ACCEPT’s WOLF HOFFMANN: ‘We Were The First Metal Band In Germany’

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In a new interview with Australia's Heavy, ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann spoke about where his band fits in within heavy metal's various subgenres. He said (hear audio below): "I don't really ever know what to do with all these labels, to be honest. I don't even know we would be. I think, at this point, what are we? Classic rock? That sounds terrible, doesn't it? That always sounds like pretty boring rock. But I don't know what the hell we are. What are we? Traditional heavy metal? "All I know is that we were the first metal band in Germany; that's what I would boldly state," he continued. "Because I don't think there was anybody before ACCEPT out of Germany — only Germany, of course — that would call themselves proudly heavy metal. I mean, there was always the SCORPIONS, but they were more like radio rock or hard rock, whatever they were. But they weren't certainly as hard as we were, or as metal. So I would say we were the first out of Germany. And what it is called nowadays with all these different subgenres, I have no idea." Hoffmann is the sole remaining original member of ACCEPT, which he formed in 1976 in the town of Solingen, Germany with singer Udo Dirkschneider and bassist Peter Baltes. ACCEPT's new studio album, "Too Mean To Die", will be released on January 29 via Nuclear Blast. The LP will be the group's first without Baltes, who exited ACCEPT in November 2018. He has since been replaced by Martin Motnik. ACCEPT's lineup has also been expanded with the addition of a third guitarist, Philip Shouse, who originally filled in for Uwe Lulis during last year's "Symphonic Terror" tour, before being asked to join the band permanently. "Too Mean To Die" was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with British producer Andy Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, MEGADETH), who has been responsible for the magnificent studio sound of ACCEPT since 2010. ACCEPT's last album, 2017's "The Rise Of Chaos", marked the band's first release with guitarist Uwe Lulis and drummer Christopher Williams, replacing Herman Frank and Stefan Schwarzmann, respectively. ACCEPT's latest release was "Symphonic Terror - Live At Wacken 2017", featuring the band's performance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany.