Accept - Restless and Wild

Accept is an underrated Heavy Metal band from Germany. The best way to describe their sound is Judas Priest with a gruffer singer and a little bit of AC/DC thrown in for good measure. They have the twin guitar attack down to a tee and the riffs vary from simplistic AC/DC type riffs to speed metal assaults! Their 1982 album “Restless and Wild” is definitely one of their greatest albums and one of the first speed metal albums. NOTE: There are two diffrent covers to this album one a European version another the American version I'm using this one because it looks cooler =)

Band - Accept

Album - Restless and Wild

Year - 1982(3?)

Genre - Heavy/Speed Metal

Country - Germany

The album starts off with some weird German music but quickly comes to an end and you hear quite the scream! Then the speed metal assault Fast as a Shark kicks in! Great, fast riff and an awesome, melodic chorus. The solo is very classically styled as are most of the solos from Accept. Another thing that stands out in this tune are the backing vocals. They’re just really cool… After that relentless tune we’re treated to the title track. Great mid paced, heavy riffing in this tune. The vocals are great, very restless and wild indeed and more well done backing vocals in this tune as well. Ahead of the Pack is another fast tune. More great riffs and catchy chorus section in this one. I really love the riffs in this song and how much they compliment the vocals and fill out every bit of the sound. The bridge section is awesome, lots of great soloing and the complimentary twin guitar attack! Shake your heads is a midpaced rocker with some atypical riffs throughout. Not a very interesting song in my opinion. Perhaps I would “shake my head” more if the song was better… Though, the chorus section and the drumming are quite heavy. It gets better during the solos of course, but that’s to be expected from Accept. Next up is Neon Nights, not to be confused with Neon Knights… that’s a different song entirely. This tune starts of with come clean classical guitar playing, then goes into a cool phaser/warp effect thingy that sounds quite awesome! This is another midpaced tune, it’s a bit of a balled (though the guitars are very heavily distorted still) with some emotional singing which is a change from Udo’s more maniacal singing from the first three tracks. Great solo section, more classical styled soloing as a matter of fact parts of the solo are actually classical pieces.  Afterwards it speeds up to a proper fast head banging speed! Just to end… Oh well. Next up is Get ready, the tune starts of with the Living After Midnight drumbeat… yeah you know the one. Anyway, it’s a bit of a commercial sounding song; the main riff is very “party metal” feel to it as does the rest of the song. Not a bad song per say, but I doesn’t really sound like the same band. Next Demon’s Night kicks in! Now we’re back to some proper Accept! Great song, mostly midpaced throughout the verse but speeds up during the pre-chorus and chorus sections. More great riffs and aggressive yet catchy singing! Next up is Flash Rocking Man. It’s another relentless, fast tune. The main riff is actually one of the most common speed metal riffs out there; the bridge has some very thrashy sounding riffs. At the end is a very badass scream that’s could put Helford to shame, sometimes… maybe. Don’t Go Stealing My Soul Away is a very hard rockish AC/DC sounding tune. The chorus is catchier then the plague! Not much to say about it, good solo catchy chorus. Finally we get to the epic tune of the album, Princess of the Dawn! It’s a midpaced, moody tune with lots of great soloing throughout. Its definitely one of the best songs on the album. The song and album end very abruptly though, like right in the middle of the very last “princess of the princess of the princess of the dawn.” It’s weird.

Overall, a great album from a rather unknown band. The guitar work is simply amazing! Both riffs and solos are top notch and pretty unique and new for their time. The songs are composed brilliantly and very varied throughout the album. We get a good mix of fast, Speed Metal tunes, more midpaced Heavy Metal songs, some epic numbers as well as two songs that are more on the hard rock side. The tunes also have a great mix between aggression and catchiness. Some of the vocal lines and riffs are just catchy as shit! Udo is a very underrated singer. In my opinion he is one of the best in metal simply for this album alone! He sounds crazed and vicious at times but emotional at others. The drumming is very good but the bass is a bit buried. The bass playing is never anything particularly interesting just the same riffs as are being played on guitar Overall an awesome album from an awesome and underrated band, I implore you to track this album down as well as their next release, Balls to the Wall. Speaking of Balls to the Wall, that album will be coming up soon so stay tuned!

Here are three tunes for you to check out.

Early Helloween (part one)

Helloween is an extremely influential band for the genre of Power Metal as well as Speed Metal. Helloween sort of created the genre of Power Metal and defined its sound, every Power Metal or Speed Metal band out today owes a little bit to the first two Helloween releases. Today I’ll be focusing on Helloween’s extremely influential self titled EP and their First proper album. A bit odd, both came out in the same year the EP in March and the album in October. 

Band - Helloween

Album - Helloween EP

Genre - Speed/Power Metal

Year - (Early) 1985

Country - Germany

A little intro referencing Halloween III then we’re thrusted into Starlight. As soon as the vocals come in, you notice that Kai Hansen isn’t… really… the best singer… But it’s ok, because the EP has a very raw, underdeveloped sound to it that the sorta kinda crappy vocals complement. It actually seems like the bands getting better as the EP goes on. Anyway, Starlight is a great opener, lots of energy to it. Murderer and Warrior are both short fast songs. Murderer is a little bland to my ears; Warrior however is a great song! Great riffs and a very catchy chorus as well as other great vocal melodies make this song great. Victim of Fate is one of the best songs on this EP. The first part is a speed metal assault and then it goes into a mellow part with some creepy, hissing vocals. Love this part! Then it goes back to speed metal assault mode with lots of soloing, great song. Could be a bit faster though >_> Cry for Freedom starts with a cool ballad type intro, but proceeds to kick into a wild Speed Metal massacre! Awesome riffs and amazing lead work make this song leap out in front of the pack, it’s amazing!

Lots of great Speed Metal riffs and even a few that sound almost thrashy. The lead work here is great, plenty of great leads here. The bass playing really stands out here which is unusual for power metal, then again this EP was kind of the first thing out of the gate when it comes to Power Metal. It’s a shame more Power Metal bands don’t make such good use of their bassists. He doesn’t just follow the guitars, instead going all over the place to fill out the sound. Drums are pretty basic, but get the job done. As I stated earlier the Vocals are a bit crappy at times, but it adds to the raw, unpolished sound of the EP. This is a great release from a very important band I highly recommend it. This is an insanely important release in metal history! It’s pretty hard to find on its own, but it’s usually sold combined with…

Band - Helloween

Album - Walls of Jericho

Genre - Speed/Power Metal

Year - (late) 1985

Country - Germany

Another great release from these wacky German’s! After an intro reminiscent of the one for starlight your ass is immediately kicked by Ride the (fucking) Sky! Such a great speed Metal song. Right off the bat you can tell Kai has gotten better at vocals. The riffs are sweet, the vocal melodies are perfect and there are even some good backing keyboards during some parts of the song. Lead work is great. A perfect song to kick off a great album! Reptile is a bit of a let down after the Immense first track. It’s an alright song but not particularly memorable, it kind of sounds like a song German speed/thrash metalers RISK would do. Guardian’s is a great, fast, melodic tune with great guitar work and very prominent bass. Great bridge bit in the middle too! Phantoms of Death is a bit of an epic tune, with a very similar sounding main riff to Maiden’s Two minutes to Midnight. A fair bit of Keyboards in this tune but they’re never distracting and used tastefully. It’s a pretty long song (hence the epicness), but it holds your interest. All the longer songs on this album tend to hold your interest because it never starts to get old due lots of riff changes and plenty of soloing. The bridge is fast n wild with plenty of soloing. Metal Invaders is another pretty melodic speed metal tune. Actually a very melodic tune, especially when the bridge comes in. The guitars in the middle of this song are a bit overwhelming. Its short and sweet but till has a lot of sweet riffs. Gorgar is a mid-paced, heavy tune, which is a good contrast to the rest of the album which in pretty much a speed metal paradise. Very Cheesy chorus, but its alright, metal should never take itself TOO seriously. I mean the song is about a killer arcade machine anyway so… There’s also a little lead break in the middle referencing the classical score “Hall of the Mountain King” which is a great touch. Heavy Metal (is the Law) is one of my personal favorite Helloween songs. I can’t tell you how much I love this song. I once pulled a muscle in my back I was head banging so hard to this song! It’s just like, a perfect metal song. It’s a mock live song, as in played live in studio with crowd noise added in later. The guitar work is amazing and the bass is even better! Definitely my favorite Helloween song bar none! The album probably should have ended on that note. How Many Tears is kind of weak. Not a bad song really, great lead work as usual and there’s a balladesque part about halfway through. It kind of starts out with nothing special you know? It makes up for it in the later half of the song though! It’s very reminiscent of Victim of Fate. Oh, there’s also a bonus track on some releases called Judas. Great song! Vocals and riffs are very much in tune with each other and lots of sweet riffs and leads. Definitely should have been on the album proper! The album could have used Judas instead of Reptile.

Great album these are pretty much essential if you like Speed, Heavy or Power Metal. These guys did pretty much invent Power Metal as we know it today. If you’re a Power Metal fan and you don’t have these two releases you kind of owe it to yourself to check out your roots. Its way better then any shitty modern “Flower Metal” band out of Europe anyway ;)

Here are some stand out tracks from the EP

Here are a few from Walls of Jericho





Enjoy! Part two will be about the Kiske fronted Keeper of the Seven Keys albums. Expect that next week sometime.

Pantera: Power Metal

When you think Pantera what’s the first thing that pops in your mind? Cowboys from Hell? Walk? Cemetery Gates? Obnoxious tough guy lyrics and sub par riffs with awesome solos to make it a tad bit better? Well all those things are true, but you may have also heard that Pantera were a “Glam” band in the 80s and that’s true, to an extent. I’ve never really put much time and effort into listening to their other 80s output. However, I will tell you that their 1988 album Power Metal is NOT a Glam album. Come to think of it, it’s not a power metal album either… Maybe they should of called it something else =/

Band - Pantera

Album - Power Metal

Genre - Heavy/Speed/Thrash Metal

Year - 1988

Country - USA (Arlington,Texas)

This album sounds like a lovechild of Metallica and Judas Priest! A very good sound in my book! Phil Anselmo is sounding very unlike himself. He stays in a screechy high range throughout most of the album. This is Phil’s first album with the band and in my opinion one of his best performances. This album defiantly stands out among the other Glam bands of the era and would stand up very well against speed metal bands of the era as well. Though they still have too many commercial and glam tunes to make it among thrash bands of the time.Hell, I mean look at the album cover. They look pretty damn metal to me!  You can also hear some grove riffs that wouldn’t sound out of place on some of the later albums. Lots of shredy solos and thrashy riffs, this album is probably the closest they came to being pure Thrash but they don't quite make it. The lead guitar work is amazing on this record. Dimebag is shredding it up like no ones business. His riffs are awesome as well. Far better then a lot of his awful "Famous" Riffs like Walk. Seriously, fuck that song.

The album starts off with Rock the World, a typical commercial rocker. It's, notably, a little heavier then the standard for commercial rockers. Great vocal melodies! Nothing special though. Solos are great, but it’s Dimebag so you should expect as much. The speed metal assault really kicks in once power metal gets going. The title track is the best example of what this album is. A great mix of fast, heavy riffs and plenty of melodic elements. The title Track is blazing, unapologetic, speed metal. Phil sounds awesome here, shame he doesn’t sound like that now a days. We’ll meet again is a power Balled. One again, standing out from the rest of the glam pack it’s a very good song. It’s a tad bit cheesy but it’s not a stinker like so many other ballads from the late 80s. Unlike their peers, this song still has the balls to make it scream METAL! Over and out is a thrash tune with a heavy riff. Proud to be loud is another one of the more Commercial tunes very catchy so it does its job well and as always great guitar work. Death Trap is another Thrashy tune, mid paced for the most part but a real headbanger. When Hard Ride came on I had to do a double take, I thought someone put Priest's Turbo on when I wasn’t paying attention. It’s another Commercial tune. But it’s still heavy and driving, as opposed to most of the Shitty glam bands of the era who put out fifty thousand Ballads an album. Though hard ride sounds a tad bit more commercial then the rest so hat makes it a weak point for this record. Burn eh sorry… Burnnn is another fast one; it has more of the Priest sound as opposed to the thrashy sound of a few of the other songs. As usual great shredding from Dimebag. P.S.T 88 is one of the best songs here, it’s sung by Dimebag and he sounds damn good! I hate to keep comparing this to Metallica but he sounds a bit like Hetfield and it’s basically, a Thrash song. I love the little lightning fast lead thing he’s doing around 1:30 sounds AMAZING! I know he’s just showing off, but DAMN! Oh and these Lyrics are great too, its one of those "I wanna get laid/I get more pussy then you" songs.

Overall a very good album. Very under-rated. When Pantera buried all their pre Cowboys from Hell material they really should have kept this one out in the light. This album has aged well and stands up just fine among the Heavy/Speed Metal acts of the time. Since they buried this awesome album that makes it a bit hard to find. If you dig it the whole album is up on YouTube and it shouldn’t be difficult to find a place to download it online. Some personal favorites are Power Metal, We’ll Meet Again, Death Trap and P.S.T 88

Here are four songs to check out.

Edit: Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on Cowboys from Hell, just Most of Vulgar Display of Power and pretty much everything hat came after that. I dig Cowboys just a little less as I do this album

Metal Church: Metal Church & The Dark

Metal Church was an amazing band that, sadly, were far less know then they should of been. Their first album is pretty much an essential album for anyone who digs classic Heavy/Speed Metal.

Band - Metal Church

Album - Metal Church

Year - 1985

Country - USA (Seattle, Washington)

Genre - Heavy/Speed Metal

Metal Church's 1984 debut album is, rightfully, a classic. Vocalist David Wayne(R.I.P) soars on this album with his unique, badass vocal style. Its aggressive and melodic. His style is difficult for me to describe you'll just have to hear it for yourself. The riffing is also superb. Lots and lots of juicy Speed Metal riffs and plenty of slower, heavier yet melodic riffs. The drumming is excellent, its never boring but never distracting either. Lots of juicy fills after equally juicy riffs and vocal lines. I simply love the drumming on this album, especially in the title track. So many amazing fills in that tune. The lead work is, unsurprisingly, brilliant. Lots of dual guitar attacks on this one, once again the Title Track is a good example of the amazing leads you'll find on this album. The bass, well the bass does its job. There are some moments that the bass shines though. Like in Gods of Wrath during the main verses and several other places throughout the album. Speaking of Gods of Wrath, its a good example of the variety of this album. Gods of Wrath is, for all intents and purposes, a power balled. Not the really lame late 80s glam power balled though. Its the really awesome, well played clean parts building up to heavy parts and a sweet bridge section solo thing, kind of power balled ;) You also get to hear some totally clean singing from Wayne. Hes really good at that as well.

On this album, you'll find a good mix of the heavy, intense tunes like Beyond the Black and Metal Church, blazing speed metal tunes like Hitman as well as the proto power metal song Battalions. A power balled in the form of Gods of Wrath and the instrumental Merciless onslaught. The rest of the songs on the album are somewhere in between. Oh, and there's even a cover of Deep Purples highway star to boot!

Here are my four favorite songs from the album

In closing, an amazing album from an amazing band. Nearly flawless, the only tunes on this album that are particurly forgetable (and even then they're still pretty good) are Merciless Onslaught and In the Blood. The guitar work, vocals nd drumming are amazing. The bass work kicks ass too! Can't recomend this album any higher to fans of Classic Heavy/Speed metal

BUY THIS ALBUM! Its pretty easy to find online and its even not that hard to get in stores. I got my CD versions in retail stores.

Band - Metal Church

Album - The Dark

Year - 1986

Country - USA (Seattle, Washington)

Genre - Heavy/Thrash Metal

Metal Church's second album is another great release. Its starts off strong with the thrashy yet melodic Ton of Bricks. Next it goes into the mid paced Start the Fire. Wayne makes use of dual vocal tracks on a lot of the songs on this album, there are plenty of places here where he would be singing in more of a mid range and hes tracked himself singing in a high screech in the background. These songs are actually a lot more melodic then many of the songs on the first album. The riffs here are a lot more Thrash Metal oriented then the blazing speed metal sound of the first record. Not to say there aren't any fast songs of this album, there are plenty. I meant that they're more typical Thrash riffs as opposed to the sound of sped metal. As usual the guitar work and riffs are great. The vocals are amazing as ever. David Wayne wails and sings his heart out just as he did on the debut. Sadly, he left the band shortly after this album. The drums and bass take a bit of a hit from the previous album. They don't really stand out as much as they did on the previous album. The drums are a lot simpler and the bass is pretty much limited to following the guitar and getting rather buried in the mix.

Its a good release, however its not quite up to the level to the debut, however its a solid listen. Stand out tracks include Ton of Bricks, The Dark, Psycho, Start the Fire, line of Death, Burial at sea and Watch the Children Pray. I recommend picking this one if you liked the debut, its definitely different from the first but its not a bad kind of different.

Here are four of my favorites off this album

After the departure of David Wayne he was replaced my Mike Howe. I'll feature the Mike Howe era of the band another time. Damn this was a long ass post.

Happy Listening!