Album Review: ACCEPT - Restless and Live

CD1

1. Stampede (Live in St. Petersburg 2015)

2. Stalingrad (Live in St. Petersburg 2015)

3. Hellfire (Live in Saarbrücken 2015)

4. London Leatherboys (Live in Moscow 2015)

5. Living for Tonite (Live in Saarbrücken 2015)

6. 200 Years (Live in Pratteln 2015)

7. Demon's Night (Live in Hannover 2015)

8. Dying Breed (Live in Saarbrücken 2015)

9. Final Journey (Live in Moscow 2015)

10. From the Ashes We Rise (Live in Hannover 2015)

11. Losers and Winners (Live in Berlin 2015)

12. No Shelter (Live in Minsk 2015)

13. Shadow Soldiers (Live in Grenoble 2015)

14. Midnight Mover (Live in Sofia 2015)

CD2

1. Starlight (Live in Yekaterinburg 2015)

2. Restless and Wild (Live in Moscow 2015)

3. Son of a Bitch (Live in Saarbrücken 2015)

4. Pandemic (Live in Saarbrücken 2015)

5. Dark Side of My Heart (Live in Yekaterinburg 2015)

6. The Curse (Live in Krakow 2015)

7. Flash Rocking Man (Live in Saarbrücken 2015)

8. Bulletproof (Live in Saarbrücken 2015)

9. Fall of the Empire (Live in Saarbrücken 2015)

10. Fast as a Shark (Live in Moscow 2015)

11. Metal Heart (Live in St. Petersburg 2015)

12. Teutonic Terror (Live in St. Petersburg 2015)

13. Balls to the Wall (Live in St. Petersburg 2015)

DVD/BLU-RAY (Live at Bang Your Head 2015)

1. Stampede

2. Stalingrad

3. London Leatherboys

4. Restless and Wild

5. Dying Breed

6. Final Journey

7. Shadow Soldiers

8. Losers and Winners

9. 200 Years

10. Midnight Mover

11. No Shelter

12. Princess of the Dawn

13. Dark Side of My Heart

14. Pandemic

15. Fast as a Shark

16. Metal Heart

17.Teutonic Terror

18. Balls to the Wall

The last twelve months have seen the release of a number of Accept related albums. We've had an amazing solo album from guitarist Wolf Hoffmann featuring electric guitar renditions of various pieces of classical music. Former guitarist Herman Frank released his third solo album which is likely to appeal to Accept fans with its traditional Heavy Metal riffing. Then there's former lead singer Udo Dirkschneider who released a double live album of Accept classics under the name 'Dirkschneider'. Now, at the start of 2017, we have a brand new Accept live album (also available with a DVD/Blu Ray), and we're promised a new studio album later this year too.

Recorded on the Stampede tour, this double live album shows that, after all these years, Accept are still on top of their game.

This is their first live album (excluding the Live in Chile DVD/Blu-ray that came with the Ltd Edition version of latest studio album Stampede) to feature lead singer Mark Tornillo, who sang on the last three studio albums, all of which were well received by fans and press.  The track-listing is a great mix of old classics and really strong new material. It's far more than a nostalgic trip down memory lane, it's a statement. When it comes to traditional Heavy Metal, Accept are still a super power and continue to be both creative and relevant. The production is crisp and powerful thanks to the engineering skills of Andy Sneap, giving the older material a modern sheen.

This is a fantastic selection of recordings, all brilliantly brought to life by one of the tightest bands in Metal. There are no weak moments here. They have several decades of music to draw from, and have plenty of A-grade material to hit the listener with including timeless classics such as Fast As A Shark, Balls To The Wall, Metal Heart and Bulletproof, and modern monsters such as Stalingrad and Stampede. With such a large back catalogue, there will always be some favourites omitted (personally I'd have loved to have heard Blood Of The Nations, or I Don't Wanna Be Like You) but with twenty seven killer songs over two CDs, there's no room for complaint.

Accept are Heavy Metal royalty. They are still one of my favourite bands, and their ability to continually deliver the goods to such a high standard is commendable. This is another fantastic release, and I'm really looking forward to their next studio album.