Customer Reviews

Balls To The Wall

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I can listen to any Accept CD and enjoy it. However, this album is heads above the rest of their work. "Balls To the Wall" gives it all to you; ripping-fast motivational rants like "Winners and Losers," melancholy "Cold Winter Nights," and Udo growling the song "London Leatherboys;" nobody can turn a raspy gutteral voice into great music the way Udo Dirkschneider can! And not a lot of mid 80s metal bands had the guts to pen a song like "Lovechild," about a guy coming to terms with his gay lifestyle.

There is a two CD set out there that includes this album along with "Restless and Wild." "Restless and Wild" is a really good album, and if you want a basic "best of" Accept collection, it's a good buy. If you are starting to get quite an ear for Accept and plan to get a thorough collection of their music, the extra concert tracks on this particular album are quality enough to shell out the extra dollars for this CD separate from "Restless & Wild."

If you haven't listened to this band before, this CD is the perfect introduction!

I remember in 1984 when I first heard the song "Balls to the Wall" on the radio. The song was by an intriguing German band I never heard of: Accept. Needless to say the song utterly blew me away! It sounded like AC/DC but way more sophisticated and with a vocalist that, while reminiscent of both of AC/DC's singers, was even MORE over-the-top, if you can believe that. Anyway, I immediately went out and purchased the album "Balls to the Wall."

After digesting it I concluded that, although "Balls" was indeed the best song on the recording, there were about four or five other songs of premium quality. As for the rest, they were decent; I certainly wouldn't call them 'filler,' like a lot of songs on just about every Iron Maiden release.

As for the lyrics, they were generally intelligent and covered a good spectrum -- politics on a social, sexual and global level, but some left me baffled like "Love Child" where singer Udo states: "Feeling the power of lust when the guy's passing by" and "Don't know what I am, a woman or a man." It helped later when I found out the lyrics were written by their female manager Gaby Hauke (i.e. "Deaffy").

Here's a run-down of the songs:

1.) BALLS TO THE WALL (5/5 Stars). This is nothing short of a masterpiece -- musically kick-a$$ and lyrically profound. It's a paean for the rights of the oppressed and a call to revolution.

2.) LONDON LEATHERBOYS (4/5 STARS). This one has riffs reminiscent of Judas Priest's "Killing Machine," but the song itself is arguably better. The lyrics detail the tragic story of a London bike gang.

3.) FIGHT IT BACK (3/5 Stars). This is a likable, aggressive number that addresses freedom from conventional social drudgery (e.g. 'punching in' and doing your time).

4.) HEAD OVER HEALS (5/5 Stars). Starts out with a lonely bass riff followed by a creative guitar accompaniment. This is one of the best songs on the album. The lyrics interestingly deal with going to a park late at night and stumbling upon people having sex (!), subsequently becoming entranced.

5.)LOSING MORE THAN YOU'VE EVER HAD (5/5 Stars). This song shows that Udo can do much more than scream in an irritating manner. The mature lyrics personally address the ex-boyfriend of an abused woman (as in 'give it up, you've lost her'). This song is emotionally potent and is one of the highlights of the CD.

6.)LOVE CHILD (3/5 Stars). Decent number about a charismatic dude that oozes sexuality and incites lust.

7.)TURN ME ON (3/5 Stars). This one has an infectious chorus and a smoking lead guitar solo; the subject matter is obvious.

8.) LOSERS AND WINNERS (2/5 Stars). I'm not a big fan of this ditty; the lyrics are inoffensive but dumb. Example: "Write a letter (What's the matter) You'll feel better (Write a letter)." Without a doubt the least of the numbers on the album.

9.) GUARDIAN OF THE NIGHT (4.5/5 Stars). Starts out with a nice acoustic piece and then gets ultra-heavy (for that era, at least). The lyrics deal with a night-loving misfit that is unable to fit into conventional society.

10.) WINTERDREAMS (5/5 Stars). This one begins with a moody, plodding bass followed by an acoustic guitar, leading to some power chords in the distant and UDO's great singing voice. The chorus is melodic and acoustic in nature. The lyrics deal with a person experiencing a beautiful and surreal moment of magic in the middle of a winter snowfall.

BONUS SONGS: Live versions of "Head Over Heals" and "Love Child" are included. These songs prove one thing: Accept are perfectly capable of recreating their songs in a live setting; in fact, both songs sound even better than their studio counterparts. Udo is nothing short of magnificent live!

As for the heavily criticized cover art/photo: I like it and think it's completely fitting to the themes covered on the disk. I say this with an unblemished record of staunch heterosexuality, I might add. Interestingly, Motley Crue's debut album "Too Fast for Love" had a very similar cover (albeit inferior) and was released about the same time.

The sleeve features the best close-up picture of the band ever taken. It's just a great picture (and, yes, I say that with an unmarred record of heterosexuality as well).

FINAL ANALYSIS: This 1984 metal recording is a mandatory purchase if just for the song "Balls to the Wall;" fortunately there's so much more. Needless to say, I refuse to even take calls from metal friends that don't have this in their listening arsenal.

Accept's fifth album Balls to the Wall is their most well-known album due to the popular title track whose music video played often on MTV in 1984; a time when MTV actually played music videos. While the title track is classic and there is a lot of other excellent metal power tracks on this album, I believe that their previous 1983 release, Restless and Wild, is Accept's best. Still, Balls is a solid 4 ½-star album. It is, lyrically, a harsher, more sexually-charged album than any of Accept's other releases. It is also perhaps their most controversial release with sexually ambiguous numbers likes "London Leatherboys" and, especially, "Love Child."

Germany's answer to Judas Priest begins this album with their most famous and one of their best tracks. "Balls to the Wall" kicks well what the title suggests or, in my case, something else entirely (I'm a metal chick). While I favor "Restless and Wild" as their best track, "Balls" is incredibly intense. "London Leatherboys" got some attention back in the day, especially coupled with the cover artwork and the band photo on the inner sleeve (in vinyl terms). The cover, of course, has a seductive (well, it depends on what you're into) look at a leather-clad man's hairy leg. The inner sleeve shows Udo in his customary military garb surrounded by his shirtless bandmates (I don't think very many people in the world wanted to see a shirtless Udo). Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann and drummer Stefan Kaufmann even have their arms linked. I'm not speculating on anything here, but hearing the German metal demons chanting "London Leatherboys" is a bit unnerving. Still, the song, musically, is good. Moving on, the rest of the tracks on side one are amazing. "Fight It Back" is a killer, blood-rushing track and, in this case, the lyrics enhance rather than distract: "Always been the prophets who make the world evolve. Always been the average breaking it down." "Head Over Heels" is a catchy song. The music doesn't follow the lyrics which are very sexually-driven about a man needing to peep at a couple getting hot and heavy in a dark alley. "Losing More Than You Ever Had" is a slower, more accessible track.

Unlike Restless and Wild, which is solid from first track to last, the first half of Balls is much better than the second. "Love Child" probably has the most peculiar lyrics: "Feeling the power of lust when the guy's passing by" and more directly "Don't know what I am a woman or a man." "Turn Me On" is just a straight up, raw shot to the groin ("I can't wait to get you down on the dirty floor"). "Losers and Winners" is another odd track. It is very harsh lyrically. It is about a man pining after a woman. Udo advises him to write her a letter expressing his feelings. It is a little comical hearing the German metal gods chanting "Write a letter!" Then the tables are turned: "You should give me the letter I'll use it for my own (haha)" and later "Why don't you take it easy and sc**w the girl who's next to you." Wow, rough stuff. While the music takes center stage on side one, the lyrics seem to overpower the music for most of the songs on side two. It ends with two interesting tracks, although they are not as memorable as the two epic tracks on Restless ("Neon Nights" and "Princess of the Dawn"). "Guardian of the Night" offers a beautiful guitar intro and is nice, especially the melody at the line "Can't you hear it always trembling in my voice." "Winterdreams" also has a nice guitar intro and offers a pleasant, calming mood. It is a slow track but with a more uplifting sound than other slow Accept numbers that are almost always dark. It is a nice way to end the metal brutality of Balls to the Wall. While many probably consider this the "must have" Accept record, I think that Restless and Wild is. Still, all fans of 1980s metal need Balls to the Wall, it is a solid #2 in the Accept discography.

This was one of the great metal albums of the 80s & now it sounds better than ever. What a great idea to remaster this! It sounds killer & the packaging is nice too. The two bonus tracks are from the live EP Kaizoiku Ban (?; pardon my spelling) & shows just how great a live band they were as well. Pity I never got to see them. Let's hope they do justice to Restless & Wild & Metal Heart as well with an updated remaster.

I got this album in 84 after hearing the song Balls To The Wall on the radio show Metal Shop (anyone remember that show?). I own over 1000 cds and this album has always been in my top 10! Udo's vocals are a bit rough and may not be for everybody, but I will take real emotion and good vocal melodies over some pretty boy singer anyday. Wolf's guitar work is biting and superb. His solos bring tears to my eyes, especially HEAD OVER HEELS. Wolf is up there with Michael Schenker as one of the best European guitarists ever. Stefan (drums) and Peter (bass) help give this album it's BALLS. I think we are all heavily influenced by the first album we hear from a band (sentimentality), but this album IS their BEST! Followed closely by Restless and Metal Heart. GOD BLESS YA!

This is by far the best Accept album as far as I'm concerned. Balls To The Wall and London Leather Boys are worth it alone. I got to see them live with the Scorpions in Madrid, Spain and they put on a great show.

The rest of the songs are pretty good too, but sometimes Udo's voice gets a little much with his screaming. However, that is a minor thing and not even worth knocking this review down a star.

This is great stuff and I highly recommend it.

This band was so good it's criminal they weren't bigger. I got to see them twice during their heyday and they were absolute killer! If you are going to play heavy metal, THIS is how it should be played. This band remains grossly underrated as is guitarist Wolf Hoffmann. They blow many of today's bands out of the water. A band like Motley Crue may have sold more records and had more popularity but musically they aren't in Accept's league. for me anyway. And I saw Motley Crue in their heyday.

This CD burns. Udo Dirkschneider's vocals may not be to everyone's liking but he's right for this band. When these guys played you knew they meant business, no half-stepping here! The guitar work is absolute killer. Accept's music should be required listening for all aspiring metalheads because this is how it should be done. BALLS TO THE WALL indeed!!
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It would be hard for me to name a favorite/best AccepT album, each one is differant but exetremely good. i have always thought it would be tied beetween this album and "metal heart" w/ "restless and wild" a little bit behind those two. but what can i say about "balls to the wall"? it's all-out heavy metal, not typical of 80's "metal" that was glam w/ songs about girls and love ballads, this is just devastating metal all the way. this band kind of sounds like a heavier version of the scorpions(guitars) meets ac/dc(vocals), and whats funny is that this is considered AccepTs first "polished" album (it sound a hell of a lot better then "restless and wild" did)and it still has that "raw" metal feel to it the whole way though. this was my first album from these guys, and i have to say its one of the best metal records(along with metal heart) period. the title track is instantly reconizable to any one (well, most of us anyway) with that opening riff, and it only gets better from there with "london leather boys" "fight it back" "head over heals" "love child" ect. udo is awesome, his voice could give any "legend" of metal (halford,dickenson,RJD) a run for their money. why is it that AccepT is always criminally denied the credit it deserves? i heard somewhere that these guys were supporting bands like dio and ac/dc back in the 80's and they blew them off the stage. overall "balls to the wall" will not dissapoint. great metal.

Before you play this album make sure you've got the volume way up high. The opening riff will sweep you to a higher level.

This album had everything going against it. The follow up to Restless & Wild, the seemingly worst cover artwork imaginable for a heavy metal album, subject matter to make some cliched people reject it outright and to top it all off a song title (London Leatherboys) that, coupled with the cover image would make any metal record exec marketer of the time want to jump off a high building.

But surprise, surprise it's now considered a metal classic. That is Accept. No compromise. Yes, at it's release it probably cost them some new fans but those that were already on board knew where the band were coming from.

'Turn Me On' has a guitar solo on it that is often overlooked but is probably as good as you will ever get with regards to a solo fitting into the overall style of a song. Tie that in with it's tremendous opening riff and you have a snapshot of what Accept is all about. Near on perfection.

Balls To The Wall(1983). Accept's fifth studio album.

The NWOBHM scene was a great time in heavy metal's history, as many bands were able to bring forth many influences which would later inspire future metal scenes like thrash and death. Judas Priest and Iron Maiden are the popular British bands that most people think of, but Germany also played a seminal role in shaping heavy metal's history. The two most noteworthy bands to come out of Germany at the time were the Scorpions, and Accept. Composed of Udo Dirkschnieder (vocals), Wolf Hoffman and Hermann Frank (lead guitars), Peter Baltes (bass), and Stefan Kaufmann (drums), Accept has actually been around since 1976. Though their third album Breaker(1981) gained them some international exposure, it wasn't until the fourth album Restless & Wild(1982) that Accept established themselves as a real heavy metal force to be reckoned with.

I had always heard of Accept over the years, though I didn't actually listen to their music until now. And after finally hearing this album, I kicked myself for not getting into them sooner! Accept rocks just as much as Judas Priest and Iron Maiden do, two of my favorite metal bands, and easily fits along side them despite their lack of popularity. They sport a sound that's a cross between Judas Priest, The Scorpions, and AC/DC. Udo's vocals are very unorthodox and aren't generally that great, but they do grow on you over time and fit well with the music. Wolf and Hermann serve up some EXCELLENT riffs on this album, and the guitar tone is damn perfect. All these elements come together to form a truly scorching metal band.

BTTW is considered Accept's masterpiece by most fans, though even it never actually propelled the band to major success. That's too bad because there are some excellent anthems on here that any real fan of heavy metal will enjoy. Thanks to the remastering treatment, you can now enjoy this classic album in full, crisp sound, along with the inclusion of a few bonus tracks. Onto the tracks:

The title track starts the album off with a BANG, kind of reminding me of the Scorpions' 'Rock You Like A Hurricane' in style. Very excellent start. Next comes the pounding rocker 'London Leatherboys' which brings to mind Priest's 'Killing Machine'. 'Fight It Back' picks the pace up a bit, serving as a blueprint for influencing thrash bands of the late 80s. 'Head Over Heels' is a slow heavy anthem with a killer baseline in the intro. My favorite track on the album is 'Losing More Than You've Ever Had', which combines a driving heavy style with a very melodic songstructure, and it works out very well. 'Love Child' is another great mid-paced rocker, though from here the album drops slightly in quality from the first half. The last 5 songs are still excellent, though not up to par with the first 6 tracks. 'Losers And Winners' is fastpaced and contains superb verses, subchoruses, and a great solo, but the actual chorus leaves much to be desired. 'Guardian Of The Night' is the opposite, being that now the chorus is the song's high point, but the verses seem like filler. The original album ends on a lighter note with the very melodic 'Winterdreams'. It's not a ballad per se, but rather an accoustic rocker. A very memorable song and one of the album highlights. Then you've got two bonus live tracks of 'Head Over Heels' and 'Love Child'. While both are good and show that Accept can play live, they aren't quite up to their studio counterparts.

Overall, BTTW is a fine heavy metal album and stands alongside the heralded classics of the genre. The only flaws with it are that the album slows down later on, and that the album cover is well... bad. But other than that, there's no reason for heavy metal enthusiasts not to own this high-quality masterpiece. It gets 4.5 stars easy. The next two albums Metal Heart(1985) and Russian Roulette(1986) took the band into a more melodic direction, but they were still just as good as the previous two. In fact, R&W, BTTW, MH, and RR are the four essential Accept albums, and fans can't go wrong with any of them. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Other similar albums by different bands:
-'Love At First Sting' by the Scorpions
-'British Steel' by Judas Priest
-'Killing Machine' by Judas Priest
-'Back In Black' by AC/DC