Customer Reviews

Eat the Heat

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In late 1988 Udo was "out" of Accept persuing a solo career with his new band U.D.O. (which was similar in style and musicianship to Accept) and "in" was American newcomer and powerful singer David Reece.

Udo definetly was an identifiable voice and a steadfast icon when you think of Accept, but Reece on this album showed a very clean, crisp, and downright powerful voice at times emulating such renowned metal screamers as Rob Halford or Manowar's Eric Adams. Different though, was that Reece had an image/style that was borderline "hair-metalish" which some people welcomed (he could have just as well fit into a Motley Crue or similar type of band at the time as singer), while more traditional Accept fans didn't like the new singers stlye, despite his more than adequate voice. More suprising than the fresh and welcome change in the vocal department was also a new rhythm guitarist Jim Stacey, who actually played nothing on this release but was the new touring rhythm guitar player. From what I have heard, he wasn't all too great live and he was by far no Jorg Fischer or Hermm Frank.

The album overall I would say is very good and with some songs you will get a sense of commerical vibe with a dileberate intent I would say to try a new change and maybe keep in tandem with some of the other heavy rock/hair metal acts "happening" at the time, but you WILL know this is trademark Wolf Hoffmann and Stefan Kaufmann behind thier respective instruments. The first and second tracks are excellent (the 2nd track you will sense the commerical sound, as if you could have envisioned it on the radio in 1989, but it still rocks really hard). I think the stand-out tracks by far are track 5 (D-Train) which is totally killer all-around, and track 10 (Hell Hammer) which showcases how truly powerful and crisp Reece was behind he microphone.

The rest of the tracks are okay but nothing to get into a tizzy over, some of the other song titles have a "prince" vibe to them but they are still quality metal tracks. For the tracks Ive listed above, this album on those merits alone is worth a buy especially for many of those fans out there who might have really appreciated some of the better hair metal with much beefier songs that say what Poison or Faster Pussycat was doing during that time, but may have not been exposed to this release or that of David Reece.

Overall I would say this is a pretty darn good album. It is no "Restless And Wild" or "Balls To The Wall", but it is better than even some of the stuff they released with UDO in the late 90s. However, this was the sole release with David Reece. The tour with WASP and Metal Church wasn't drawing too well and internal problems within the band led to Reece being dismissed at the beginning of the 90's and Accept going on a few years hiatus.
A few years later David Reece was rumored to have turned down an offer to join Judas Priest for the main reason of not wanting to go into another band as "a replacement singer" again -- traditional metal fans especially those who loved the "metal screamers" would more than likely I'd think appreciate Reece's work on this LP.

4 out of 5 for this album

MOST OF MY HEAVY METAL FAN COUNTERPARTS ARE SURPRISED TO LEARN HOW FAR BACK ACCEPT GOES, HAVING BEEN FORMED IN 1973 BY A BARELY 5 FOOT TALL TROLL OF A MAN NAMED UDO DIRKSCHNEIDER, THE BAND WAS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE DAWN OF THE BELOVED MUSIC THAT WAS TO BECOME KNOWN AS HEAVYMETAL THAT WAS BLOWTORCHING IT'S WAY ACROSS EUROPE AND GERMANY IN THE MID AND LATE 70'S.

THE FIRST SELF TITLED ACCEPT ALBUM WOULD BE RELEASED IN 1979 BY THESE THEN YOUNG LATE TEEN AGED CHAPS, AND TO PLAY IT BACK TODAY ON CD YOU WON'T BELIEVE THE CREATIVITY AND ROOTS OF THE LATER FORM OF THE MUSIC THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY BECOME BASTARDIZED BEYOND RECOGNITION THAT WERE LAYED ON THEIR FIRST 4 ALBUMS.

OF COURSE AS WE ALL REMEMBER AS TRUE METAL FANS TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT,1984'S "BALLS TO THE WALL" WAS THE ALBUM THAT TOOK THE BAND TO ESPECIALLY AMERICAN SUPERSTARDOME WHICH PLAYS INTO WHAT YOU WILL READ AT THE END OF THIS REVIEW. THE BAND ENJOYED MONUMENTAL SUCCESS AND UNFORTUNATELY FOR 80'S METAL FANS, YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THE NEXT ALBUM OF YOUR FAVORITE BAND, THE WORD "CROSSOVER".

AFTER THE SUCCESS OF "BALLS TO THE WALL", RECORD COMPANY PRESSURE WOULD BE APPARENT ON THE BAND'S NEXT OFFERING "METAL HEART" IN 1985,THE SAME WOULD THEN RING TRUE FOR "RUSSIAN ROULETTE" IN 1986 AS THE BAND'S FOUNDING MEMBER UDO WOULD THEN DEPART CITING A LACK OF THE BAND'S ORIGINAL ROOTS AND HEAVYNESS AS HIS REASON FOR LEAVING.

WHICH THEN BRINGS YOU TO 1989'S "EAT THE HEAT". WELL DON'T BE TOTALLY FOOLED BY THE FIRST PART OF MY REVIEW, THE BAND NOW MARCHING ON WITH AMERICAN SINGER DAVID REECE,AS IT TURNS OUT IS NOT ALL THAT BAD THOUGH NOTHING GROUNDBREAKING.UNDERSTANDING THE HISTORY OF THE BAND IS IMPORTANT BEFORE LISTENING TO "EAT THE HEAT", DO NOT EXPECT WHAT YOU GOT FROM "BALLS TO THE WALL" AND YOU'LL BE FINE, REMEMBER IT IS NOW 1989,AND THE STANDARD FORMULA FOR A SUCCESSFULL HAIR METAL BAND IS APPARENT ON THIS OFFERING AT THIS POINT IN THE MUSIC'S HISTORY.

LONG STORY SHORT DAVID REECE DOES A BANG UP JOB FOR THE MUSIC AT THIS POINT IN TIME,THE CD HAS 2 VERY HARDROCKERS, "D TRAIN" AND "HELLHAMMER" WHICH MAKE THE CD WORTH THE PRICE OF OWNING IT,"D TRAIN" IS THE HAIR ON FIRE TRACK ON THE ALBUM, OUTSIDE OF "HELLHAMMER" THE REST IS STANDARD 80'S HARD ROCK BUT HEY,IF YOU'VE BEEN SUFFERING THROUGH WHAT HAS BEEN BEING PAST AS ROCK AND ROLL OVER THE LAST 2 DECADES I RECOMMEND THIS CD FOR THAT PURPOSE ALONE.

IF YOU MISS GOOD 80'S HEAVYMETAL AND HARD ROCK PICK THIS ONE UP, GOD KNOWS IT'S BETTER THAN THE "ALTERNATIVE".

Despite the departure of Udo Dirkschneider and his successor, the unknown David Reece, Accept turned in a solid performance on Eat The Heat. Although this album is definitely more commercial than any of its predecessors, tracks such as "Hellhammer," "X-T-C," and "Prisoner" still have that signature Hoffmann guitarwork and Accept "bite." Yes, Accept was more than merely Udo - steadfasts Peter, Wolf, and Steffan were all present for this recording. If you call yourself an Accept fan and don't own this album yet, I suggest acquiring it while you still can. Reece's vocals are obviously different from Dirkschneider's, but while listening to it I don't confuse it with another band other than Accept. And for all you die-hard Udo fans, you can hear his vocals in the background of "Turn The Wheel Around."

This album often gets knocked by Accept fans but it is actually pretty good. David Reece has a decent rock voice and most of the songs have catchy riffs and good lead guitar from the one and only Wolf Hoffman. The album kicks off with the classic de-tuned X-T-C, which was actually covered by UDO for an Accept tribute album. The next three songs, Prisoner (good melody and verse), Love Sensation (good chorus), and Chain Reaction (cool verse w/ guitar), are all good catchy songs! After that is D-train which ain't bad but not one of my favs. The next song, Generation Clash, was chosen as the video for the album. The lyrics are a bit silly but I like the bass riff and Wolf's solo is great. Turn the Wheel is probably my least favorite song on the album. The chorus just does not do it for me. The next three songs, Mistreated (decent ballad, a bit long), Stand 4 What You R (positive message), and Hellhammer (great verse and vocals), close out the album well. Eat The Heat may have been Accept's shot at more commercial success but it is not a sellout by any means. Give it a listen, you may be surprised.

I Thought It Was Great! If Your A Real Rocker & Not A Poser You'll Love This CD I Love This Band They Will Always Rock!There By Far Better Then The New Stuff Thats Out There Today......

I can not believe all the positive reviews this cd has!!! It is terrible! Even if you can get past the fact that udo is not there, it just plain sucks. The singer is very poor with no range. The songs are very weak with no exciting choruses or melody. The lyrics are stupid, just don't buy it!

This album is by far the worst Accept album ever. Some of the songs (in particular, 4, 7, 10, & 6) are very good, but others (notably 3, 2, 8, 9, & 11) simply don't sound like Accept. I also completely and utterly disagree with some of the others reviews about Udo, he is a far better singer than David Reece. Reece isn't a bad singer (he sounds similar to Axl Rose,) but Udo is _far_ better (especially for this kind of music.) I'd say that this album is worth having if you like the band, but don't expect too much because you'll be disappointed if you do.

THis is Accept turned radio friendly. I don't miss Udo here (as a matter of fact, it's clear that the band could have reached much higher if they had a real singer in front of the stage, not just a guy screaming and growling all the time..) The new singer is good, but the songs are a pitful attempt to go commercial..

another great cd from germany's accept.this release was perfect for 1989,atad bit more melodic,but also more intense,and slightly more mature.also with a new singer david reese.highlights are hell hammer,and stand for what you are.wolf hoffmanns playing here is top form he was in his prime at this time.1 year after this peter baltes did a cd with don dokken.4 years after this accept re-hired udo.also some great cd's from around this time;europe out of this world,don dokken upfrom the ashes,steve morse power lines,and yngwie malmsteen live in leningrad.

The year is 1989. Udo Dirkschneider is gone, so Accpet feel free to "accept" the dubious good advises from their managers / record company executives / whoever, and they go for an all-out assault to "make America", destroying their established raw sound for a pedestrian, lifeless, stupid hair-metal sound typical of middle-eighties... What a shame.. Udo's replacement, David Reece, no doubt has a powerful set of lungs, but he delivers the songs in an unoriginal way, similar to all of the hair metal bands of the eighties.

EAT THE HEAT is a very bad album, don't be fooled by the others reviews. Of course, Wolf Hoffmann and the rest of the guys are extremely talented heavy rockers, but the trouble here is the lack of soul in the record: it is clearly a commercial metal product from that period, with all the obligatory love ballads, love lyrics, reverbered drums, etc. When you compare it with their previous classics, even with RUSSIAN ROULETTE, you will want to cry. Skip it.