ACCEPT – Metal Heart + Kaizoku-Ban [Cherry Red / HNE remaster]

One of my favorite ACCEPT albums, their sixth studio effort “Metal Heart“has been reissued by Hear No Evil / Cherry Red Records including as bonus the EP “Kaizoku-Ban“, remastered by the ‘Rock Candy guy’ Andy Pearce.
“Metal Heart” is Accept’s second major label release after the instant metal classic Balls To The Wall. Produced by expert Dieter Dierks (Scorpions) this record found the legendary and highly influential German band go in a slightly more US radio-friendly style than their previous releases.

“Metal Heart” was a cautious attempt to crack the lucrative American market with more accessible songcraft and emphasis on hooks and melodies. Although critically panned at the time, today “Metal Heart” is often considered by fans of the band as one of Accept’s best records.
Just as with Balls To The Wall, this CD features ten hard-hitting compositions drenched in the same signature Accept elements that comprised their earlier efforts: Udo Dirkschneider’s falsetto soaked lead vocals, gloomy group harmonies and Wolf Hoffmann’s classical flavored electric guitar playing.

“Metal Heart” spawned a number of the band’s now classic anthems such as “Living For Tonite”, the title track, the hair metal-esque “Screaming For A Love-Bite” and the ultra-catchy “Midnight Mover”.
The group also makes a detour into a different sonic territory with the unusual song “Teach Us To Survive”.
On top of the original ten tracks, this reissue includes the rare live EP “Kaizoku-Ban” recorded during Accept’s live performance from 1985 in Nagoya, Japan, and is comprised heavily of songs off of “Metal Heart”. For fans who have yet to see the band on stage but have been wanting to hear how “Living For Tonite” is carried out live, this is a great way to do so.

This is a really good remaster by Andy Pearce; the band’s war chants penetrate your ear drums harder than they ever did on the original release, with stronger sound clarity.
The 16 page booklet features liner notes from Metal Hammer and Classic Rock’s Malcolm Dome based on a new interview with Accept guitarist Wolf Hoffman.

With this excellent reissue of “Metal Heart”, Hear No Evil Records not only revisit the already great songs and make them even better with a much needed 21st century remastering, but also includes a rare Accept live album (Kaizoku-Ban) recorded back in the band’s prime. What more could a hard rock fan ask for?
HIGHLY Recommended

Metal Heart remastered:
01 – Metal Heart
02 – Midnight Mover
03 – Up To The Limit
04 – Wrong Is Right
05 – Screaming For A Love-Bite
06 – Too High To Get It Right
07 – Dogs On Leads
08 – Teach Us To Survive
09 – Living For Tonite
10 – Bound To Fail

Kaizoku-Ban remastered:
11 – Metal Heart (Live)
12 – Screaming For A Love-Bite (Live)
13 – Up To The Limit (Live)
14 – Head Over Heels (Live)
15 – Love Child (Live)
16 – Living For Tonite (Live)

Udo Dirkschneider – lead and harmony vocals
Wolf Hoffmann – lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals
Jörg Fischer – rhythm guitar, 8-string bass, backing vocals
Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals
Stefan Kaufmann – drums, percussion, backing vocals

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www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=8991420
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