''Blind Rage'' is the 14th studio album by German heavy metal band Accept. It was released on 15 August 2014 on

Nuclear Blast Records Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiary, subsidiaries located in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on ...

. The album debuted at number one on the German albums chart. This is Accept's last album with guitarist

Herman Frank Herman Frank (born 20 January 1959) is a German heavy metal guitarist known for his work with Accept, Victory and Hazzard. In 2009, he released his first solo album called ''Loyal to None''. Frank has also recorded with Sinner, Moon'Doc, S ...

and drummer

Stefan Schwarzmann Stefan Schwarzmann (born 11 November 1965Larkin, Colin (2006). ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Oxford University Press. p. 189. .) is a German drummer who has recorded for Accept,Montgomery, James et al (2005)"Metal File: Korn, Motorhead ...

, who both left the band in December 2014.

Background

The album's title and cover artwork were revealed in early April 2014. At the same time, it was announced that the album was due to be released on 18 July 2014. However, this would later be pushed back to 15 August 2014. The band announced a touring schedule to promote the album. Four US dates were performed in mid-September 2014. Following that, the band will tour Europe in September and October 2014. Several Australian shows are also scheduled for November 2014. The album's lead single, "Stampede" was released on 11 July 2014. A video, directed by Greg Aronowitz, was also made for the song. It features the band performing at the

Devil's Punchbowl The Devil's Punch Bowl is a visitor attraction and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest situated just to the east of the village of Hindhead in the English county of Surrey. It is part of the Wealden Heaths Phase II Special Protection ...

in the California desert. On 13 August 2014, a lyric video was released for "Final Journey". A guitar solo of ''Final Journey'' uses the theme of ''

Morning Mood "Morning Mood" () is part of Edvard Grieg's ''Peer Gynt'', Op. 23, written in 1875 as incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play of the same name, and was also included as the first of four movements in ''Peer Gynt Suite No. 1'', Op. 46. Music ...

'' from

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

(''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five-Act (drama), act play in verse written in 1867 by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. It is one of Ibsen's best known and most widely performed plays. ''Peer Gynt'' chronicles the journey of its title character fr ...

'', 1876).

Reception

Gregory Heaney of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

commented that the album was like a guard dog on a short leash; "restrained, but still dangerous, as if at any moment things could break bad and spin out of control." Ray Van Horn Jr. of

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gave a favorable review of the album. He cited it as proof that Accept are still "masters of their trade, no matter who holds the mike." Van Horn also opined that a couple songs on the album reference moments from earlier in the band's career, notably '' Balls to the Wall'' and '' Metal Heart''. Mark Gromen of Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles reacted positively to the album. Gromen noted that the album compares more closely to '' Blood of the Nations'' than it does to ''Stalingrad''. George Nisbet of All About The Rock said "Overall, it’s a solid, dynamic and incredibly vital album… the metal heart of Accept beats stronger with each new release" ''Blind Rage'' debuted at number one on the German charts, making it the band's first number one debut in their career. The album also debuted at number one in Finland, and peaked at #35 on the ''Billboard'' 200, making it Accept's highest chart position in the United States. The album won a 2014 Metal Storm Award for Best Heavy Metal/Melodic Album.

Track listing

Personnel

All credits adapted from liner notes ;Band * Mark Tornillo –vocals * Wolf Hoffmann – guitars *

– guitars *

Peter Baltes Peter Baltes (born 4 April 1958) is a German musician, best known as former bassist of heavy metal band Accept and as current bassist of U.D.O. Career He started out in the Solingen prog rock band Pythagoras in the 1970s but is best known ...

– bass guitar *

– drums ;Production * Produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by

Andy Sneap Andy Sneap (born 18 July 1969) is an English guitarist, record producer, and composer with over 100 albums to his name, most of which have been produced at his Backstage Recording studios in rural Derbyshire. Some of the most critically acclaim ...

* Artwork and layout by Dan Goldsworthy

Charts

References

{{Authority control Accept (band) albums 2014 albums Albums produced by Andy Sneap Nuclear Blast albums