Accept and heavy metal are synonymous in more ways than simply being considered a "classic" of the genre might suggest, but perhaps the album title, Too Mean To Die, explains it well.
Just like the genre in which it became a classic, the band is "too evil to die" and continues to win over new generations of fans around the globe.
Known for the fierce and fast sound of classics like "Balls to the Wall," today's Accept only has guitarist Wolf Hoffman as an original member, but the DNA of that sound remains present in their compositions.
In an interview with Wikimetal , Hoffman talked about the album, the new times for metal, and the band's return to Brazil as a headliner at the Summer Breeze .
READ ALSO: Interview: Rise Against talks about Lollapalooza Brazil and the challenges of the new generation
Wikimetal: You guys recently toured Europe, right?
Wolf Hoffman: That's right. We spent two months touring Europe and it was a fantastic success. There were 30 shows and almost all of them were sold out, very crowded, and it was incredible.
WM: The new album is really good, I really like it when classic bands maintain their aggressiveness and personality in new releases. How do you guys maintain that energy in the studio?
WH: I think it happens automatically because we love what we do and it just happens. I mean, if it's the same as going on stage and there's a certain energy that happens when you start playing and you get that energy vibe from the audience, then that excites you. In the studio, you almost have that in your mind in a weird way. In my mind, I'm already on stage, I can visualize the fans. [I wonder], 'Will this work well live?' I can almost see the audience jumping in front of me, it's not something isolated to being in the studio or not, you still have that connection in your mind because you want to play these songs on stage someday.
WM: But as the years go by, bands can't play everything they've released... How do you balance what the audience wants and your personal favorites when creating a setlist?
WH: I'll tell you a secret. I really don't care about my favorites or anyone else's preferences in the band. I only care about the audience. If the audience likes a song, that's the one we'll play. I'm not on tour to please my ego, I'm on the road to please the fans. If they're happy, they'll make us happy, it's that Yin Yang relationship, it goes back and forth. Basically, I choose the songs that cause the best reactions from the fans and not necessarily something I want to play, who wants to hear that? Not me!
WM: Yes, that's amazing. Well, speaking about the album, I like how the lyrics discuss current societal issues in an interesting way, like in "No One's Master," for example. At the same time, you've talked in interviews about how everyone in the band has different views and avoids being too political. How does that work?
WH: It works really well because we simply don't talk about current politics, especially in America, where my singer, Mark, and I live. It's almost an unwritten rule. We have different worldviews. You know, I come from Germany, from Europe, where things are a bit more on the social side, I have the view that we're all in the same boat and we depend on each other. But in America there's also this very opposite view of every man for himself. And the American public in general is very divided, that's an unfortunate trend. There seems to be no middle ground anymore, and the same can be said for Europe. There are usually two extreme opposing viewpoints on any given subject.
I mean, look at the current situation, like the war in Ukraine, we try not to say anything about it because we love our Russian fans as much as we love our Ukrainian fans. Regarding taking sides, even individually, I have a very clear view on that: as a musician, I think it's wrong to talk about these things because, hello, we're just musicians, you know? Like I said, even in the lyrics, we try not to choose a side whenever possible. Sometimes you can't avoid it, and it kind of happens because whenever you express an opinion, someone might not like it, but at least we're trying to stay away from divisive issues and the most controversial topics of the moment.
WM: I understand, there really is a lot of polarization. But I confess that I thought of the Brazilian politicians I hate the most when I listened to "Sucks To Be You". How do you deal with the public's interpretations of your songs after they're released? Each person interprets them in their own way.
WH: That's what this song is! It wasn't made for a specific person because each listener, as you just said, thinks of that person in their own life and says, 'Yeah, this one was written for you.' We didn't name anyone, so choose your favorite politician, neighbor, or whoever to dedicate this song to.
READ ALSO: From hardcore to doom: interview with Flávio Cavichioli
WM: Yes, you can count on it! I believe there are many young fans discovering metal these days. We always talk about how rock is dying and how metal isn't the same as it used to be, but I see that we have a completely new generation discovering the bands. Do you notice this at the shows?
WH: Especially at this last show we did in Europe, I've never seen so many young people in our audience as this time. I mean, most of the fans have been following us for generations, for decades. But there are a lot of young people in the audience now, and sometimes I can't help but wonder, 'What are they doing here? How did they discover Accept?' I mean, I'm very happy that they're there, and the more the merrier. But I can't help but wonder how they came about... And that makes me very happy. I think they're on social media and decide to look at their parents', uncles', or someone's record collection, I don't know. But it's great that they're discovering this traditional heavy metal. It's pretty amazing.
WM: Speaking now about work ethic in the band, I'd like to know the biggest challenge in moving forward after several lineup changes.
WH: One of the challenges is keeping the band true to its original flavor, if you want to call it that. You know, we started as a German band, we have German influences, our music sounds a bit German, it's always been that way and I want to keep that... Even if we have an American singer and members in the band now.
So, there are some elements that I really like to keep, and I have a lot of help from Andy Sneap, our producer. When he came on board about five albums ago, he was very helpful in defining them. When I write songs, that can easily change, but he helped me stay on track. Nowadays, after so many years, I'm very aware of what sounds like Accept and what doesn't. And the challenge is always trying to sound true to your lineage and your heritage, but at the same time you want to sound new, exciting and fresh. So, my motto when we're writing and recording songs is always that I want to sound like I could have written it in 1983, but didn't [write it back then]. And that's something that's not very easy to do after you've recorded 15 or 16 albums, because you really don't want to repeat yourself.
It's a bit challenging, and with changes in formation, I think we started together on this ship so many years ago, but over time, some people left the ship, and I'm the only guy from the original crew. But I still keep the ship moving forward and on course, even though there are new members on the team. And I feel that's my mission in life, to keep that ship moving forward, through rough waters and storms. There's your metaphor for the day.
WM: Now let's talk a little about Accept's return to Brazil. We, Brazilian fans, always like to know if bands have any special memories of our country.
WH: I love going to Brazil. I'll tell you something. We've been to São Paulo, Curitiba, and many other places. But one place that was special to me was Manaus. It's a great place to visit, for sure, but there's an old theater that was built during the rubber boom. This place was part of a very famous German film [called Fitzcarraldo ] with the actors Claudia Cardinale and Klaus Kinski. It was filmed in this historic theater in Manaus, and I was quite amazed to see it… We went inside, and it meant a lot to me because of that film. It's a famous film in Germany; I remember going to this distant city and seeing the theater in person.
But of course we have fantastic memories of just playing shows in Brazil, the Brazilian audience loves to sing along. They even sing the guitar solos and everything!
WM: I thought all audiences did that! How could they not?
WH: It's great, I wish everyone would do that. But of course there's always a bit of rivalry because Argentinians, for example, think they're the best audience, and Brazilians too, so there's that friendly competition between neighbors, you know? I think it's fantastic. The more the merrier.
WM: We're also very excited for the first edition of the Summer Breeze Festival here in Brazil. Accept will be the main attraction on the Sun Stage, which has some great new bands performing. Do you usually listen to new heavy metal bands?
WH: No, I don't do that. Sorry. That's the short answer. Of course, I'm exposed to a lot of bands when we tour at festivals and things like that, but personally I'm not the kind of guy who keeps up with the latest music or goes out and sees all those bands. I don't know why. I'm always busy giving interviews, writing songs, and I'm 100% consumed as Accept. And I really don't find the time or pleasure to go out and check out all those bands. I confess I'm not much of a consumer. Sorry.
WM: So what's on your playlist? Do you have one?
WH: Not really, to be honest. I listen to a lot of classical music and a lot of streaming. Sometimes, when I'm at home working, I listen to Cuban techno. How strange is that? But often it's just classical music, Tchaikovsky and Beethoven and things like that which I've always loved over the years.
WM: To conclude, would you say that metal is too evil to die?
WH: Absolutely. Metal has been scratched so many times. I remember in the 1990s, everyone was saying that heavy metal was dead and would never come back. And here we are all these years later and the style is still going strong, in some cases stronger than ever. So, Accept itself is too evil to die, but I think the heavy metal genre is certainly too evil to die as well.
Tickets for Summer Breeze Brasil are now on sale at the Ticket360 website. Use the coupon 'WIKIMETAL20' (without quotes) in the Summer Card Social category and get a 20% discount until March 20th.
READ ALSO: Stryper Interview: Michael Sweet talks about religion, new album and future plans
