Audio CD review:
Accept - Balls to the Wall

Accept - Balls to the Wall

Band: Accept Title: Balls to the Wall Rating: Release Date: 1995-04-11 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Balls To The Wall 2: London Leatherboys 3: Fight It Back 4: Head Over Heels 5: Losing More Than You've Ever Had 6: Love Child 7: Turn Me On 8: Losers And Winners 9: Guardian Of The Night 10: Winterdreams

It Doesn't Get Much Better Than This !!! It's really that good. Balls To The Wall is not only one of the greatest Accept albums of all times,it is truly one of the greatest metal albums of all time! In fact,along with "Holy Diver" from Dio,"Pyromania" from Def Leppard and "Headhunter" from Krokus,this is what I would play for someone who has never heard 80s style metal. Accept is one of my favorite bands and this CD has all the reasons for that. Udo has never sounded better with his trademark screaming vocals (no one sounds quite like him,no one,and that's the sign of a legend),Wolf is in top form as usual for great lead guitar work and the rest of the band is just awesome. As great as this is,it is not my favorite Accept album,that honor goes to the one that followed this "Metal Heart" but in all fairness I'm a sucker for melody and that was their most melodic album. However,when it comes to THE classic Accept sound,you simply can't beat this. It has the radio smash hit "Balls To The Walls" the amazing "London Leather Boys", and so much more. Every song on here is a classic and how many CDs can you truly say that about? This CD was my first taste of Accept. I was at a concert in 1983 (it was a Kix concert being from Pennsylvania where they played alot) and my favorite memory of that night was not the concert itself (which was great too) it was the CD they played before the concert. I heard this fantastic song called Head Over Heels,then I heard "Turn Me On" then I heard "Love Child" and then I heard "Balls To The Walls" and at that point I said "I have got to buy this CD" the next day I went to the record store and bought it and listened to it so much I wore out my cassette (thank goodness for CDs). To truly appreciate this masterpiece,you have to really crank up the volume. I recommend this to anyone just discovering Accept or hard rock music in general. It doesn't get much better! The Pros:Everything. Of course the title track "Balls To The Wall" ,"London Leather Boys", "Head Over Heels" ,the very sexual lyrics to "Turn Me On" the very brave lyrics to "Love Child" (it took a lot of courage to write about homosexual feelings in a metal band),"Losers And Winners" and "Losing More Than You Ever Had". The Cons:The only thing I can come up with for this,is the guitar sound is a little dryer than the previous release "Restless And Wild" but it still sounds great. The production is awesome and the songwriting is amazing. The Bottom Line:I can't recommend this highly enough. It is a true masterpiece. The performance and the songwriting. The only other advice I can give about this is play it on 10 to get maximum effect. Donutman says so!!! . Hard hitting classic metal! Udo is a unique vocalist to say the least, but it all comes together here perfectly. Accept totally rocks with aggressive sounding tunes and a massive wall of thick guitar tone. The twin guitar attack is to die for and the pounding rhythm section is full at right on the money. Gene Simmons from Kiss thought these guys kicked some serious butt back then and he wasn't wrong! Yes this is 80's metal at it's gnarly best!! This release along with Metal Heart are their best cd's. . A truly Teutonic tonic Buy it as soon as you can. This album hammers. My reasons for the above simple statement are; 1) The title track - with copies of this album available for a mere half a dozen dollars - the title track alone is worth this much. 2) The fun doesn't stop there. Track after track of dead on, no holds barred hard rock. This album, like a bunch of Accept discs, is a little bit like listening to a best of collection of AC/DC albums. Sure the humour isn't there as much, but then you do get a slightly different attitude. Where AC/DC aspire to come across as dumb (hey, they're Australian - it's a national trait of ours), Accept don't bother with the affectations and deliver a slightly more metal take on things. 3) Further, this album is a stripped back blast, nothing too fancy, just awesome tracks like Guardian of the Night and Love child and the excellent and visceral Fight it Back. The solos are excellent throughout and there is genuine feeling in the slower numbers. The 'ballads' are quite able to take the listener to deep dark places just as much as the rockers. All in all a top achievement by a band who were at the top of their game. . metal at its best If you like 80's metal like Iron maiden and Judas Priest, you will not want to miss this one. One of the best metal cd's of all time. Do yourself a favor and buy it. There is not a bad song on it. This has been a regular in my collection since I heard it in 1984. . Early 80's Metal Go(o)dness Continuing their heavier, if not faster, attempt to out "Judas" Judas Priest, BALLS TO THE WALLS is a superior follow up to the decent RESTLESS AND WILD. When listing classic 80's metal albums, this one has to be at, or near, the top of the list. The guitars are louder, vocals are grittier, and the homosexual innuendos more apparent. The standout tracks on this album are the early MTV hit "Balls to the Walls", "Fight it Back", and "Love Child. " There is really not a bad song on the album. (You might consider "Winterdreams" the only weak song. ) This is a worthy purchase be it new or used. It's hard, It's fast,. . . It's metal. You can see a complete list of all Accept discography, or go back to the Accept tabs