By: Jay Broderick - During my "coming of age" years in grades 6, 7 and 8, my musical tastes changed from listening to the popular music of the 1980s, to music with a harder edge, and then eventually heavy metal. One of the first "heavy metal" songs I remember hearing was a track by a German band called Accept. The song was called "Balls to the Wall", and I heard it on the 1984 compilation Metal for Breakfast. I was a pretty straight kid, so hearing the lyrics "you'll get your balls to the wall man" and "let's plug a bomb in everyone's ass" had me giggling. LOL! Innocence!
The track came from the band's 4th studio album of the same name. It was released in 1983. 13 years later, on January 15, 1996, Accept released their 11th studio album, Predator. It would be the last album that original vocalist Udo Dirkschneider would record with the band, and a short year later in 1997, Accept took a break from music. It was a break that would last 14 years.
At the time of recording Predator, Accept was down to 3 members after drummer Stefan Kaufmann could no longer perform his duties for the band due to health reasons. Until this point, the band's lineup had been pretty solid. Vocalist Dirkschneider, guitarist Wolf Hoffman, and bassist Peter Baltes had all been with the band from the beginning. Drums for Predator were recorded by Damn Yankees, and current Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Michael Cartellone.
Predator was produced by acclaimed German Michael Wagener, who had (and has) a ton of great albums on his resume. Having produced Dokken's Under Lock and Key, Skid Rowe's debut album of the same name, Raven's All for One, and Keel's self titled, Wagener also mixed some of the biggest albums in Heavy Metal history. Metallica's Master of Puppets, Crue's Too Fast for Love and Flotsam and Jetsam's No Place for Disgrace were all mixed by Wagener, giving him a massive run of experience.
Predator kicks off with "Hard Attack". The song is the only track on the album that was released as a single. It starts off with Hoffman's guitar greeting us, and some classic stabbing of the rest of the instruments until the track's melody takes over. With it's driving beat and slashing guitars, the song contains your classic heavy metal fare, with the sorely missed guitar solo ahead of the song's crescendo by the 4 minute mark. It's a fine song, but unfortunately, doesn't have quite the hook considering it is the opening track and was the only single released on the album.
The album's 2nd track "Crossroads" is a catchier song than the album's opener. The song brings me back to the sounds of the mid to late 1980s, and Dirkschneider's vocals have more edge. Bassist Peter Baltes adds another element to this track with his share of duties on the vocals. With a slow fade out, it's a solid track. As a side, Baltes sings lead vocals on 3 tracks on the album, "Lay it Down", "It Ain't Over Yet", and the closing track "Primitive".
Another track I "dig" on this album is "Diggin' in the Dirt" (see what I did there?). The track's anthemic rhythm immediately hooks you. Lyrically, the song is a "fuck-you" to people who talk shit about you, and the chorus has that "stand up and shout" feel. It gives a bit of a promise that perhaps the album will finish much stronger than it started.
Unfortunately, the middle section of the album just doesn't build on the 4th track's strength, at least not until the 9th song. "Take Out the Time" is easily my favourite song on Accept's 11th studio album. The opening riff takes us back to the band's earlier days. Wait, is it the 1980s again? While I'm all for musical growth, sometimes we just want that old sound that we love. "Take Out the Time" does that for me. The beat gets the head bobbing, and Udo's vocals give us that warm kick in the teeth that we're longing for on this record. This is heavy metal, and I think is actually one of Accept's better songs in their whole catalogue.
"Run Through the Night" is another track that deserves a mention, and a listen. Predator however, leaves little else to be desired. In no way is this a "bad" album, but that's as good as it gets. It does have some great guitar work, and a few fine heavy metal jams, but it fades away quickly, and not one of the band's best works.
As a fan of one of Germany's leaders in the world of Heavy Metal, Predator is definitely worth another listen. There are certainly some diehards who love this album, so perhaps you'll have a better experience than I did with it.
Album Release Date: January 15, 1996
Track Listing
Hard Attack - 4:37
Crossroads - 5:12
Making Me Scream - 4:13
Diggin' in the Dirt - 4:01
Lay it Down - 5:01
It Ain't Over Yet - 4:15
Predator - 3:38
Crucified - 3:01
Take Out the Crime - 3:12
Don't Give a Damn - 2:58
Run Through the Night - 3:21
Primitive - 4:36
Accept Online
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