Archive: Gig review – Accept at Factory Theatre, Sydney (2014)

Live review: Accept, Factory Theatre, Sydney, November 14 2014

By PERRY GRAYSON

THE punters packed the Factory Theatre to the rafters to witness German metaltheads Accept’s first ever tour of Australia and maiden gig in Sydney.

The audience was ravenous for true metal, and that’s exactly what Accept delivered. No compromises, no ballads, no bullshit. They barnstormed through a heavy set including old classics like “Metal Heart”, “Restless and Wild”, “London Leather Boys” and “Fast as a Shark” and the obligatory encore of “Balls to the Wall” (the band’s most successful single and video).

Not content to rest on their laurels, Accept didn’t shy away from their newer efforts, including “Stampede” and “Dying Breed” off their current offering, Blind Rage.

Axemen Wolf Hoffmann and Herman Frank dropped salvos of dual flying V harmonies and leads on the crazed crowd.

When a band loses its singer it usually sounds their death knell. Not true of Accept. Despite the fact that original vocalist Udo Dirkschneider has been absent for nearly a decade, Accept proved themselves a force to be reckoned with.

The only non-German, American singer Mark Tornillo, is no longer the “new guy”. He has been in the band since 2009 and fits like a glove. Bassist Peter Baltes and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann were locked on target as a consummate pro rhythm section.

Honourable mention to Sydney metal mavens Darker Half for their supporting set. All up, a truly tremendous night of untarnished metal.

Image: Albert Von Gertz