Accept celebrated five decades of heavy metal with the new album «Teutonic Titans 1976–2026», but guitarist Wolf Hoffmann says the celebration could have included some familiar faces from the band’s past.
On «The David Ellefson Show», hosted by the former Megadeth bassist, Hoffmann revealed that Accept invited their former musicians to take part in the anniversary project and that in the end nobody accepted. He even confirmed that among those asked was Udo Dirkschneider, the group’s well-known former singer.
«We invited every one of the former guys, from the original members, to be part of this. But nobody wanted to have anything to do with it, which I find quite sad,» he said, according to Blabbermouth’s transcription. He added that once someone leaves the band you rarely see them again, since they don’t even answer emails, and that regardless of any disagreements he would prefer it if they could stay friends.
In the end no former member made it onto the recording, but the record has 50 guests across 19 reworked versions of songs from throughout the band’s career, from «I’m A Rebel» (1980) to «Eat The Heat» (1989), always with Hoffmann’s guitar and the vocals of current singer Mark Tornillo. It was released on September 4, 2026 by Napalm Records.
The album’s guests
Tobias Forge takes on «Save Us» (I’m a Rebel, 1980) with Ray Luzier on drums, Phil Anselmo, Kirk Hammett and Mikkey Dee play «Fast As A Shark» from «Restless and Wild» (1982), «Balls to the Wall» features the voice of Rob Halford and the guitar of Matthias Jabs, while «Love Child» is backed by Billy Corgan and David Ellefson. The lineup also includes K. K. Downing, Bobby Blitz, Hansi Kürsch, Chris Jericho, Ralf Scheepers, Billy Sheehan, Ola Englund and Jeff Loomis. «Hellhammer» (Eat the Heat, 1989) was re-recorded by the current lineup — Hoffmann, Martin Motnik, Philip Shouse and Christopher Williams — with Jason McMaster on vocals.
Hoffmann had said of the record that there’s no better way to celebrate 50 years than to gather friends, colleagues and influences around classic Accept songs.
See also: ACCEPT: 50 years of heavy metal with 50 guests on Teutonic Titans 1976-2026 and Accept: The story of the German heavy metal band
Source: https://blabbermouth.net/news/wolf-hoffmann-says-its-sad-no-former-accept-members-wanted-to-have-anything-to-do-with-50th-anniversary-album
