WOLF HOFFMANN Explains ACCEPT Band Name, Argues It's Not As 'Dumb' As DEF LEPPARD

December 10, 2020

ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann spoke to RJ Bayley of Metal Empire about the origin of the band's unusual name. He said (hear audio below): "It actually existed before I joined the band, believe it or not. The guys had already performed under that name locally a couple of times. It was basically a neighborhood band, and they had that name. I was never completely happy with it, but, of course, it stuck and we kept it over the years. I think if came off an album, or I know it did — there was an album by a [blues] band called CHICKEN SHACK, believe it or not. And they had an album [in 1970] called 'Accept'. And I always thought, 'How bizarre? How odd? Why would you name a metal band after an album by CHICKEN [SHACK]?' But they did it, and it was already a done deal, and we kept it all these years. But it's still a bit of an odd mystery, the whole thing."

Asked what the ACCEPT name means to him personally, Wolf said: "Nothing, really. It's just a name. I never thought it was a metal name. I mean, fans tell me they love the name; they think it's great. But I always thought, ACCEPT, the meaning of it is really not very metal, is it? … The name was already there when I joined the band, and we kept it for all these years. And after a while, you keep forgetting about it, what it actually means, because you're so used to it. But I never thought it was a brilliant band name or anything. I thought other bands had much cooler names, like BLACK SABBATH, for instance, or JUDAS PRIEST — that's totally metal. On the other hand, there's some dumb band names, like DEF LEPPARD; I never thought that was very cool… That's an odd one. I'm sure there's examples in both ways, and we fall somewhere in the middle, I think."

Hoffmann is the sole remaining original member of ACCEPT, which he formed in 1976 in the town of Solingen, Germany with singer Udo Dirkschneider and bassist Peter Baltes.

ACCEPT's new studio album, "Too Mean To Die", will be released on January 15, 2021 via Nuclear Blast. The LP will be the group's first without bassist Peter Baltes, who exited ACCEPT in November 2018. He has since been replaced by Martin Motnik. ACCEPT's lineup has also been expanded with the addition of a third guitarist, Philip Shouse, who originally filled in for Uwe Lulis during last year's "Symphonic Terror" tour, before being asked to join the band permanently.

"Too Mean To Die" was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with British producer Andy Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, MEGADETH),who has been responsible for the magnificent studio sound of ACCEPT since 2010.

ACCEPT's last album, 2017's "The Rise Of Chaos", marked the band's first release with guitarist Uwe Lulis and drummer Christopher Williams, replacing Herman Frank and Stefan Schwarzmann, respectively.

ACCEPT's latest release was "Symphonic Terror - Live At Wacken 2017", featuring the band's performance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany.

Find more on Accept
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).