Track Rundown
1.Stampede- Starting out with the echoing guitars like they are on a mountain, the opening has that just epic feel and BOOM! the band come in just full force. I swear every record gets louder as well. Tornilllo sounds just like he did on the last two records which isn't a bad thing at all. It just means he knows where he fits perfectly. the solo is just full on shredding as well. It is a total trademark Accept opener.
2.Dying Breed- Lyrically, this may be my favorite Accept song. It's about the classic metal scene and they drop tons of references (Denim and Leather, Ace Of Spades, Diamonds and Rust) and i love when any band does that. Its not so much as a speed metal tune but really a fist pumping metal tune especially with the strong chorus. A cool track indeed.
3.Dark Side Of My Heart- The riff feels alot like a Priest kind of kind off one of their 80s albums. Actually this sounds like 80s Accept! it's shocking to hear that they kind of revisited the Restless and Wild era kind of sound. The chorus goes a bit quick at times I love the verses though with everything slowly becoming more amplified. This is a really unique song and sticks out as a high point on this record as well.
4.Fall Of The Empire- This one starts with a slower heavy riff with the weird harmonizing vocals in the back and goes into that quiet guitar and quiet vocal structured verse. Its a more tame tune but still pretty powerful. It really has that german stamp on it with the chorus from Wolf and Pete's backround vocals. Its a good track to sit this far into the album.
5.Trail Of Tears- Another more fast track it just screams speed metal. I love the harmonizing guitars in the rhythm sections and sounds like it could have been on either of the last two records. The drums are very powerful throughout this record as well especially in the double bass parts it really gives that heavy feel. The solo is absolutely fantastic here as well. Fantastic track with an epic chorus.
6.Wanna Be Free-With a nice opening acoustic guitar, this song shows the bit more hard rock side of Accept. It has a really strong chorus to it as well. It is definitely more tame than the past few tracks but its still really good and shows a bit more of Accept capabilities.
7.200 Years- This song sounds alot like Restless and Wild at the beginning and is another throwback feeling track to their 80s heydays. Its just pure classic heavy metal right in your face with chugging guitars and Marks vocals by this point feel like hes been in this bands for years and years. Another good heavy song.
8.BloodBath Mastermind- Opening up with chorus lade guitars, this song dives right back into that speed metal sound that is Accepts trademark. This sounds like another one they could have easily wrote in their sleep. It almost kind of blends with some of the other tracks on this album.
9.From The Ashes We Rise- Almost sounds a bit ACDC like at the beginning here. It quickly goes into that fist pumping mood with the heavy bass and wolfs harmonic guitar licks. It has a be=it more melodic chorus as well. It's a good effort nonetheless.
10.The Curse- This opens how alot of the tracks seemed to open, with that quiet less distorted guitar but slowly builds up and crashes into a mood eerily like how "Shadow Soldiers" did in the past. Mark has a cleaner sound to his voice on this track which shows hes not always raspy. I like this track quite a bit the riffs are catchy.
11.Final Journey- Ending this album, this track could be the heaviest on the record. It is definitely mosh worthy and shows what Accept are really about. Just pure speed riffs and thrashy drumming it is amazing how a band this far in their career can still play this good and sound this tight. it really is a good closer to an album worthy of Accepts catalog.
Overall, i give the album and 8 out of 10. Even though Stalingrad felt a bit more fresh to me, there is no denying the excellence shown here. Accept, like Overkill, are one of the highest flying metal bands as they can release solid material over and over again showing that they arent going away for a long time.
