three days later we were in Lithuania. I had no idea what [was] going to happen. I almost wanted to walk out with a garbage can lid like Spanky in The Little Rascals in case tomatoes started flying. But they didn’t. From day one the fans loved us, and I love them."

The Aquarian Weekly: Following this tour you’ve got a long European tour to start the first few months of 2023. When will you start working on the next Accept record?

Tornillo: "We’re already writing a new album; working on it as we speak. Writing is one of those things I like being under pressure to do it. Right now we’re going at it slowly, going back and forth. We’re working on a few new songs. Once we come off the road here in November we’ll start hitting it hard. Then we’ll go back out in January. Just the opportunity to do this again is amazing. Before Accept I was, for all intents and purposes, retired as a musician. I played with the Edgar Cayse Band for a while. T.T. Quick would do a reunion show once in a while, but that was it. I’m just grateful to be able to do this on this level at this age. God, I’m 68-years-old. It’s insane. It’s a gift from God." 

Read the complete interview here.

On Sunday, October 16, for the first time in their history, Accept played an entire show without a singer!

It was announced just prior to the show at The Phoenix in Toronto, ON that Mark Tornillo had been taken to hospital for an undisclosed illness and the band decided to go on with the show. Guitarists Wolf Hoffmann, Uwe Lulis, Philip Shouse, bassist Martin Motnik and drummer Christopher Williams all sharing vocal duties.

Check out video filmed by BraveWords below:

Accept will start their long-awaited Too Mean To Die tour on January 14, 2023 in Oberhausen. The metal Teutons will tour across Europe from mid-January to the end of February, playing 29 gigs in 13 countries, ten of them in Germany alone.

Mastermind Wolf Hoffmann states: "It's been two hard years because we really wanted to go on stage but couldn't for the reasons we know. Anyway, now the time of suffering has come to an end. And only one thing counts now: Accept and our fans are 'too mean to die' - we won't let it get us down and rock the beginning of 2023."

Tickets for the Too Mean To Die European Tour 2023 are now available. Get your exclusive VIP access for the shows of your choice (incl. meeting and photo with Accept) here.

Tour dates:

January
14 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
15 - Brüssels, Belgium - La Madeleine
17 - Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp
18 - Paris, France - Bataclan
20 - Pamplona, Spain - Totem
21 - Madrid, Spain - La Riviera
22 - Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz 1
24 - Toulouse, France - Bikini
25 - Lyon, France - Transbordeur
27 - Zürich, Switzerland - Komplex
28 - Telfs, Austria - Rathaussaal
29 - Budapest, Hungary - Barba Negra
31 - Zlin, Czech Republic - Hala Euronics

February
1 - Warsaw, Poland - Progresja
3 - Tallinn, Estonia - Helitehas
4 - Helsinki, Finland - House Of Culture
5 - Tampere, Finland - Pakkahuone
7 - Stockholm, Sweden - Fryshuset
8 - Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller
10 - Gothenborg, Sweden - Trädgår'n
11 - Kopenhagen, Denmark - Vega
12 - Bremen, Germany - Aladin
14 - Berlin, Germany - Huxley’s
16 - Ulm, Germany - Ratiopharm Arena
17 - Munich, Germany - Tonhalle
18 - Filderstadt, Germany - FILharmonie
19 - Geiselwind, Germany - Eventzentrum
21 - Leipzig, Germany - Haus Auensee
22 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Garage

Accept are:

Wolf Hoffmann - guitar
Mark Tornillo - vocals
Uwe Lulis - guitar
Philip Shouse - guitar
Martin Motnik - bass
Christopher Williams - drums