Audio CD review:
Accept - Russian Roullette

Accept - Russian Roullette

Band: Accept Title: Russian Roullette Rating: Release Date: 2004-02-09 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: T.V. War 2: Monster Man 3: Russian Roulette 4: It's Hard to Find a Way 5: Aiming High 6: Heaven Is Hell 7: Another Second to Be 8: Walking in the Shadow 9: Man Enough to Cry 10: Stand Tight 11: Metal Heart 12: Screaming for a Love-Bite

As good as "Restless and Wild" and "Balls to the Wall" Accept released ten studio albums during their career; most cite "Restless & Wild" (1983) and "Balls to the Wall" (1984) as their best recordings. Accept was a German metal band that sounded like a cross between Judas Priest and AC/DC with a troll as lead singer who resembled an over-the-top mesh of Bon Scott and Brian Johnson. This is true but I feel 1986's "Russian Roulette" stands on a par with these two earlier releases. Here's a run down of the songs on "Russian Roulette:" 1. ) T. V. WAR (3/5 Stars): This is an energetic and fun metal rocker reminiscent of "Fast as a Shark" but not as good. 2. ) MONSTERMAN (5/5 Stars): "Monsterman" is brief at a mere 3:24, but it's catchy as heck. The bridge is melodically potent and the chorus is uniquely inspired. You'll never hear anything else like it. Who knows what the lyrics are about, who cares? 3. ) RUSSIAN ROULETTE (4/5 Stars): The titular song eerily starts off with a militaristic drone and riff before kicking into a mid-paced slice of 80's non-hair-band metal. In light of the chorus one wonders why they didn't call the song "Wargames. " 4. ) IT'S HARD TO FIND A WAY (4. 5/5 Stars): This is a catchy pop rocker with an incredibly hook-laden chorus. It should have been a hit on the radio. Some cried "Sell out!" but, come on, it's just ONE song. 5. ) AIMING HIGH (3/5 Stars): This isn't a bad piece of filler between the better songs. 6. ) HEAVEN IS HELL (5/5 Stars): This is the second masterpiece of the album. It's structure is very reminiscent of "Balls to the Wall," although it doesn't sound like that song. The lyrics are an intriguing commentary on religion and religious people with the conclusion that we experience (or make our own) heaven or hell during our life on this earth. I strongly agree with some of their points and disagree with others but, regardless, the lyrics are not presented in an offensive way. Here's one stanza that I wholeheartedly agree with: I'm sure we all know them Those perverts, they're everywhere Mmm, we're talking straight about facts You know deep inside what's right or wrong And the world stinks, and the paradise is now a sewer And they sell sh*t for gold And you have to take what you've got As you can see the words are honest, overt, slightly ambiguous and completely brilliant all at the same time. 7. ) ANOTHER SECOND TO BE (3/5 Stars): Another brief enjoyable ditty. 8. ) WALKING IN THE SHADOW (4/5 Stars): Emotionally potent and intriguing tune that deals with a person struggling to live on in face of the 58,000 that died during the Vietnam conflict. Whether the guilt is over one combat victim or all 58,000 is unclear. 9. ) MAN ENOUGH TO CRY (4. 5/5 Stars): Great short piece! The title somewhat reveals the mature subject matter, but the lyrics maintain an esoteric element. 10. ) STAND TIGHT (5/5 Stars): This is a creative and aggressive number with a melodic bridge and ultra-catchy chorus with cool backgound vocals. It has militaristic vibe and is the third masterpiece of the album. Some have criticized that Accept were trying to go pop rock on this album but nothing could be further from the truth. "Russian Roulette" features the same diverse song-writing of both "Restless & Wild" and "Balls to the Wall. " Yeah, one or two songs would've fit well on the radio, so what? One thing this CD proves is that Accept had perhaps the best background vocals in all of metal at the time and even to this day (!). "Russian Roulette" is quite a bit better than the good-but-not-great "Metal Heart," which was released in 1985. The song-writing on "Metal Heart" just wasn't as good, plus Udo (the singer) went overkill with his irritating screaming, which no doubt turned off potential life-long fans. In addition, as another reviewer rightly points out, by 1986 Accept's style of metal had passed its expiration date; more extreme forms of the genre had usurped the hearts of fans. Don't get me wrong, Accept were excellent at what they did, but they refused to deviate from their basic style (nothing wrong with that -- "to thine own self be true"). Hence, when "Russian Roulette" was released the next year not many took notice. They should have. . Just Average Accept I listened to this album a lot when it came out and I still like Accept but this is really not their best stuff. 'Metal Heart' and 'Balls to the Wall' were the first hit albums that brought this German hybrid version of Judas Priest and AC/DC into the spotlight and this is the album that followed the two. Like a lot of other metal from the mid-80s, it has just passed its expiration date. Udo Dirkschneider is a reasonably good singer to the likes of Brian Johnson and Wolf Hoffmann is a good lead guitarist which keeps Accept in the above average level of otherwise forgettable '80s bands like Armored Saint or Grim Reaper. The title track is pretty good along with 'Aiming High' and 'Heaven is Hell' but the rest is pretty forgettable. This is not the album you want to start with if you're going to listen to Accept though. 'Balls to the Wall' and 'Metal Heart' are better albums but 'Restless and Wild' and 'Breaker' are their best albums in my book: heavier and more original. . You can see a complete list of all Accept discography, or go back to the Accept tabs