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Elena Mihailidou and Kostas Kyriakakis of Metalzone.gr recently conducted an interview with former ACCEPT and current U.D.O. frontman Udo Dirkschneider. The chat is now available for viewing below.

On the subject of guitarist Wolf Hoffmann and bassist Peter Baltes's decision to resurrect ACCEPT with new singer Mark Tornillo (formerly of tout QUICK), Udo said, "they asked me and also Stefan [Kaufmann; former ACCEPT drummer and current U.D.O. guitarist] [to rejoin the band first]. [But] I [already] did the reunion with ACCEPT. It doesn't work in the end. I did, in 2005, festivals with them." He added, "They have been out of the business for 15 years — Wolf and Peter — and they didn't make any new songs, nothing really new, and for me, to take this risk to do a reunion... I know definitely that it's not possible to make music together — compose new songs together; I know it doesn't work — and this risk, for me, is too high. I mean, I'm really satisfied with U.D.O., and I think with U.D.O., we continue, in a way, ACCEPT. I'm longer now with U.D.O. — I've released more albums with U.D.O. than with ACCEPT — and I said, 'No, I feel more comfortable with what I have now.' I mean, I do exactly the kind of music that I love to do.

"It's good to see that they're making music again, Peter and Wolf, and I'm looking forward to hearing this album. I wish them great luck, but I think it will be very hard [for them to continue] under the name ACCEPT.

"This is not a reunion — it's just that they make music under the name ACCEPT. I believe that they'll come up with good songs, but... There was always two parts of ACCEPT — Wolf and Peter, and Stefan and me. And the mix [of the two] was the secret [behind what made ACCEPT work]. The only thing I can say, in the end, the fans will decide if they like it or not. I wish them luck. I hope they don't go wrong. They did it once without me on the 'Eat The Heat' album. Maybe it would be better to do that under a different name, like SABBATH is doing now with HEAVEN & HELL.

"A lot of people write already e-mails to us, 'Please, don't go to ACCEPT. We still wanna hear U.D.O. songs.' So what can I say? It's good to see that we have so many fans already with U.D.O. and we also have ACCEPT fans that say, 'This cannot really be ACCEPT without you, Udo.' But we will see."

MTUK Metal 'Zine: Thanks for not reforming with ACCEPT again this year! What was your reason for this? Why the original reunion in 2005?

Udo: In 2005, we only did songs up to the "Russian Roulette" album. I think, for me, I did this because I wanted to see if there was any chemistry between us again to maybe go forward and write more albums. I have no problem in saying there was, and is, nothing left musically between me and ACCEPT. I mean, I still talk to the guys, which is good, but nothing musically. I had a lot of fun, but I felt that it just did not work. The decider for me was one day I played Bang Your Head!!! [festival in Germany] with U.D.O. and the next day Graspop [Metal Meeting in Belgium] with ACCEPT, and then I knew which band to choose. I did these all of these festivals with ACCEPT, but in reality, I was not looking for a reunion. A lot of people were asking the original lineup to play, so I did this. And more recently, I got a call to ask if I was interested. Of course, I was, but I laid some terms down. Unfortunately, they would not meet those terms, so I had to say no. Then two weeks later, they announced a new lineup and singer. Come on — in two weeks?! They must have already had a plan B in action. I did not want to just do one album and a tour, I wanted more than that, but that is that. I could not risk losing U.D.O., as I think this is a great band.

Reformed heavy metal legends ACCEPT have officially recruited acclaimed British producer and SABBAT guitarist Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE) to helm their forthcoming studio album. The as-yet-untitled CD — which will mark the recording debut of the band's new lead singer, Mark Tornillo (ex-tout QUICK) — will be recorded at Sneap's Backstage studio in Derbyshire, England starting on October 23. An early 2010 release is expected via an as-yet-undetermined record label.

Commented Sneap: "We just had a week of pre-production in Nashville at castle Von Hoffmann [guitarist Wolf Hoffmann's home], working on vocal ideas and arrangements for seven new ACCEPT songs. Mark Tornillo is seriously on the money; actually, he reminds me a touch of David Wayne from METAL CHURCH crossbred with Bon Scott [AC/DC] — not a pretty mental image, I know, but it's fitting the music great. He's got his own thing going as well, of course, but comparisons are always the easiest way to describe something without hearing it."

He added, "The music is now tending to lean towards the classic heavier albums too, so I'd class this last week as more of a front-row seat watching some great songs come together rather than work."

Powerline A.D.: Word has it the new album is almost finished. Is that true? If so, any word on a release date? Title? etc?

Wolf: Right now we are recording at Andy Sneap's studio in the U.K. It's going great. Andy is an incredible talented producer and we all are enjoying the recording process very much. Actually, we just finished recording drums. Release is planned for early 2010.

Powerline A.D.: New singer, Mark Tornillo, is exciting to fans. He has a good Bon Scott raspiness to his voice. A much more appropriate replacement for Udo than, say, another David Reece. His arrival into the history of ACCEPT happened pretty fast, no?

Wolf: Yeah, very fast indeed. Peter [Baltes, bass] and I were jamming one weekend near his home in Pennsylvania — this is all after Udo [Dirkschneider, former ACCEPT vocalist] had just announced there was no chance of a reunion with him. So, needless to say, we wanted to let off some steam and just shred. We were tossing some ideas around like we always have. Peter and I have always been a good team when it comes to writing songs. Of course, jamming is a lot more fun with a singer and somebody suggested to give Mark Tornillo a call to see if he would join us. He lived around the corner and when we called him he said he had tough cold that had been dragging on for some time but he was gonna come anyhow. One thing led to another and before we knew it we were jamming ACCEPT tunes. Turns out Mark knew a bunch of the ACCEPT classics from having covered them back in the day with his band tout QUICK. Mark started singing and within a few moment Peter and I looked at each other: Are you thinking what I am thinking?... A couple of songs from this impromptu jam session were later posted online.

Powerline A.D.: Did you ever have a chance to speak to Udo about joining the new reunion?

Wolf: There were negotiations and talks going on for quite some time — mostly through his management. Udo finally stated publicly — on his website — that he was not interested in leaving his own band U.D.O. for ACCEPT. After a 20-year career with U.D.O. we had to respect his decision. No bad feelings from our side.

Powerline A.D.: People may not know this but you're a very talented professional photographer as well. I guess both photography and music will always be a part of your life. When did you first get into photography?

Wolf: I started taking pictures on the road with ACCEPT in the '80s. Just fun stuff, documenting travel and so on. It all developed from there. When ACCEPT called it quits in 1996 I was confronted with the infamous "now what?" I guess I could have started another band. But to me, it's all or nothing. ACCEPT or no music at all. At least nothing that competes with the past. You have to know when it time to bow out and leave with your head held high. So I started my own photography business and I have been a professional photographer for over 10 years. I like photography a lot but honestly, my first love is and always will be music. Nothing compares to it.

Hellion a écrit :Wolf et Mark Tornillo invités de That Metal Show
Toujours la classe le Wolf.