Accept

Accept took shape in Solingen, West Germany, in 1976, growing out of Band X, a group singer Udo Dirkschneider had started back in 1968. Their first stable line-up was Dirkschneider, lead guitarist Wolf Hoffmann, rhythm guitarist Jörg Fischer, bassist Peter Baltes and drummer Stefan Kaufmann. Their self-titled debut, Accept, appeared in 1979, followed by I’m a Rebel in 1980 and Breaker in 1981.

The real breakthrough came with Restless and Wild in 1982, whose opener “Fast as a Shark” is often credited as an early blueprint for speed metal. Balls to the Wall (1983) turned them into an international name and went gold, and Metal Heart (1985) refined their sound further. Dirkschneider left in 1987 to concentrate on his own band U.D.O., and American singer David Reece fronted Eat the Heat in 1989 before the band ground to a halt.

Dirkschneider returned for Objection Overruled (1993), Death Row (1994) and Predator (1996), but Accept split again in 1997. In 2009 they came back with former T.T. Quick singer Mark Tornillo, and Blood of the Nations (2010) opened a remarkably consistent second era that continued with Stalingrad (2012), Blind Rage (2014) and The Rise of Chaos (2017). Peter Baltes left in 2018 after 42 years, and Martin Motnik (bass) and Philip Shouse (guitar) came in during 2019 alongside drummer Christopher Williams, who had joined in 2015.

Too Mean to Die arrived in 2021 and Humanoid followed on 26 April 2024, and guitarist Uwe Lulis parted ways with the band in September 2025. To mark their fiftieth anniversary, Accept released Teutonic Titans 1976-2026 through Napalm Records on 4 September 2026. It reworks nineteen classics from the I’m a Rebel to Eat the Heat years with around fifty guests, among them Rob Halford, Phil Anselmo, Kirk Hammett and Hansi Kürsch.

Current line-up: Mark Tornillo (vocals), Wolf Hoffmann (lead guitar), Philip Shouse (guitar), Martin Motnik (bass), Christopher Williams (drums).