| 1 | [[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/accept10.jpg]] |
| 2 | [floatboxright: |
| 3 | Influences: |
| 4 | +Music/{{The Beatles}}, Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}, Music/{{Jimi Hendrix}}, Music/{{The Who}}, Music/{{Led Zeppelin}}, Music/{{Black Sabbath}}, Music/{{Deep Purple}}, Music/{{ACDC}}, Music/{{Alice Cooper}}, Music/{{Judas Priest}}, Music/{{Iron Maiden}}, Music/{{Kiss}}, Music/{{Motorhead}}, Music/{{Queen}}, T. Rex, Music/ThinLizzy, Music/{{Scorpions|Band}}, UFO, Music/{{Pink Floyd}}, Music/{{Yes}}, Music/{{Genesis|Band}}, Music/{{Rush|Band}}, Music/{{Jethro Tull}}, Music/{{Rainbow}}, Music/BlueOysterCult, Music/{{Uriah Heep}}, Music/{{Styx}} |
| 5 | ] |
| 6 | ->''Fast as a shark he'll cut out of the dark''\ |
| 7 | ''He's a killer -- he'll rip out your heart''\ |
| 8 | ''On a one way track and you're not coming back''\ |
| 9 | '''cause the killer's on the attack!'' |
| 10 | -->-- '''"Fast as a Shark"''' |
| 11 | |
| 12 | ->''If Music/JudasPriest and Music/{{ACDC}} had a baby, we would just have to Accept it.'' |
| 13 | -->-- Michael Casale, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_3TlrZLpQ0&lc=UgwGRIO_obqmPC50DUZ4AaABAg commenting on]] '''"Balls to the Wall"''' |
| 14 | |
| 15 | Accept is a German HeavyMetal band. Initially started as Band X in 1968, Accept is one of the oldest and most influential German metal bands. Accept no substitutes! |
| 16 | |
| 17 | They were successful in the mid '80s until the creative differences and failed attempt at mainstream with their album ''Eat the Heat'' broke the band in the late '80s. They reformed in the early '90s with a DarkerAndEdgier sound but after a couple of years broke up again. Proper reformation didn't happen until 2009. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Despite never achieving the same level of popularity as some of their contemporaries (namely Music/JudasPriest, Music/IronMaiden and Music/{{Scorpions|Band}}), the influence that Accept had on a number of genres such as {{thrash|Metal}}, {{speed|Metal}} and {{power metal}} (thanks to such hits as "Fast as a Shark" and "Balls to the Wall") has secured their place as one of the most important bands in heavy metal music. As such, they have influenced a plethora of hard rock and heavy metal acts like Music/GunsNRoses, Music/MotleyCrue, Music/{{Metallica}}, Music/{{Megadeth}}, Music/{{Slayer}}, Music/{{Anthrax}}, [[Music/ExodusBand Exodus]], Music/{{Testament}}, Music/{{Overkill}}, Music/CannibalCorpse, Music/{{Helloween}}, Music/{{Metal Church}}, Music/{{Pantera}}, Music/SkidRow, Music/{{Soundgarden}}, Music/{{Alice In Chains}}, Music/{{Celtic Frost}}, Music/{{Kreator}}, Music/{{Sodom}}, Destruction, Music/{{Blind Guardian}}, Music/{{Iced Earth}}, Music/GraveDigger, Doro and Music/GammaRay. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | ----- |
| 22 | |
| 23 | !!Accept's current lineup: |
| 24 | * Wolf Hoffmann - lead guitar, backing vocals |
| 25 | * Mark Tornillo - lead vocals |
| 26 | * Uwe Lulis - rhythm guitar |
| 27 | * Christopher Williams - drums |
| 28 | * Martin Motnik - bass |
| 29 | * Philip Shouse - third guitar |
| 30 | |
| 31 | !!Former members: |
| 32 | * Udo Dirkschneider - lead vocals |
| 33 | * Michael White - lead vocals |
| 34 | * Rob Armitage - lead vocals |
| 35 | * David Reece - lead vocals |
| 36 | * Gerhard Wahl - rhythm guitar |
| 37 | * Jörg Fischer - rhythm guitar |
| 38 | * Jan Koemmet - rhythm guitar |
| 39 | * Herman Frank - rhythm guitar |
| 40 | * Jim Stacey - rhythm guitar |
| 41 | * Peter Baltes - bass, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals |
| 42 | * Frank Friedrich - drums |
| 43 | * Stefan Kaufmann - drums, backing vocals |
| 44 | * Stefan Schwarzmann - drums |
| 45 | * Michael Cartellone - drums |
| 46 | |
| 47 | !Discography: |
| 48 | |
| 49 | * ''Accept'' (1979) |
| 50 | * ''I'm a Rebel'' (1980) |
| 51 | * ''Breaker'' (1981) |
| 52 | * ''Restless and Wild'' (1982) |
| 53 | * ''Balls to the Wall'' (1983) |
| 54 | * ''Metal Heart'' (1985) |
| 55 | * ''Russian Roulette'' (1986) |
| 56 | * ''Eat the Heat'' (1989) |
| 57 | * ''Objection Overruled'' (1993) |
| 58 | * ''Death Row'' (1994) |
| 59 | * ''Predator'' (1996) |
| 60 | * ''Blood of the Nations'' (2010) |
| 61 | * ''Stalingrad: Brothers in Death'' (2012) |
| 62 | * ''Blind Rage'' (2014) |
| 63 | * ''The Rise of Chaos'' (2017) |
| 64 | * ''Too Mean to Die'' (2021) |
| 65 | * ''Humanoid'' (2024) |
| 66 | |
| 67 | ----- |
| 68 | !!"TV TROOOPES!!!": |
| 69 | |
| 70 | * AlbumTitleDrop: In the chorus of "That's Rock 'n Roll", for the self-titled album: |
| 71 | -->"''Hey little woman, Accept tonight\ |
| 72 | Come rock and roll and feel alright''" |
| 73 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample - How?) * AttackAttackAttack: The ending of "Fast as a Shark" invokes the trope. |
| 74 | * AudienceParticipationSong: |
| 75 | ** There are many songs in the band's catalog where the chorus is reduced to the title song in a singable way, {{invok|edTrope}}ing the trope as a result: "Balls to the Wall", "Son of a Bitch", "Fast as a Shark", "Princess of the Dawn", "Losers and Winners". |
| 76 | ** One particular section of "Balls to the Wall" has a wordless[[note]]"''ohhhh, oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh; ohhhh, oh oh oh oh ohhhh…''"[[/note]] choral melody. In some live performances of this song, the singer invites the audience to sing along ("''C'mon, sing it with me!''") at this point. |
| 77 | * BadassBiker: |
| 78 | ** The narrator of "Street Fighter" (from the self-titled debut album) is a member of a biker gang who despises mainstream society: |
| 79 | --->"''Black leather, steel engines\ |
| 80 | All the people call us street fighting men\ |
| 81 | Rude manners, hard women\ |
| 82 | That's the reason why we join the gang''\ |
| 83 | […]\ |
| 84 | ''Making rules, giving orders\ |
| 85 | You're thinking that you are the stars\ |
| 86 | But we hate your damned faces\ |
| 87 | Your little houses and bloody cars''\ |
| 88 | [chorus]\ |
| 89 | ''Hate you! Hate you! Leave us alone, man!\ |
| 90 | Keep your stuff, and stay where you are!''" |
| 91 | ** Similarly, the lyrics to "London Leatherboys" (from ''Balls to the Wall'') were confirmed in an interview with the band to have been inspired by [[RippedFromTheHeadlines a news story]] about biker gangs fighting in the streets: |
| 92 | --->"''See the easy riders\ |
| 93 | They're roaring down their way\ |
| 94 | They need to give full speed ahead\ |
| 95 | They've been bunched together\ |
| 96 | To keep their crazy life\ |
| 97 | They turn on the power\ |
| 98 | Get wrecked every night''" |
| 99 | ** And one example that's not from any song lyrics: the front and back covers of a compilation album titled ''Midnight Highway''[[note]]from 1983, exclusive to the U.S. and Canada, never issued in CD format, containing songs from the first 3 studio albums; presumably, this compilation was released in order to introduce some of Accept's early recordings to a wider audience[[/note]] show a denim-and-leather-clad man and woman on a (stationary) motorcycle, striking a pose for the camera. |
| 100 | * TheBandMinusTheFace: There were two times Accept was seen without Udo Dirkschneider at the front: 1989's ''Eat the Heat'' and the entirety of Mark Tornillo's era. |
| 101 | * BookEnds: The first part of ''Hung, Drawn, and Quartered'' and last part of the song ''The Galley'', both from ''Stalingrad'', sound similar. |
| 102 | * BreakUpSong: |
| 103 | ** "Glad to Be Alone" (from the self-titled debut album) describes a failed romantic relationship between the song's narrator and a [[SlobsVersusSnobs snobbish]] ex-partner, who is implied to be either [[UptownGirl already upper-class]] or a SocialClimber: |
| 104 | --->"''I don't like your well-dressed friends\ |
| 105 | When they talk about their problems\ |
| 106 | With that kind of small talk\ |
| 107 | They feel good, but they are fools\ |
| 108 | I don't like to sit beside you\ |
| 109 | In your brand-new car''\ |
| 110 | […]\ |
| 111 | ''After a few days with you\ |
| 112 | I was glad to be alone again''" |
| 113 | ** "Breaking Up Again" (from ''Breaker'') is a straightforward PowerBallad ([[StepUpToTheMicrophone sung by the bassist]], incidentally) about a failed romantic relationship: |
| 114 | --->"''Waking up on Monday morning\ |
| 115 | Sunday'd been and gone\ |
| 116 | Reaching out for you\ |
| 117 | But I was alone''" |
| 118 | ** {{Parodied|Trope}} with "Losing More Than You've Ever Had" (from ''Balls to the Wall''), which mocks these songs for their overwhelmingly male perspective. In the song, the boyfriend is clearly at fault but won't take responsibility for his actions, won't stop talking about losing his girlfriend, and won't accept [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere she left for good]]. |
| 119 | ** "It's Hard to Find a Way" (from ''Russian Roulette'') is another PowerBallad, with lyrics implying a CheaterGetsCheatedOn situation: |
| 120 | --->"''I'm acting sweetness\ |
| 121 | But I'm burning in hate\ |
| 122 | 'cause I can't stand you hurting me\ |
| 123 | The same way I hurt you''" |
| 124 | ** "Kill The Pain" (from ''Blood of the Nations''), yet another PowerBallad, is either this and/or another kind of GriefSong: |
| 125 | --->"''A shadow in an empty doorway\ |
| 126 | Call your name but no reply\ |
| 127 | I still see your face, but there's no trace\ |
| 128 | Photographs, no goodbye''" |
| 129 | * CarefulWithThatAxe: |
| 130 | ** The studio version of "Fast as a Shark" has an intro section[[note]]which, since that song is track 1 on ''Restless and Wild'', also acts as an intro to the album as a whole[[/note]] that goes like this: "Heidi heido heida, heidi heido heida, heidi heido heida a a a a a a a a, hei-- *[[RecordNeedleScratch scratch]]* '''[[MetalScream AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!]]'''".[[labelnote:additional details]]The part before the scratch sound effect is the chorus of a 19th-century drinking song titled "Ein Heller und ein Batzen". According to some interviews with band member(s), the specific recording of that song that was sampled here featured studio owner Dieter Dierks as a singer (he was very young when it was recorded); this was meant to be an InJoke.[[/labelnote]] |
| 131 | ** Some live performances of "Fast as a Shark"[[note]]particularly ones from 2010 onwards with Mark Tornillo on vocals[[/note]] also feature the "Ein Heller und ein Batzen" intro, but not all of them. The version from ''Staying a Life''[[note]]this live album captures a concert during the band's 1985 tour in support of ''Metal Heart'', but wasn't released until 1990[[/note]] instead begins with an escalating call-and-response section between Udo and the audience, which ultimately leads up to the [[MetalScream scream]] that begins the song proper. As George Starostin put it in [[https://starlingdb.org/music/accept.htm#Life his review of the album]]: |
| 132 | --->"[…] ''when the band comes out for the encore to do 'Fast As A Shark', Udo toys with the audience by making them shout back his 'Yeaahs' to him, with each new 'Yeaah' becoming more and more complex. Finally he screams out a particularly high-pitched and complex 'Yeaaaaah', and as the audience masters itself and actually manages to reproduce it somehow, he responds with such a tremendously high-pitched battle cry that no ordinary throat can reproduce - and as the humbled spectators sort of stand there thinking this guy's probably mocking them, the song kicks in: of course, it was the famous introductory wail that launches the '''Restless & Wild''' classic. Gotta love that bit.''" |
| 133 | %% (Administrivia/WeblinksAreNotExamples) * ChainsawGood: On the cover of [[http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=819 debut album]]. |
| 134 | * ClusterFBomb: "Son of a Bitch" from ''Breaker'' features a lot of cursing: |
| 135 | --> ''"Son of a bitch - kiss my ass!\ |
| 136 | Son of a bitch!\ |
| 137 | Son of a bitch - you asshole!\ |
| 138 | Son of a bitch!"'' |
| 139 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample - Who and how?) * CoolShades: Likewise, he's clearly a big fan of aviators. |
| 140 | * CorruptCorporateExecutive: |
| 141 | ** The lyrics of "No Shelter" (from ''Blood of the Nations'') – released in August 2010, not long after the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Recession Great Recession]] – condemn people of this kind in no uncertain terms, and rejoice in their downfall: |
| 142 | --->"''You steal from the hungry, you take from the poor\ |
| 143 | You swindle the rich man, and then you steal more\ |
| 144 | {{Greed}} is your life-blood, and white collar crime\ |
| 145 | Your hands don't get dirty, no, you steal with your mind''\ |
| 146 | […]\ |
| 147 | ''Welcome to Main Street, you forgot your champagne\ |
| 148 | All of your off-shore accounts have gone down the drain\ |
| 149 | Your stocks are all worthless, your paper trail burns\ |
| 150 | Your riches have turned into rags, the tables have turned''" |
| 151 | ** Similarly, "Revolution" (from ''Stalingrad'') was released in April 2012, and mentions the previous year's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street Occupy Wall Street protests]] in a positive light: |
| 152 | --->"''No money, gotta pay the rent (hard luck!)\ |
| 153 | The check is in the mail\ |
| 154 | But '''you''' get your tax deduction\ |
| 155 | [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outsourcing#Standpoint_of_labor Outsourcing mass production]]''\ |
| 156 | […]\ |
| 157 | ''What's wrong with this picture?\ |
| 158 | The poor get poorer and the rich get richer''\ |
| 159 | […]\ |
| 160 | ''Occupy the streets\ |
| 161 | Get up, take action, be a link in the chain reaction\ |
| 162 | It's time to unify (stand up!)''" |
| 163 | * DarkerAndEdgier: |
| 164 | ** ''Breaker'' was this to their first two albums, with the rationale being "we're not getting anywhere by being commercial, so let's just play what we want to play". |
| 165 | ** ''Russian Roulette'' has some of their grimmest lyrics. As the title suggests, and unsurprisingly for an album from 1986, three songs on this album[[note]]"T.V. War", the title track, and "Stand Tight"[[/note]] have lyrics about the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, [[WorldWarIII nuclear war]], and war in general; apart from those, two more of its songs[[note]]"Monsterman" and "Heaven Is Hell"[[/note]] have lyrics about controversial topics such as the debate over euthanasia's (il-)legality and religiously-motivated violence. (This was around the same timeframe when ThrashMetal rose to mainstream popularity, with many of that genre's most famous acts [[MediaNotes/HeavyMetal covering those kinds of real-world topics in their lyrics]].) |
| 166 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample - How?) ** Their first reformation in the early '90s took this direction. |
| 167 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample - Rather unclear example) * DizzyCam: Whoever directed the music video for "Midnight Mover" definitely believed so. The result is somewhat nauseating. |
| 168 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample - How?) * DoesntLikeGuns: "Guns R Us" make it very clear that the band is NOT fond of guns (or at least not being able to get them so easily). |
| 169 | * TheDictatorship: "Primitive" (from ''Predator'') begins with these lyrics: |
| 170 | -->"''What you're gonna do\ |
| 171 | When you turn on the news\ |
| 172 | And a dictator smiles at you?\ |
| 173 | What you're gonna do\ |
| 174 | When you try to escape\ |
| 175 | But {{big brother is watching}} you?''" |
| 176 | * DrugsAreBad: |
| 177 | ** Although "Russian Roulette" (the title track) is mainly an anti-war song, a few of its lyrics describe a soldier's inability to return to civilian life in a metaphoric way using phrases which, in a different context, could be used to describe addiction to "hard" drugs and withdrawal symptoms… and what's more, taking into account the history of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_and_culture_of_substituted_amphetamines#Military_use certain types]] of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_of_drugs_in_warfare#Cocaine stimulant drugs]] having been used by enlisted men to stay awake / increase their alertness, the lyrics might be about drugs in a '''literal''' sense, too: |
| 178 | --->"''You screwed my brain\ |
| 179 | And offered me a line\ |
| 180 | You set my heart on fire\ |
| 181 | To make me stick like glue''" |
| 182 | ** "Bulletproof" (from ''Objection Overruled'') describes a friend of the song's narrator gradually using more & more recreational drugs[[note]]with [[{{ShoutOut}} references]] made to several other drug-related songs/stories along the way[[/note]], and eventually dying of an overdose: |
| 183 | --->"''He took it once, just for the thrill\ |
| 184 | He'd bought a ticket to ride''\ |
| 185 | […]\ |
| 186 | ''We laughed about the jokes he told\ |
| 187 | He was one of the boys\ |
| 188 | Hey, what a guy he used to be\ |
| 189 | When he was sober and dry''\ |
| 190 | […]\ |
| 191 | ''When he turned into a demon\ |
| 192 | No way to calm him down\ |
| 193 | Just like a Jekyll and Hyde''\ |
| 194 | […]\ |
| 195 | ''Danced with Lucy in the sky\ |
| 196 | On a cloud of ecstasy\ |
| 197 | Too late to stop him now''\ |
| 198 | […]\ |
| 199 | ''He wasn't bulletproof\ |
| 200 | He shot himself the final round\ |
| 201 | No man is bulletproof\ |
| 202 | It's destination underground''" |
| 203 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) ** "X-T-C" |
| 204 | * EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Each one of the band's first three albums contains exactly one song that's a slow mournful ballad [[StepUpToTheMicrophone sung by bassist Peter Baltes]] instead of Udo[[note]]the songs in question are "Seawinds" (from the self-titled debut album), "The King" (from ''I'm a Rebel''), and "Breaking Up Again" (from ''Breaker'')[[/note]]; additionally, there's one more song (not a ballad) from the first album[[note]]"Sounds of War", that is[[/note]] with lead vocals ''mostly'' by Peter. After those, he wouldn't be featured on lead vocals again up until ''Predator'' (1996)[[labelnote:note 1]]which contains ''three'' such songs[[/labelnote]][[labelnote:note 2]]released a full 15 years after ''Breaker''[[/labelnote]]. |
| 205 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * EpicRocking: |
| 206 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) ** "Heaven Is Hell" |
| 207 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) ** "Mistreated". |
| 208 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * FailureIsTheOnlyOption: "Bound to Fail", from ''Metal Heart''. |
| 209 | * FalseProphet: "Sucks to Be You" (from ''Too Mean to Die'') is written in second-person about someone who is excessively selfish & boastful to the point that they "think that [they are] the messiah": |
| 210 | -->"''You, you're a perpetual liar\ |
| 211 | You think that you're the messiah\ |
| 212 | And that you never do wrong''\ |
| 213 | […]\ |
| 214 | ''Born to be a loser\ |
| 215 | Boasting's all you do\ |
| 216 | [[{{KnowNothingKnowItAll}} You know it all, but you just don't have a clue]]''\ |
| 217 | […]\ |
| 218 | ''You're a source of endless chatter\ |
| 219 | Somehow you think that you matter\ |
| 220 | And that it's always your turn''" |
| 221 | * TheFundamentalist: The second verse of "Heaven Is Hell" (from ''Russian Roulette'') describes the mentality of some religious extremists who consider the killing of "nonbelievers" to be morally justified: |
| 222 | -->"''You shouldn't kill your brother…\ |
| 223 | …'''except''' if he doesn't know what's right!\ |
| 224 | If he can't love your heaven,\ |
| 225 | ah, it's a mercy for him to die.''" |
| 226 | * {{Gangbangers}}: "The King" (from ''I'm a Rebel'') is a mournful ballad with lyrics about a small-time career criminal[[labelnote:excerpt 1]]"''He was the leader of a small gang, committing crimes each day''"[[/labelnote]] and his eventual downfall[[labelnote:excerpt 2]]"''Down, down, down, ooh, a king lost his crown''"[[/labelnote]] and imprisonment[[labelnote:excerpt 3]]"''Now he's just a number, he lost all his power''"[[/labelnote]]. |
| 227 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * HellOfAHeaven: "Heaven is Hell"...in name. More a generic TakeThat against religion than this trope, though. |
| 228 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * HeavyMeta: |
| 229 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) ** "That's Rock 'n' Roll". |
| 230 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) ** "Burning". |
| 231 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) ** "Shake Your Heads". |
| 232 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) ** "Slaves to Metal". |
| 233 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * HellBentForLeather: The album art for ''Balls to the Wall.'' |
| 234 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample and Administrivia/ExamplesAreNotRecent) * IAmTheBand: Wolf Hoffman, currently. |
| 235 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * {{Instrumentals}}: |
| 236 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) ** "Pomp and Circumstance". |
| 237 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) ** "Drifting Away". |
| 238 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) ** "Just by My Own". |
| 239 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * IntercourseWithYou: "Donation" from ''Objection Overruled''. |
| 240 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * LastNoteNightmare: "Take Him in to My Heart", from the self-titled album. |
| 241 | * LargeHam: Udo Dirkschneider and Mark Tornillo both, bringing to the table wailing, scenery-chewing high notes and [[Music/{{ACDC}} Brian Johnson]] style gravel-grinding respectively. |
| 242 | * Letters2Numbers: "Stand 4 What U R" from ''Eat the Heat'', replaces "for" with the number 4. |
| 243 | %% (Administrivia/PartialContextExample) * LighterAndSofter: |
| 244 | %% (Administrivia/PartialContextExample) ** ''Eat the Heat'' gets a lot of bad flak for being commercial. |
| 245 | %% (Administrivia/PartialContextExample) ** ''I'm a Rebel'' was very commercial, it even featured a disco track. |
| 246 | * LineOfSightName: According to an interview with the band, the song/album title "Balls to the Wall" was taken from a music critic's description of Accept's music.[[labelnote:etymology]]The phrase "balls to the wall" was originally synonymous with "full throttle", which is the sense in which the critic must have used it. (More specifically: its literal meaning involved either [[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/balls_to_the_wall#Etymology an aircraft engine]] or [[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/balls-out#Adverb a steam engine]] being run at its maximum output.) However, the song's lyrics use that phrase to refer to the kind of wall used for [[ShotAtDawn executions by firing squad]] instead.[[/labelnote]] |
| 247 | * LongestSongGoesLast: |
| 248 | ** ''Restless and Wild'' closes with "Princess of the Dawn" (6:15). |
| 249 | ** ''Eat the Heat'' closes with "Mistreated" (8:52). |
| 250 | ** ''Stalingrad'' closes with "The Galley" (7:21). |
| 251 | ** ''The Rise of Chaos'' closes with "Race to Extinction" (5:24). |
| 252 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * ManlyTears: "Man Enough to Cry", from ''Russian Roulette''. |
| 253 | * MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: |
| 254 | ** The lyrics of "Lady Lou" (from the self-titled debut album) include this part:[[note]]Some sources show this lyric as "[…] ''my car '''I''' drive''"; however, in UsefulNotes/BritishEnglish, "drive" (used as a noun) is synonymous with "driveway" in UsefulNotes/AmericanEnglish, which would make sense in this context. Accept's debut album has a few other Anglicisms throughout its lyrics, too.[[/note]] |
| 255 | -->"''Lady, I'm lovin' you\ |
| 256 | In my car drive''" |
| 257 | ** "Head Over Heels" (from ''Balls to the Wall'') is written from the point of view of someone out walking "late at night in the park" who happens to notice other people there engaging in some sort of sexual activity, and then can't resist the urge to covertly watch them:[[note]]Some sources show the "''can feel''" lyric here as "'''''can't''' feel''" instead, and it's not clear from context which version is the correct one.[[/note]] |
| 258 | -->"''For heaven's sake, what's going on?\ |
| 259 | It's like someone is here\ |
| 260 | Gotta follow now\ |
| 261 | Like being in a trance for me''\ |
| 262 | […]\ |
| 263 | ''Down on my knees, God help me please\ |
| 264 | Gotta know who's out in the dark\ |
| 265 | I've stopped my breath, can feel the hands\ |
| 266 | Could hear the sound of people making love\ |
| 267 | I surrender '''[[MetalScream RIGHT NOW!]]'''\ |
| 268 | I've to be touched, I feel so much''" |
| 269 | ** "Turn Me On" (from ''Balls to the Wall'', again) seems to be about a sexual encounter in a dark storage room, interrupted by people outside knocking on the door loudly: |
| 270 | -->"''I can't wait to get you\ |
| 271 | Down on the dirty floor\ |
| 272 | I know it ain't a place\ |
| 273 | But come on and close the door''\ |
| 274 | […]\ |
| 275 | ''It would be good to do it in the nice way\ |
| 276 | But sorry, I ain't got no time\ |
| 277 | I know you would like some light\ |
| 278 | But sorry, here is no lamp''\ |
| 279 | […]\ |
| 280 | ''It was more than I could ask for\ |
| 281 | Sorry babe, I've gotta go\ |
| 282 | Guess there's more than two now\ |
| 283 | Who wants to break the door''" |
| 284 | * MarketBasedTitle: The [=1990s=]-era live album ''All Areas – Worldwide'' went by the alternate title ''The Final Chapter'' in the U.S. and Japan, apparently because the band was on hiatus at the time it was released in those territories (which was in 1998) and no reunion was anticipated at that point. However, that alternate title is somewhat misleading, because it was recorded during the tours in support of the ''Objection Overruled'' and ''Death Row'' studio albums (which were released in 1993 and 1994, respectively), thus putting it prior to the recording of the ''Predator'' studio album (from 1996); this explains why it does not feature live versions of any of the songs from ''Predator''. |
| 285 | * MercyKill: The lyrics of "Monsterman" (from ''Russian Roulette'') are about the controversy over whether or not euthanasia should be legal, taking a pro-euthanasia stance, and mention this trope by name in the first verse: |
| 286 | -->"''I see a hot hot fighting\ |
| 287 | On controversial sides\ |
| 288 | They call me mercy killer\ |
| 289 | 'cause I did it right''" |
| 290 | * NonAppearingTitle: "Russian Roulette" (the title song). According to [[http://www.metallian.com/accept.htm Metallian's biography of the band]], it was originally supposed to be titled "War Games" (a phrase which is in the chorus), but was changed because of legal threats from, well, [[Film/WarGames guess who...]] |
| 291 | * TheNounAndTheNoun: ''Restless and Wild'', and the songs "Losers and Winners", "Rich & Famous", "Sick, Dirty and Mean" and "Thunder and Lightning". |
| 292 | * NumberedSequels: "Generation Clash" from ''Eat the Heat'' got a numbered continuation on ''Death Row''. |
| 293 | %% (Administrivia/ExamplesAreNotGeneral) * PowerBallad: Prominent in the earlier albums. |
| 294 | * PrecisionFStrike: "Russian Roulette" (the title track) is about the horrors of war, sung from the perspective of a soldier who's in deep despair/regret about his situation. The song begins with an ominous-sounding bassline gradually fading in, with a guitar part mixed at low volume & no audible drum part at all… thus making it all the more shocking/transgressive when Udo sings[[note]]in a calm tone of voice, i.e. no MetalScream this time[[/note]] its opening lines of lyrics ('''content warning / NSFW!'''): |
| 295 | -->"'''''[[spoiler:I know you raped me\ |
| 296 | And fucked my soul and life]]'''''" |
| 297 | %% (Administrivia/PartialContextExample - How?) * ProfessionalKiller: "Sick, Dirty and Mean" from ''Objection Overruled'' is about hitmen and TheMafia in general. |
| 298 | * TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: The lyrics of "Balls to the Wall" (the title track) describe a violent uprising by people living under slavery or some other form of oppression; in this context, the song's title apparently means more-or-less the same thing as the old saying "when the revolution comes, you'll be the first against the wall", i.e. [[ShotAtDawn shot by a firing squad]]: |
| 299 | -->"''You better watch the damned (God bless ya!)\ |
| 300 | They're gonna break the chains (Hey!)\ |
| 301 | No, you can't stop them (God bless ya!)\ |
| 302 | They're coming to get you, and then…\ |
| 303 | …you'll get your balls to the wall, man!''" |
| 304 | * TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified: |
| 305 | ** "All or Nothing" (from ''Objection Overruled'') is a protest anthem, which might also qualify as a PowerBallad, with optimistic lyrics and a grandiose sing-along chorus: |
| 306 | --->"''Revolution in the streets\ |
| 307 | Our vision turned into reality\ |
| 308 | Too late to stop it now\ |
| 309 | A spark that's lit a fire burning high''\ |
| 310 | […]\ |
| 311 | [chorus]\ |
| 312 | ''It's all or nothing and we don't stop fighting\ |
| 313 | All or nothing and we won't back down\ |
| 314 | It's all or nothing, we can light a fire\ |
| 315 | All or nothing, we will take it all!''" |
| 316 | ** "Revolution" (from ''Stalingrad'') is a much angrier kind of protest song, with lyrics siding with the protesters who participated in the "Occupy Wall Street" protests circa 2011. |
| 317 | * RhymesOnADime: ''Eat the heat''. Heat cannot be eaten. |
| 318 | * RockMeAmadeus: A rendition of "Sabre Dance" appears in the middle of "Sodom and Gomorrah" from ''Death Row''. |
| 319 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * RockstarSong: "Rich & Famous" from the limited edition of ''Objection Overruled''. |
| 320 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * SelfTitledAlbum |
| 321 | * ShoutOut: |
| 322 | ** In "Breaker"[[note]]the title track, that is[[/note]]'s lyrics, there's one particular couplet which is a near-exact match with part of the title track from ''Music/ParanoidAlbum'' by Music/BlackSabbath, just changed from first-person to third-person: |
| 323 | -->"'''''Happiness he cannot feel\ |
| 324 | and love to him is so unreal'''\ |
| 325 | He burns like hell\ |
| 326 | He wants you dead\ |
| 327 | Altogether hate's all he feel''" |
| 328 | ** The lyrics of "Dead On!" (from ''Death Row'') mention "a [[Music/NevermindAlbum teen spirit]] idol" who "couldn't stand the pressure". If it weren't already obvious enough [[Music/KurtCobain to whom this refers]], then take note of that album's release date: [[RippedFromTheHeadlines October 4th, 1994]]. |
| 329 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * SlaveGalley: "The Galley" from ''Stalingrad'' is about them. |
| 330 | * SlobsVersusSnobs: |
| 331 | ** In "Glad to Be Alone" (from the self-titled debut album), this trope seems to be what led to the breakup of the narrator's short-lived romantic relationship[[note]]see this song's entry under BreakupSong for more details[[/note]]. |
| 332 | ** This trope is pretty much the entire topic of "I Don't Wanna Be Like You" (from ''Objection Overruled''); for example: |
| 333 | --->"''I'm hog-tied 'n' dirty\ |
| 334 | I'm tough and mean\ |
| 335 | Keep your Wall Street slickers\ |
| 336 | And the American Dream''\ |
| 337 | […]\ |
| 338 | ''The ordinary way of life ain't for me\ |
| 339 | I do what I want, and I wanna be free\ |
| 340 | Never know where I go or what I'm gonna do\ |
| 341 | Why can't you see, the only thing I know is that\ |
| 342 | I don't wanna be like you!''" |
| 343 | * SoulCrushingDeskJob: |
| 344 | ** The second-person protagonist of "Feelings" (from ''Breaker'') is portrayed as a frustrated office worker whose efforts are constantly being obstructed by "[[YesMan yes-men]]" higher up in the org chart (e.g. "''Oh, when you're needing a queen, every card that you get is a jack''").[[note]]The chorus lyrics ("''This message to you is: '''[[ThePowerOfRock rock]]''', forever and ever!''") could be taken to mean that HeavyMetal is this person's form of escape from the frustrations of their day job.[[/note]] |
| 345 | ** "Guardian of the Night" (from ''Balls to the Wall'') is written from the perspective of an outcast who seemingly cannot fit in with society's requirements, such as having an ordinary day job: |
| 346 | -->"''I don't like people working all day\ |
| 347 | Only working just to see next tomorrow\ |
| 348 | But they are happy while they're living that way\ |
| 349 | In that world I gotta beg, steal, or borrow''" |
| 350 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * SpeedMetal: One of the {{Trope Codifier}}s with "Fast as a Shark". |
| 351 | * SpokenWordInMusic: Partway through "T.V. War" (from ''Russian Roulette''), there's a voiceover of a fictional television news anchor announcing, in effect, the outbreak of WorldWarIII: |
| 352 | -->"''According to informed sources of the defence ministry, there is now confirmation that [[AtomicHate enemy missiles]] have penetrated our airspace. [[CatastrophicCountdown Impact is estimated in a matter of minutes.]] '''Good evening!'''''" |
| 353 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * SpoofsRUs: "Guns 'R' Us" from their ''Death Row'' album. |
| 354 | * StartMyOwn: |
| 355 | ** Original singer Udo Dirkschneider has his own solo career on U.D.O. |
| 356 | ** Guitarists Wolf Hoffman and Herman Frank also have released solo albums. |
| 357 | * StepUpToTheMicrophone: A select few of their songs feature bassist Peter Baltes on lead vocals; in particular, four of them appear [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness on the band's first three albums]]... and then, after a 15-years-long "dry spell", three more of them[[note]]"Crossroads" (a duet with Udo), "It Ain't Over Yet", and "Primitive"[[/note]] showed up all at once on ''Predator''. |
| 358 | * StockRhymes: The chorus of "Burning" (from ''Breaker'') uses one of the most (in-)famous ones: |
| 359 | -->"''Burning! Burning! Burning just like fire!\ |
| 360 | Burning! Burning! A rock and roll desire!''" |
| 361 | * StopAndGo: "Primitive" (from ''Predator'') pauses for about 1 second at the 3m17s point, immediately following a section of lyrics that ends with the word "stop"[[note]]the 3m11s-though-3m17s section is the second place in the song where these lyrics occur, whereas the first occurence is at 1m09s through 1m15s… however, the 1m15s point doesn't have any brief pause like the one that occurs at 3m17s, and — again, ''unlike'' what happens at 1m15s — at 3m17s, the word "'''STOP!'''" is shouted for emphasis immediately prior to the pause[[/note]]: |
| 362 | -->"''What you're gonna do\ |
| 363 | when it's sin after sin\ |
| 364 | and you know that it's never gonna '''STOP?!'''''" |
| 365 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * SubduedSection: "Russian Roulette". |
| 366 | * TheSvengali: The lyrics of "Son of a Bitch" (from ''Breaker'') are about a showbiz executive, portrayed unflatteringly as a control freak who dishonestly claims that he'll help naive young hopefuls rise to stardom, in order to exploit them: |
| 367 | -->"''You make the stars, illusions and dreams\ |
| 368 | You're what you are, d'you know what I mean?''\ |
| 369 | […]\ |
| 370 | ''You say\ |
| 371 | It's your way\ |
| 372 | You say we'll make it right to the top\ |
| 373 | Your bullshit gets me, what have you got?''" |
| 374 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * TextlessAlbumCover: ''Balls to the Wall'' |
| 375 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * ThereAreTwoKindsOfPeopleInTheWorld: "The Quick and the Dead" (''Stalingrad''). |
| 376 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) -->''There's two kinds of people... The Quick and the Dead.'' |
| 377 | * TruckDriversGearChange: "Winter Dreams", the PowerBallad from ''Balls to the Wall'', has three verses, and goes up a key at the beginning of the second verse and again at the third verse. |
| 378 | * TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: The lyrics of "Metal Heart" (written in 1985) begin with "It is 1999 [...]" |
| 379 | %% (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) * VSign: Used ironically on the cover of ''[[http://en.metalship.org/archives/albums/album10309.jpg Blood of the Nations]]'' album. |
| 380 | * WanderlustSong: "Seawinds" – a melancholic-sounding PowerBallad from the self-titled debut album – has lyrics which are entirely about this topic; for example: |
| 381 | -->"''In a cold and dark December\ |
| 382 | As I walked into the rain\ |
| 383 | Stood beside the road all night long\ |
| 384 | In the grey December morning\ |
| 385 | I decided to leave my home\ |
| 386 | Took a train to nowhere, far away\ |
| 387 | Far away''" |
| 388 | * WarIsHell: |
| 389 | ** "Sounds of War" (from the self-titled debut album) is a straightforward example of this lyrical theme: |
| 390 | --->"''Shooting guns I hear from everywhere, loud\ |
| 391 | Bombs are falling out of dark grey clouds\ |
| 392 | Tanks are coming, beware of the chains\ |
| 393 | Children are suffering, they '''[[MetalScream CRY FOR HELP!]]'''''" |
| 394 | ** "Shake Your Heads" (from ''Restless and Wild'') begins with a more general expression of a gloomy state of affairs in the then-president day ("''See the world around you, deep, dark, and grey''"), then goes on to mention the looming threat of [[AtomicHate nuclear war]]: |
| 395 | --->"''Wars of aggression\ |
| 396 | Mankind's favorite game\ |
| 397 | A press on the button\ |
| 398 | A world in flames''" |
| 399 | ** "T.V. War" (from ''Russian Roulette'') begins with lyrics about television viewers treating news coverage of distant foreign wars[[note]]listeners back in 1986 – i.e. in this song's initial release year – would have understood this as a reference to any of the {{proxy war}}s that took place during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar[[/note]] as a form of entertainment[[labelnote:side note]]which, incidentally, 6 years later would be a major topic of the lyrics to [[Music/AmusedToDeath a solo album]] by Music/RogerWaters[[/labelnote]], then abruptly shifts to an announcement of an incoming ICBM attack, implying that WorldWarIII has begun: |
| 400 | --->"''T.V. war is part of life\ |
| 401 | Entertaining and far, far away\ |
| 402 | What a story and how they fight\ |
| 403 | Let's gamble and guess who will win''\ |
| 404 | […]\ |
| 405 | ''Information - in between\ |
| 406 | Missiles are in the air\ |
| 407 | You can hear them and see\ |
| 408 | They're already here''" |
| 409 | ** "Russian Roulette" (the title track) expresses a soldier's resentment towards the dehumanizing treatment he's been subjected to, and says that no amount of medals/awards can ever pay him back for the loss of his life in combat: |
| 410 | --->"''That's what you like to do\ |
| 411 | To treat a man like a pig\ |
| 412 | And when I'm dead and gone\ |
| 413 | It's an award I've won\ |
| 414 | Do you think that pays\ |
| 415 | Pays for my life?\ |
| 416 | Which I give now when I die''" |
| 417 | ** "Stand Tight" (from ''Russian Roulette'', yet again) has lyrics about a DrillSergeantNasty, written from the perspective of one of his subordinates: |
| 418 | --->"''You say you've got to drill me\ |
| 419 | And you let me kiss your gun\ |
| 420 | I have to clean your boots\ |
| 421 | In every way you like\ |
| 422 | You deny my human rights\ |
| 423 | You don't make it easy!''" |
| 424 | ** Although "Blood of the Nations" (the title track) depicts war in a less negative light than is usual for Accept's lyrics, it nevertheless uses the exact phrase "war is hell" in its lyrics: |
| 425 | --->"''We're brothers, hand in hand\ |
| 426 | We kill and we die\ |
| 427 | Blood of the nations\ |
| 428 | Cause war is hell\ |
| 429 | We pay with our lives''" |
| 430 | ** "Stalingrad" (the title track) describes the half-year-long battle/siege of Stalingrad, with well over a million combat casualties, during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII: |
| 431 | --->"''So hungry, so cold\ |
| 432 | We're only following orders\ |
| 433 | We gave our hearts and souls\ |
| 434 | Brothers we find, frozen in time\ |
| 435 | In Stalingrad''" |
| 436 | * WhyAmITicking: "Metal Heart" is about a disease in [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture 1999]] which turns human hearts into timebombs. |
| 437 | * YesMan: |
| 438 | ** Mentioned by name in "Feelings" (from ''Breaker''), apparently in reference to a low-ranking office worker's bosses: |
| 439 | --->"''You work all day long\ |
| 440 | You're stuck to the phone\ |
| 441 | Burn up a hundred cigarettes\ |
| 442 | The yes-men you know\ |
| 443 | They tell you "no go"\ |
| 444 | And dissatisfaction's all you get''" |
| 445 | ** In "Flash Rockin' Man" (from ''Restless and Wild''), this phrase is once again used to refer to management types[[note]]and, given the fact that this song's protagonist is a rock star, it's implied that these particular "yes-men" are ones working in the music industry[[/note]]: |
| 446 | --->"''A servant of the yes-men\ |
| 447 | If people knew, what would they say?''" |
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