Accept at Skogsröjet
Accept still has a beating metal heart. Joel Hoekstra’s final gig with the band was a masterclass in how it should be done.
Accept at the Skogsröjet festival in Rejmyre, Sweden on 3rd August 2024
Accept’s headline show at the Skogsröjet festival in Sweden was the final gig of the band’s European summer tour. It was also its final gig with the terrific guitarist Joel Hoekstra. The show was as good as I had hoped. Accept knows how to deliver. The band mixes the old classics with strong new material and bulldozes the audience with its trademark German heavy metal.
This classic German heavy metal band has changed a lot of members over the years and now has a multi-national line-up of musicians. Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann has been the driving force of Accept since 1976. He is joined in the current version of the band by vocalist Mark Tornillo, guitarist Uwe Lulis, bassist Martin Motnik, drummer Christopher Williams and guitarist Philip Shouse (who was sitting out the summer tour and temporarily replaced by Joel Hoekstra).
Hoekstra, best known as guitarist for Whitesnake, has been filling in as a touring guitarist for Accept’s South American and European tours this year. It was an unexpected choice of guitarist when it was announced. I did not doubt his excellence as a guitarist. But I didn’t see him as a natural fit for Accept’s style of music. This late evening in a forest in the Swedish countryside, Joel blew away any doubts. He brought his skills and claimed his place in the Accept guitar line-up. He was not only a great fill-in guitarist. He brought some of his magic to Accept’s show making it even better. The move paid off big time. As a result, they probably got a few Whitesnake fans to become Accept fans too.
The band has kept its trademark German heavy metal sound throughout its career. The music on its more recent albums is built upon the classic sound created in the late 70s and early 80s. Accept opened the show in Rejmyre with “The Reckoning” and “Humanoid”, two songs from the band’s most recent album, “Humanoid”. It is a sign of strength for a veteran band to open a show with new songs rather than some old classics. The set also included other excellent newer songs such as “Straight Up Jack”, “Dying Breed”, “Teutonic Terror” and “Pandemic”. This isn’t a band just touring the back catalogue. This is a band that is still performing on a world-class level and one that creates excellent new music.
Yes, the old-school fans got what they craved when the band performed old classics such as “Restless and Wild”, “Midnight Mover”, “Princess of the Dawn”, “Fast as a Shark”, “Metal Heart” and “Balls to the Wall”. The balance between old and new makes Accept still relevant in 2024. What a great heavy metal band this is. They are a perfect headliner for a heavy metal festival like Skogsröjet. Long may they keep touring and entertain us.
https://www.acceptworldwide.com
