Accept

Punters worldwide are waiting with bated breath for this new Accept disc, the band's comeback after 14 years of not releasing any new material. It's the lack of gravel-voiced Udo Dirkschneider behind the mic that has most longhairs cocking an eyebrow, but Mark Tornillo (ex-TT Quick, for what little that's worth) actually has some, uh, balls in his delivery, as songs like fully kick-ass opener "Beat the Bastards Down" and new band anthem/unintended Saxon homage "Teutonic Terror" prove. "New World Comin'" is a particularly solid representation of the Accept sound, all melodies and fist-pumping choruses. Like any Accept album crafted since the mid-'90s or so, this album is too long (and placing the seven-minute ode to forgettable songwriting, "The Abyss," third was a bad call), but there are so many excellent traditional metal riffs and well-crafted songs that all is forgiven. And the lack of Udo, amazingly, doesn't make that much of a difference. Go figure.