Published on Oct 30, 2003
Back in 1985, it seemed like the right thing to do. German
metallers Accept were riding the tallest wave of their popularity
thanks to albums like
Balls To The Wall and
Metal Heart, so why not capitalize on that popularity by
releasing a live EP?
Why, indeed.
Kaizoku-Ban, the first live effort from Udo Dirkschneider
and company (and their seventh release overall) does seem like the
logical place for a group to put out a live disc. But the EP
concept turns out to be the downfall for Accept, as it captures
very little of the intensity of the music and cuts out a good
portion of the catalog. In effect, Accept shoots themselves in the
foot.
Granted, this was Accept’s first time in Japan, as Dirkschneider
points out on stage. (Would it be safe to guess, then, that Accept
was probably opening for someone else at the time? I can’t find
anything on the Web which backs this up.) But despite their
dedication of this album to “the wildest fans in the world,” often
it doesn’t sound like the Japanese crowd quite knows what they
should be doing in terns of cheers. Part of this is most likely due
to the language barrier – exacerbated by Dirkschneider’s heavy
Teutonic accent.
Musically,
Kaizoku-Ban has a few strong moments, but in the end
disappoints the listener. Knowing they had a nice sized catalog to
draw songs from, one has to wonder why only these six songs were
selected. Sure, it starts out strong with “Metal Heart” and
“Screaming For A Love Bite,” but that represents the best material
on this one. “Up To The Limit” and “Living For Tonite” just fall
flat, not really carrying much energy or passion with them, while
“Love Child” fails to live up to hit-single expectations. (For that
matter, “Love Child” hasn’t really aged that well, while other
songs still sound fresh.) Don’t even get me started on the one-note
bass solo which kicks off “Head Over Heels”.
So, one has to wonder, what could have made
Kaizoku-Ban better? Let’s make the assumption that this
doesn’t represent their complete set that night. Why not substitute
“Balls To The Wall” for “Up To The Limit”? “Fast As A Shark” for
“Love Child”? “Midnight Mover” for “Living For Tonite”? Better yet,
why not include all of these songs and turn this into a full
album?
Kaizoku-Ban is short on time, but unfortunately for Accept,
it’s also short on passion, and remains one that’s strictly for the
fans.