Blind Rage (album)

Blind Rage is the 14th studio album by German heavy metal band Accept. It was released on 15 August 2014 on Nuclear Blast Records.[1] The album debuted at number one on the German albums chart.[2] This is Accept's last album with guitarist Herman Frank and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann, who both left the band in December 2014.[3][4]

Blind Rage
Studio album by Accept
Released	15 August 2014 (2014-08-15)
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	58:34
Label	Nuclear Blast
Producer	Andy Sneap
Accept chronology
Stalingrad (2012) Blind Rage (2014) Restless and Live (2017)
Singles from Blind Rage
"Stampede" Released: 11 July 2014

Background

The album's title and cover artwork were revealed in early April 2014. At the same time, it was announced that the album was due to be released on 18 July 2014.[5] However, this would later be pushed back to 15 August 2014.[1]

The band announced a touring schedule to promote the album. Four US dates were performed in mid-September 2014.[6] Following that, the band will tour Europe in September and October 2014.[7] Several Australian shows are also scheduled for November 2014.[6]

The album's lead single, "Stampede" was released on 11 July 2014. A video, directed by Greg Aronowitz, was also made for the song. It features the band performing at the Devil's Punchbowl in the California desert.[8][9] On 13 August 2014, a lyric video was released for "Final Journey".[6]

A guitar solo of Final Journey uses the theme of Morning Mood from Edvard Grieg (Peer Gynt, 1876).

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
Blabbermouth.net	8.5/10[11]
Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles	(9/10)[12]
Metalholic	[13]
All About The Rock	[14]

Gregory Heaney of Allmusic commented that the album was like a guard dog on a short leash; "restrained, but still dangerous, as if at any moment things could break bad and spin out of control."[10]

Ray Van Horn, Jr. of Blabbermouth.net gave a favorable review of the album. He cited it as proof that Accept are still "masters of their trade, no matter who holds the mike." Van Horn also opined that a couple songs on the album reference moments from earlier in the band's career, notably Balls to the Wall and Metal Heart.[11]

Mark Gromen of Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles reacted positively to the album. Gromen noted that the album compares more closely to Blood of the Nations than it does to Stalingrad.[12]

George Nisbet of All About The Rock said "Overall, it’s a solid, dynamic and incredibly vital album… the metal heart of Accept beats stronger with each new release"[14]

Blind Rage debuted at number one on the German charts, making it the band's first number one debut in their career.[15] The album also debuted at number one in Finland, and peaked at #35 on the Billboard 200, making it Accept's highest chart position in the United States.[16]

The album won a 2014 Metal Storm Award for Best Heavy Metal/Melodic Album.[17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Peter Baltes, Wolf Hoffmann and Mark Tornillo[18].

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Stampede"	5:14
2.	"Dying Breed"	5:21
3.	"Dark Side of My Heart"	4:37
4.	"Fall of the Empire"	5:45
5.	"Trail of Tears"	4:08
6.	"Wanna Be Free"	5:37
7.	"200 Years"	4:30
8.	"Bloodbath Mastermind"	5:59
9.	"From the Ashes We Rise"	5:43
10.	"The Curse"	6:28
11.	"Final Journey"	5:02
Total length:		58:34

Japanese edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Thrown to the Wolves"	3:51
Total length:		62:25

Limited edition digipak DVD (Accept - Stalingrad Tour - 12 April 2013, Teatro Caupolicán, Santiago, Chile)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Intro"
2.	"Hung, Drawn and Quartered"
3.	"Hellfire"
4.	"Restless and Wild"
5.	"Losers and Winners"
6.	"Stalingrad"
7.	"Breaker"
8.	"Bucket Full of Hate"
9.	"Monsterman"
10.	"Shadow Soldiers"
11.	"Amamos la Vida"
12.	"Guitar Solo Wolf"
13.	"Neon Nights"
14.	"Bulletproof"
15.	"Aiming High"
16.	"Princess of the Dawn"
17.	"Up to the Limit"
18.	"No Shelter"
19.	"Pandemic"
20.	"Fast as a Shark"
21.	"Metal Heart"
22.	"Teutonic Terror"
23.	"Balls to the Wall"

Personnel

All credits adapted from liner notes[18]

Band

• Mark Tornillo – lead vocals
• Wolf Hoffmann – guitar
• Herman Frank – guitar
• Peter Baltes – bass guitar
• Stefan Schwarzmann – drums

Production

• Produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Andy Sneap[1]
• Artwork and layout by Dan Goldsworthy

Charts

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19]	18
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20]	48
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21]	46
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[22]	11
French Albums (SNEP)[23]	48
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[24]	1
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25]	1
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[26]	2
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[27]	19
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[28]	39
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[29]	16
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30]	9

References

1. "ACCEPT's 'Blind Rage' Album Pushed Back To August; More Details Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
2. "Accept's 'Blind Rage' Tops German Chart". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
3. "Accept Parts Ways With Guitarist Herman Frank". Blabbermouth.net. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
4. "We Are Parting With Herman and Stefan as Friends!". Accept. 28 December 2014. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
5. "Accept to Release 'Blind Rage' in July; Cover Artwork Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
6. "Accept: "Final Journey" Lyric Video Released". bravewords.com. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
7. "Accept Announces 'Blind Rage 2014' European Headlining Tour". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
8. "Video Premiere: Accept's "Stampede"". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
9. Bowar, Chad (1 July 2014). "Accept Utilize Picturesque Scenery for New 'Stampede' Video". Loudwire.com. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
10. Heaney, Gregory (2014). "Accept: Blind Rage". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
11. Van Horn Jr., Ray. "Accept - "Blind Rage"". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
12. Gromen, Mark. "Accept: Blind Rage". Bravewords.com. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
13. http://metalholic.com/cd-review-accept-blind-rage/
14. Nisbet, George. "Accept - Blind Rage". All About The Rock. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
15. "ACCEPT's 'Blind Rage' Tops German Chart". Blabbermouth.net. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
16. "ACCEPT: More 'Blind Rage' First-Week Chart Positions". Blabbermouth.net. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
17. http://www.metalstorm.net/awards/archive.php?year=2014
18. Blind Rage Liner notes. Nuclear Blast Records. 2014. p. 14.
19. "Austriancharts.at – Accept – Blind Rage" (in German). Hung Medien.
20. "Ultratop.be – Accept – Blind Rage" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
21. "Ultratop.be – Accept – Blind Rage" (in French). Hung Medien.
22. "Danishcharts.dk – Accept – Blind Rage". Hung Medien.
23. "Lescharts.com – Accept – Blind Rage". Hung Medien.
24. "Accept: Blind Rage" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
25. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
26. "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – {{{year}}}. {{{week}}}. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ.
27. "Norwegiancharts.com – Accept – Blind Rage". Hung Medien.
28. "Spanishcharts.com – Accept – Blind Rage". Hung Medien.
29. "Swedishcharts.com – Accept – Blind Rage". Hung Medien.
30. "Swisscharts.com – Accept – Blind Rage". Hung Medien.