Here we are with Udo making an interesting decision to re-visit the classic Accept album, but covering it front to back with guest appearances from a heavy metal Hall of Fame. The anthemic title track finds Sabaton vocalist Joakim Broden trading verses with him. Never really listened to Sabaton, so only weighing this against the original. Udo sounds like he can still pull off his Bon Scott-like squeal at 72. Taking some of the homo-eroticism out of "London Leather Boys" Biff Byford of Saxon fame joins to make it more about heavy metal fashion than leather culture. Byford's voice does not sound as good as it is on the last Saxon album perhaps it's just out of his range these days at 74. It's a sobering reminder that all the elder statesmen of metal are now elderly.
Mille Petrozza of Kreator is featured on "Fight it Back. He sounds like shit, and it's not Udo's best moment either which begins to make me wonder if he should not have just left well enough alone. Nils Molin of Amaranthe fares much better by bringing his Dio-like belting to "Head Over Heels". His voice does not have the grit of Udo's which makes the song feel darker when he utters the second verse. Michael Kiske of Helloween fame still sounds great at 56. as he helps tackle "Losing More Than You've Ever Had" this is one of the album's strong points, though Udo does not really contribute much. Swedish singer Ylva Eriksson lends her voice to "Love Child" This feels more like a duet wondering the contrast of their voices but works pretty well. Her voice does give things a more commercial Pat Benatar feel.
Danko Jones comes aboard for "Turn Me On". His voice has enough balls to keep things heavier. This was never the best song on the album even in its original form, so it works well enough here. Dee Snider's voice blends with Udo's well on "Losers and Winners" making it one of the album's strongest moments. Ripper Owens does not go as over the top as I expected from him on "Guardian of the Night". He can serve the song after all. The last song is a duet of " Winter Dreams' with Doro Pesch who worked well enough with the song, at 60 her voice is not belted with the same power as her early work, but I will have to check out her more recent work before making a final judgment on how her voice is holding up these days. I'll give this album an 8.5, rather hear him get back with Accept, so while this re-imagining is not something on my wish list, it's well done and there are strong moments, but prefer the original versions.
After hearing people online saying this album was better than Iron Maiden's most recent album "Senjtutsu" I decided to give it a shot. Though such claims seem far-fetched from the get-go as Saxon's waning popularity was largely due to the fact their sound has not evolved greatly from the 80s. where Iron Maiden over time transitioned from the 80s metal sound over the years to a more progressive sound that did not wear the 80s as heavily on its sleeve. Biff Byford and Paul Quinn serve as the only two original members, though their drummer has been with the band since their fourth album "Denim and Leather". The opening track upholds my suspicions as it does not find the band venturing past the sound of their 80s work.
The first song that shows any other 89s fist pumping is the third song "Pilgrimage". The chords ring out in a manner similar to AC/DC's "Hell's Bells". Though I am not sure anyone would accuse these guys of being the most original band in the world. While defending the faith and sticking to what works is an admirable trait, think of an album like "Painkiller" where Judas Priest did this but without remaining stuck in 1984, "Dambusters" almost sounds like a parody of 80's metal or a Deep Purple b-side. At 71 Byford is eight years older than Dickinson, his voice has held up pretty well. Though In the studio the same could be said of Rob Halford, yet Rob's voice shows the wear and tear of the years live. Despite the Priest like attack of the opening riff "Remember the Fallen" would be rock n roll if not for Byford's dramatic vocal stylings. The chorus is more like their "Innocence is No Excuse "era work where their sound became watered down as an attempt to go for a more commercial sound.
"Super Nova" is more Preist style in its attack. Byford's falsetto highs are good for a man his age but layered as more of background affect rather than given the spotlight. Granted the metal yodel is a keystone of the 80s and not something embraced by metal today. The more melodic section the guitar solo erupts upon is pretty cool, but nothings really mind blowing and in term of technicality these guys do not come anywhere near what Maiden pulls off. "Lady in Gray" might show a side of the band that influenced Queensryche, but Geoff Tate and the boys did this better in their heyday. But for what this is "Lady in Gray" is one of the album's better songs, melodic passages while sticking to a chug out of 1987.
"All For One" sounds like it could have come from a Fastaway album. Though the chorus is a little more upbeat than what they would have done. For cheesy might be another way to say it. Byford's voice does not have the same balls to it that Bruce's does. "Black is the Night" might have the heaviest riff on the album. Though the vocals kind drag it back into the realm of spandex. While this is impressive in terms of power, even one of the album's strongest moments seems rather regressive when compared to what Maiden does. Too many of the cooler riffs just seem like wasted landscape for guitar solos. The song title "Living Living on the Limit" says it all when it comes to the scope of originality to be found here. No wonder these guys were the inspiration for Spinal Tap.
If you think about all the great artists, they never end where they begin The Beatles , David Bowie, Led Zeppelin all had careers that saw their sound grow, even metal bands like Sabbath, Maiden and Slayer all found their sound progress rather than allow themselves standing in one place, when Saxon changed the ebb and flow was more about watering down or solidifying something they did in one fixed era of time. I will give this album an 8.5 as they are great at encapsulating the 80s, but 24 albums later they should have a wider range than they show here. A lesson they should have learned back when they got dropped by their label in 1988. So if your tasted are still stunted in one period of time, you have already heard them do this before, but they are still great at being a one trick pony.
