Accept - London Review

Whilst I am currently feeling pretty tired as I write this, it is great to be back in the groove when it comes to gigs - and I am currently in the middle of a busy period of weekends away. Yesterday I travelled back from London following another excellent night in the capital - and last week I was away in Birmingham for a rare show from Anette Olzon. I will be heading back to London next weekend, too, to catch both Geoff Tate and Bon Jovi. I am quite glad to have a couple of days off now due to the bank holiday here in the UK - but my latest trip to London was definitely worth it. I enjoy pretty much all of the gigs that I go to, but sometimes a gig hits a bit harder than I was expecting it to - and this is what happened when I saw Accept live on Friday. I have been an Accept fan for years, but I would never consider the band to be one of my all-time favourites. Their meat and potatoes brand of German heavy metal has always been pleasing, but it has never really flown all that high for me - despite the fact that whenever I put on an Accept album I am pretty sure to have a good time. That the band have been pretty rare visitors to the UK over the years has not helped to grow my fandom, too. Before Friday's gig, I had seen them live once before - and that was opening for Sabaton back in 2017. Accept have been to the UK since, as they played at the 2024 iteration of Steelhouse Festival and a one-off London show in 2018 - but that 2017 tour with Sabaton was their last real run of shows in the UK. I am not sure why Accept do not always come to the UK when they tour. Perhaps the venues that they can play here are smaller than they can elsewhere and they view it as a bit of a waste of time - but not having many opportunities to see Accept live has certainly helped to keep them at arms length to some extent. I did see their former frontman Udo Dirkschneider playing the whole of 1983's Balls to the Wall last year opening for Saxon - but Dirkschneider has similarly not been a regular visitor to the UK of late, either. As such, when it was announced earlier this year that Accept would be playing a couple of headline shows here in the UK, in the run-up to their appearance at Stonedead Festival, I knew that I had to make the effort. Of the two shows in Wolverhampton and London, the latter made the most sense as it tied into the bank holiday. As much as I love going to shows at KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton, in retrospect it seems that going to London was the better option - as the Wolverhampton show started much later than planned due to the venue's roof leaking, whilst those queuing up outside were left in the rain with very little communication as to what was going on. The London show was at a new venue for me, too: Indigo at the O2. I had been to the O2 Arena itself a number of times, but I had never been into the much smaller Indigo inside the complex before. I did not really know what to expect, but the venue really impressed. It was laid out really well, and it felt like the a typical O2 Academy but a few levels higher. I would certainly like to see more bands there, but the venue seems quite underused, at least in terms of hard rock and metal in any case. The complex was really busy, though, as Ariana Grande was playing at the O2 Arena - so it was quite funny to see the occasional metalhead walking up to the venue in the sea of younger girls. Thankfully, too, Grande's concert finished before Accept's, which meant that the bulk of the big crowd had left before I did - meaning that getting back to the tube was less hassle than it otherwise could have been.

There was a pretty decent crowd in attendance throughout the night - although I am sure the venue could have held a few more. It was nice to be able to walk around fairly easily, though, and the balcony looked pretty full from what I could see. There was a strong atmosphere in the room, though, and this positive vibe was kickstarted by a strong set from openers Tailgunner. I think that it is fair to say that 2026 has been a mixed year for Tailgunner. It started well, with the release of Midnight Blitz (which I reviewed here), but the last few months have been mired by sexual assault allegations against bassist and apparent bandleader Thomas Hewson - which led to the departure of popular guitarist Rhea Thompson, who was front and centre of most band photos and seemed to be treated as something of a talisman, over how the situation was handled and in solidarity with the accuser. I get the impression that there are more storms to navigate, as a few days ago more information about the alleged incidents were released by the accuser, but Tailgunner seem to be trying to carry on as normal - with Hewson now back on stage after something of a hiatus and Vinnie Minotto (guitar) in place of Thompson. I have to say, the allegations have soured my view of Tailgunner somewhat - but I went to the show with an open mind and still ended up having a good time. I saw them live twice in 2024, but this was my first time seeing them since - and it was great to hear half of Midnight Blitz, alongside three numbers from their first album. The new album's title track kicked things off, and the band's high-energy, 45 minutes set carried on at pace from that point onwards. Frontman Craig Cairns is likely the best thing about Tailgunner really, with his high-pitched vocal delivery and strong stage presence, but the high-octane guitar duo of Minotto and Zach Salvini impressed as one would expect - with Minotto slotting into the band nicely. Plentiful riffs and shredded solos packed out the set - with White Death keeping up the pace from the opening number nicely, before Shadows of War allowed for a more anthemic and mid-paced feel. Whilst Accept's live sound later was excellent, Tailgunner's was a little muffled. I have certainly heard worse, but at times the band just sounded quite quiet - but the vocals and the lead guitars were generally audible. There were clearly a few Tailgunner fans in attendance, as some around me were singing along, but I did feel as if the crowd could have reacted a bit better to the band's set. The atmosphere was generally good, and Tailgunner got more love as the set went on, but given the reputation the band have gained as a live act I did perhaps expect better from the crowd. The band worked for it, though, with the epic Tears in Rain and the lengthier Barren Lands & Seas of Red showcasing some of the best moments from the latest album - with riffs and solos flying back and forth. There was something of a sing-a-long conjured up during a stretched-out set-closing rendition of Guns for Hire, though, and by this time I think most in the crowd were onside - with the song bringing Tailgunner's 45 minutes to a powerful close. The setlist was:

Midnight Blitz

White Death

Shadows of War

Tears in Rain
War in Heaven

Barren Lands & Seas of Red

Eulogy

Guns for Hire

Around 30 minutes later, with a pretty big stage show for a relatively small venue that featured a huge Accept logo drum riser and walls of amplifiers, the lights went down again and the five musicians that currently make up Accept took to the stage. Only guitarist Wolf Hoffmann remains from the band's early days, but the current Accept line-up is a tight unit - well-placed to bring the band's classic heavy metal anthems to life. Frontman Mark Tornillo has been in situ since 2009, too, so is long entrenched at this point, and he impressed from the off - with the slight pop metal sheen of Metal Heart kicking things off. The band's current tour celebrates the band's 50th birthday, so the setlist was very much a greatest hits affair. In general, setlists in the band's recent history have featured a lot of newer material alongside older classics - but this tour has seen the band largely return to the 1980s for inspiration. Two songs from the Tornillo era remain in the set, with the fan-favourite Teutonic Terror coming early on, but everything else played was released between 1981 and 1986 - with a great selection of true classics and deeper album cuts. As mentioned earlier, the sound was excellent. Hoffmann's distinctive guitar tone really cut through the venue, whilst the drumming of Christopher Williams was powerful and snappy - driving everything forward. Tornillo was well-placed in the mix, too, his Brian Johnson-esque rasp ever-present - really doing justice to the older songs. As if to draw the crowd in from the off, plenty of big-hitters were thrown out early on. The main riff for Restless and Wild was soon filling the room - before Martin Motnik (bass guitar/vocals) soon laid down the iconic bass intro for London Leatherboys. Despite being a bit on the quieter side during Tailgunner's set, the crowd really got into Accept quickly. All of the shout-along choruses were lapped up by the crowd, and the band seemed to be having a lot of fun on stage. I was surprised how many solos Hoffmann afforded to fellow guitarist Philip Shouse. I do not remember previous Accept guitarists getting so many soloing opportunities - but the shreddier approach of Shouse was a nice contrast to the precise, classically-inspired Hoffmann. Quite a few of the songs featured guitar trade-offs - and Shouse also held down many of the set's biggest numbers with his riffing. Clearly in an effort to squeeze as many numbers into the set as possible, a couple of medleys were included. Medleys can sometimes fall a bit flat, but Accept's were well-constructed - with the first of the two built around Monster Man, the only inclusion from 1986's Russian Roulette. There was little messing around, too. Tornillo briefly spoke to the crowd a few times, but generally the set was just one song after another, with classics such as Breaker and an elongated Princess of the Dawn sitting nicely alongside deeper album cuts like Love Child and Up to the Limit during the second half of the set. The band did stretch out as a bit as things went on. Princess of the Dawn included some crowd participation, whilst the second medley, which finished with the harder rock of Flash Rockin' Man saw four snippets played in tandem. The night truly flashed by, too, and soon it was time for Pandemic to draw the main set to a close - with plenty of closing soloing from Hoffmann and Shouse. The band's time off the stage was brief, though, and soon they were back for the proto-thrash of Fast of a Shark - before the shout-along Son of a Bitch was also wheeled out. It was clear that there was only one song the crowd wanted to hear by this point, though, and soon the huge riff to Balls to the Wall was filling the room - with more, very loud, crowd participation taking place later on. There was still time for one more, though, and the boogie rock of Burning ended up being a surprise closer - with the song having not featured on this tour so far. The song just never seemed to end, with soloing following soloing - and the band having an absolute blast. It was a great end to a great night - and 50 years deep Accept remain a force to be reckoned with. The setlist was:

Metal Heart

Teutonic Terror

Restless and Wild

London Leatherboys

Midnight Mover

Run If You Can

Monster Man/Aiming High/Wrong Is Right

Love Child

Fight It Back

Up to the Limit

Breaker

Princess of the Dawn

Demon's Night/Starlight/Losers and Winners/Flash Rockin' Man

Pandemic

-

Fast as a Shark

Son of a Bitch

Balls to the Wall

Burning

I expected to enjoy Accept on Friday in London, but the show was a lot better than I expected it to be. The band sounded so tight and powerful, and Tornillo is a great frontman who does justice to the classic material whilst being his own man. I remember enjoying the band back in 2017, but this show was head and shoulders above it - and it was great to finally see Accept as a headline act. It was just an excellent night all round, too, with a good support act - so hopefully Accept will not leave it so long next time.