Review by Sonny for Accept - Restless and Wild (1982)

You know what, I have never really been the biggest fan of these german heavy metallers. There, I said it. I know for an awful lot of worshippers at the altar of traditional heavy metal these guys are the dog's bollocks, but I have never managed to board that train. I never listened to them much in their 80s heyday, so I have no nostalgic attachment and over the last three decades or so I have been interested in the more extreme ends of the metal world, so any exposure to Accept has been only in passing.

So, has listening to "Restless and Wild" forty plus years after its release had any impact on my tinnitus-wracked ears? Well, kinda, but its impact is more of a ripple on a pond than a tsunami. I can't fail to register the infectious nature of the riffs and the anthemic choruses but, in all honesty, these sound just like a german Saxon to me and that style of metal only has a very limited appeal now and at least I have the benefit of a nostalgic attachment to the Yorkshiremen's early stuff. Added to that is the fact that I find Udo Dirkschneider's voice pretty annoying. Now I am not so picky when it comes to metal singers, enjoying King Diamond and even Cirith Ungol's Tim Baker, but there is something in Udo's screechy singing that is a bit like fingernails down a blackboard to me. In fact, I actually enjoy some of the later Accept albums without Udo more than these earlier ones.

Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann undoubtedly knows what he is about, his solos are concise and effective and he is obviously a master writer of memorable riffs, but it all sounds so safe and I never find anything here that ignites my passion or soul. It is just kind of there and even though I may occasionally find my toe-tapping or my head nodding it never feels even close to setting the hairs on the back of my neck on end, being more of a Pavlov's Dog kind of a reaction to a catchy riff than any kind of deep engagement with the art. Now, it isn't that I dislike this album, or the band as a whole, in fact I have respect for their contribution to 80s metal and the adulation they inspire in their fans, it is just that I am unable to share in it. If I had been more exposed to their early albums at the time of their release then I may well feel better disposed towards them but, as things have panned out, they are just a footnote in my metal listening history, a band I respect more than enjoy.