Accept – Too Mean to Die – 2021
Too mean to Die might not have the coolest cover art ever but it might very well be the best album ever from the German rockers! Nowadays there’s really only one original member in the band since Peter Baltes stepped down the Bass duties a couple of years ago. I couldn’t tell anyway, it’s as good, melodic, aggressive, and energetic as ever. They have also added another guitar. So, just like Iron Maiden, they now have three guitarists. That oughta ensure a tighter and heavier sound. Apart from lead guitarist Wolf Hoffmann, the remaining original member, there is also Uwe Lulis, which also played on Accepts last studio album The Rise of Chaos, and newcomer Phillip Shouse as a third guitarist. I really like it! I would why more and won’t take this approach. The sound surely doesn’t suffer from it!
Accept has always been a band with meaningful lyrics. Well, most of the time anyway. It’s not just rock n’ roll lyrics about nothing. They really want to say something and I think Too Mean to die is very much about the present pandemic and how the world around us works. Or doesn’t work maybe. There are some great lines on it. Like in the song Overnight Sensation “I wanna be famous for nothing, just like a Kardashian”. It took me a few times before I realized it but when I finally got it I laughed out loud. So brilliant! But there are more social commentaries on Too Mean to Die as well. Most of the time it’s pretty angry at the world but there are also some more playful themes on the album.
Signature sound
The signature male choir sound that I believe Accept it alone to use is as present as ever and it suits the songs as always. More songs than not are very catchy and it doesn’t take too long before you can sing along in the choruses. I’m so göad this album came to my attention and I can’t wait until the next effort is released. I bet they can top this but it won’t be easy! My favorite track on the album? The really angry Not my Problem towards the end of the album. But it’s hard to pick out something that I like less than anything else. Too Mean to Die is a very even album and very well produced and composed. I mean how the songs are distributed on the album. It managed to create a great balance between the fast, heavy, serious, and playful tracks. Almost a perfect album. I wonder when I last felt that about an album? Must have been years ago!
