ACCEPT – Humanoid (Album Review)

Vintage traditionalism meets the biomechanical age.

Technology seems to be an ever-encroaching influence on music, spanning every genre from the likely targets of EDM to a greater extent while also becoming a key fixture of even the most rustic of crafts like country and folk styles. Naturally, some degree of technology has always been a factor in music wherein more than the human voice is involved and recording equipment is present, but the notion of tempering its expansion with an eye to traditional forms seems a fleeting prospect.

Enter Accept, one of the longest-running heavy metal bands still plugging away, albeit with a lengthy stream of lineup shifts that have left guitarist Wolf Hoffmann as the sole founding member. Theirs has always been an approach of sticking to what works and dealing out evolutionary change in small, measured doses, and their 17^th and latest studio venture “Humanoid” presents the theme of technological advancement run amok in a very familiar sonic package.

With a very different flock of fellow musicians than the one that first propelled the Accept name into public awareness in the 1980s, Hoffmann has managed to craft a sound highly reminiscent of the old days since this fold’s 2009 rebirth, and as the 6^th entry in said latter day succession of albums, this stacks up quite well. It goes without saying that the gravely shrieks and Brian Johnson-like swagger of TT Quick vocalist and now 15-year veteran of the fold Mark Tornillo bolster the signature character of things seamlessly, no small feat for a man who is now pushing 70.

But one would definitely be remiss to gloss over the continued flash and flair that ex-Grave Digger guitarist Uwe Lulis brings to the equation alongside Hoffmann since the 2014 departure of Herman Frank, continuing the fancy and often neo-classical charm of this outfit’s obligatory solo segments. Combined with the rock-solid rhythmic backdrop provided by drummer Christopher Williams, newer bassist Martin Motnik, and 3^rd guitarist Philip Shouse, the arrangement gracing this studio entry is nothing short of massive.

As has generally been the case with Accept‘s studio approach since 2010’s “Blood Of The Nations”, a well-rounded blend of grandiose anthems, fast-paced speeders and hard rock-tinged old school metal odes have been set to a crisp, modern production that is highly appropriate to the current year and with no shortage of bite. Yet in contrast to much of this outfit’s extensive catalog, “Humanoid” makes itself distinct via a heavy dose of Eastern elements, giving an ever so slight progressive flavor to things.

Right from the mystical clean guitar opening of the first sonic chapter “Diving Into Sin”, a sort of Egyptian flavor of melodic motive permeates things, bearing a fair resemblance to a streamlined and swifter take on Metallica’s “Wherever I May Roam”. This mid-eastern tinge continues to manifest at points on the punchy, thrashing beast of a title entry “Humanoid”, along with the mid-paced riff machine “The Reckoning” and the bouncy galloping romp “Mind Games”. It all comes together as an oddly fitting combination of sounds to depict the rise of a technological dystopia, weaving a layer of spiritual mystique into something that one normally associates with a soulless tyranny of logical equations.

But apart from the aforementioned flirtation with exotic melodic fair, this is an album that conforms itself to the modus operandi of a traditional metal opus. Standout moments of classic Accept with an eye to heaviness and occasional twists amid a simple formula include the ode to old school horror “Frankenstein”, the NWOBHM-like riff happy punch of “Unbreakable” and the bluesy swagger like an outtake from the glory days of 70s AC/DC with a mid-80s sense of metallic aggression “Straight Up Jack”.

Amid all these rustic yet contrasting approaches to rocking the house stands the stoic influence of Mark’s piercing shout, channeling the same nastiness that Udo always brought to the table. In fact, the only deviation from Tornillo’s role as an all-aggression, all-the-time force within the arrangement is the somber power ballad “Ravages Of Time”, where he showcases his superior ability to switch to a subdued croon where appropriate. At the same time, the dueling guitar majesty of Wolfmann and Lulis keeps Mark from totally stealing the show, especially during the high-octane blowout of a finale in “Southside Of Hell”, arguably the most raucous thing to come out of Accept since 2012’s “Stalingrad.”

Walking the line between a controlled and effective evolution that keeps all engaged while simultaneously keeping the core audience from feeling that too much has changed is a difficult art form, but Accept has proven yet again to be a band well up to the task. It’s hard to imagine anyone apart from the most rabid of 80s nostalgia hounds and hopeless contrarians to find fault with this album, and it’s more than a safe bet that those who have enjoyed what has been dished out since Tornillo assumed the microphone will go for this album.

Though at first glance it might seem as though Wolfmann and company have contradicted the message of their 2017 anthem of old school steadfastness “Analog Man”, “Humanoid” is an album that presents the dark side of technology progressing out of control in such an effective manner that the opposite proves to be true. It may be a theme as old as the classic Sci-Fi books that influenced James Cameron’s Terminator saga, but much like Accept’s signature blend of traditional musical influences, it gets the job done.

Released By: Napalm Records
Release Date: April 26th, 2024
Genre: Heavy Metal

Musicians:

• Wolf Hoffmann / Guitars
• Mark Tornillo / Vocals
• Uwe Lulis / Guitar
• Christopher Williams / Drums
• Martin Motnik / Bass

“Humanoid” Track List:

1. Diving Into Sin
2. Humanoid
3. Frankenstein
4. Man Up
5. The Reckoning
6. Nobody Gets Out Alive
7. Ravages Of Time
8. Unbreakable
9. Mind Games
10. Straight Up Jack
11. Southside Of Hell

Order “Humanoid” HERE