There are certain things in life that cannot be changed.
Call it fate, call it destiny, call it karma...you can call it whatever you
want. Here in Greece, we call it ACCEPT! You see, one has to live in Greece to
understand the difficult times that this proud nation is having and how painful
it is for the vast majority of the population that is trying to make ends meet.
So, when ACCEPT announced the two shows in Athens and Thessaloniki, I had
absolutely no doubt that the Greek fans would found a way to purchase a ticket
and get lost in the magical world of ACCEPT and quite possibly forget their
worries and troubles just for a while. When I arrived at the club, I knew that
my initial gut feeling was right. Hundreds of people were waiting impatiently
outside the venue in order to find their way onto the club. More than 1000
people packed the venue and the vibe was similar to the monumental 2010 show
that the band had put on for us.
At exactly 10:00 the lights
went out and the first notes of "Hang Drawn and Quartered" rushed
from the speakers upon a frenzied crowd who welcomed ACCEPT like some short of
a rock n' roll saviors! Without any delay, the band continued with
"Hellfire" and the crowd was singing along to the new songs from the
excellent "Stalingrad" record like there were released decades ago.
It was plain clear that at least 4-5 songs from the last couple of records can
be easily considered classics!
Wolf Hoffmann was the
undeniable key figure; the leader, the mastermind behind the sonic attack! As I
told him before the show, I am amazed at how he remains so fit during those
tiring road tours. Right next to him, Peter Baltes was giving his own show
making all those orchestrated stage moves together with Wolf and Herman who was
steadily accurate as the rhythm guitarist. Stefan Schwarzmann was as thunderous
as ever behind his gigantic white drum set while the band's frontman Mark
Tornillo -now on his second world tour with the band- proved once again why he
is a catalytic element to ACCEPT's resurrection (both for his voice and his
stage presence).
Apart for the aforementioned
two new songs from "Stalingrad", the band chose to perform the title
track and "Shadow Soldiers" from the latest record while they pull
out 4 songs from the superb "Blood of the Nations" (Teutonic Terror",
"Pandemic", "No Shelter", "Bucket Full of Hate").
As for the rest of the gems from the vbacka catalogue, well how can anyone
complain when he is treated with such timeless hits as "Restless and
Wild", "Neon Nights", "Fast As A Shark", "Breaker",
"Balls To The Wall", "Up To The Limit", "Metal
Heart", "Monsterman", "Losers and Winners",
"Aiming High", "Bulletproof"?
All in all, it was a night to
remember and...don't forget! Remember that ACCEPT will always be a much beloved
band in Greece and definitely the ultimate heavy metal ambassadors from
Germany. Remember that this is a band that will never fail to deliver a great
show for us all. As for what we forgot that night...we forgot all our problems
for a couple of hours and took home some of the most precious memories that
will forever follow us! This is the power of heavy metal; this is the power of
ACCEPT! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, guys!