749. Accept / Accept. 1979. 2.5/5

For some reason there has been an aversion to Accept's earliest work, mostly from those that came in late to Accept's sound, and find it hard to come to terms with the early material. Many cite the early 1980's as the peak of their sound, with Udo screaming on vocals and the guitars finding that heavier sound. The youngsters of the 21st century may well be coming into their new material with Mark Tornillo on vocals and a modern metal edge to the music. Perhaps, having actually found the band in either of these eras, and then going back to listen to those first couple of albums, they find that it is so different that they are incapable of enjoying it.
As it turns out, I was a latecomer to Accept as well. Sure, I knew Balls to the Wall as every headbanger from the 1980's did, but I didn't really come to any other Accept music until much later on. More's the pity, but sometimes there is so much music out there you just can't have it all. Still, I too found the historical past of Accept after I had come to enjoy their other periods, and also faced the difference that makes up their sound on this first album.

And yes, you bet it's different, but that is often the case when a band first finds its feet. And you can hear where some of their influences may have come from. There is no doubt a heavy background in their music from Scorpions and UFO, whom Michael Schenker was with at that time. Songs such as "Lady Lou" and "Glad to be Alone" are perfect examples of that here. Also, the ballad "Seawinds" and the harder song "Sounds of War" both reference that Scorpions underscore in particular, and both songs have the vocals performed by bass guitarist Peter Baltes, no doubt because to ask Udo to perform these would have created completely different songs. or did he just not want to sing on them? I don't know the answer. Then you have an even rarer beast. In fact, whether they had heard them or not, the song "That's Rock n Roll" has a very familiar Van Halen sound to it. Uncannily so. Even the lyrics could have come straight from David Lee Roth's mouth.
Udo's vocals throughout the album are not what he would become known for. In fact, the only parts of the album where you hear from him anything like the gruff vocal style he became known for is during the middle of "Take Him in My Heart" and at the very end of the album in "Helldriver".

So certainly Accept shows a band in development, taking their first steps into the recorded music world. While it won't cater to all tastes, as an album written and recorded in the late 1970's it shows a lot of the characteristics of that period, in much the same way as the Scorpions and UFO albums of that era, and as such surely must be judged on that rather than as one album amongst the many of the Accept catalogue. While I don't categorise it as one of my favourite albums, it is one I can put on and listen to without any qualms.

Rating:  Your body looks perfect - your face like a rat.  2.5/5