Accept – Blood of the Nations – 2010
There are some epithets that have stayed with Accept for (almost) all years of the band’s active history. At least that was the case when I first wrote this text some years ago. Back then Blood of the Nations was new and it was almost unimaginable that anyone could take over the charismatic vocal duties from Udo Dirkschneider. But that was then. Today Mark Tornillo is the obvious singer of the band and I wouldn’t want them to trad back Udo for any reason. But there are also the highly effective guitar riffs. They sound pretty simple and are not generally played at a million miles an hour. Finally, there is the manly background choir doing harmonies or responding to the lead vocalist’s lines. I love that!
Like many other of the Bands albums from the past, there are not all top-notch songs. And you have to remember that this was a comeback album of sorts as well. But if you take that into consideration Blood of the Nations is a pretty solid album. I would also say that the quality of the songwriting is more even than usual and it’s hard to find something to actually complain about. Of course, you could nitpick all day long if you’re in the mood but I’m not for that. At least not today. On the contrary, I would call Blood of the Nation a damn near creative masterpiece by a band that once was so dominated by the sound of the lead vocalist’s voice. This is clearly one of the best Accept albums of all time!