While British bands Black Sabbath, Rainbow and Deep Purple were laying the foundation for heavy metal, there wasn’t much of a metal and hard rock scene in Germany except for Accept, which formed in 1976. Without knowing it then, the group would pioneer the subgenre of speed metal.
“We discovered it by accident,” said guitarist Wolf Hoffmann in a recent Zoom interview. “We never wanted to open up a whole new chapter of metal. We never had any of those intentions. We just had a bit of fun and liked what we were doing. It seemed outrageous, shocking, and something created in the spur of the moment as a sort of rebellious bit of fun but nothing more than that.”
Hoffmann, the last original member of Accept, has since gone on to play with some of metal’s most prolific acts and is on tour supporting KK’s Priest, a group with former members of Judas Priest. The Full Metal Assault Tour will stop at the Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside on Friday, Oct. 4 and at The Magnolia in El Cajon on Saturday, Oct. 5.
“The tour gets two amazing old-school metal bands together, and it’s a great package between KK Priest and Accept,” Hoffmann said. “Whoever is into Priest is probably into Accept as well, or the other way around, so it’s really a double whammy for the fans.”
Accept has released more than 17 studio albums and undergone several lineup changes in its nearly 50-year existence. Despite its fifth studio album, “Balls to the Wall,” becoming the band’s only certified gold record, Hoffmann feels that the group has steadily improved. The group has changed lead singers, which, for many bands — especially with die-hard metal fans — can be a divisive subject. While Mark Tornillo has fronted the band since 2009, the group has seen a resurgence in its fanbase.
“People realize we’re here, we make strong albums, we put in the hours and effort, and we make albums that are relevant,” he said. “We’ve really had more success now than we’ve ever had in the ’80s, and it seems to be a steady uphill movement. Every album, reaction and tour gets better, and the fan community gets stronger.”
The band has also developed a reputation for including critical social commentary in its music. The 1983 single “Balls to the Wall” advocates for people from all walks of life to stand together against oppressors and champion their power as a collective force. Accept’s latest release, “Humanoid,” released on Napalm Records on April 26, continues to take that rebellious heavy metal spirit to the next level.
Songs such as “The Reckoning” allude to biblical references to the end of days, while others like “Straight Up Jack,” a drinking anthem, take on more humorous tones. However, the overall theme is best highlighted in the title track, “Humanoid,” which warns of the dangers of artificial intelligence and how today’s reliance on technology is detrimental to humanity.
“I found it to be an inspiring theme to write a song about, and it wasn’t really meant to be anything more than that,” Hoffmann said. “Artificial intelligence is more present than ever, and it’s on a lot of people’s minds, especially for us musicians and artists. It’s a scary thought that you can create stuff that looks and sounds amazing. I feel that you need the human mind for that. We don’t have laws in place that govern any of that, and we don’t know where it’s going. It’s in the very early stages, but it’s already galloping away.”
While there are elements of technological skepticism, Hoffmann also understands some of the benefits. In the mid-’70s and ’80s, he and other musicians slowly received feedback from music magazines and publications with monthslong delays. This process starkly contrasts today’s media environment, which thrives on viral moments and social media.
“There used to be these music magazines that were an important marketing tool back then, but the lag time was so long, and they often asked us to do an interview three months early,” Hoffmann said. “One time, a magazine said to us, ‘Well, pretend like you’re on tour right now and tell us a little bit of how the tour is going because, by the time the magazine comes out, you’re going to be on tour. We want it to sound like it’s a current story.’ It was bizarre. Nowadays, everything’s instantaneous.”
Although Hoffmann has been credited as a speed metal guitarist, his style is only sometimes motivated by heavy music. Instead, he draws influences from somewhat unlikely sources, like Tchaikovsky and Mozart’s classical music. He has released two classically influenced solo albums, including “Headbangers Symphony,” which featured an orchestra blended with heavy metal riffs.
“I never really listened to much modern metal, and I’m not your typical metal consumer,” he said. “This morning, I was working on some stuff on my computer in my hotel room, and I put on classical music. We go on stage, and we blast the audience with metal. The last thing I want to hear when I get back home to my hotel room is more metal. Sometimes, I like peace and quiet.”
Accept
Where: 3801 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside.
When: 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4.
Tickets: $48 at Livenation.com.
Also: 7 p.m. Oct. 5 at The Magnolia, 210 E Main St., El Cajon. $35-$87 at Livenation.com.
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