Customer Reviews

Russian Roulette

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I have read a lot of mixed reviews of this album, people either love it or hate it. Well the same goes for most of the Accept catalogue, due to the singing style of Udo Dirkschneider who sings like no other. You either love his voice or hate it.
I love it. He has the wildest, wickedest screaming vocal style you will ever hear, that just blows you away.
I must disagree with several other reviewers who claim his voice does not match the musical style of the band, because I think it matches perfectly. Accept have never been a commercial metal band, they tried that once with a different singer and it failed. Accept, like Udo's voice is hard, powerful and aggressive, and "Russian Roulette" is no commercial metal album. It rips into top gear right from the opening track "T.V. War", and keeps the throttle open through "Monsterman". The following title track is one of my all time Accept favourites, with Udo mixing subtle vocals with his familiar banshee screaming, gang vocals, and killer guitar riffs. As another reviewer said - this album is worth getting for this song alone, but there's more...
"It's Hard To Find A way" is Udo sounding softer and is the mellowest track on the album, with a similar sound to "Winter Dreams" from their "Balls To The Wall" album.
"Aiming High" is another great Accept rocker, and the following track "Heaven Is Hell" is a classic. It is the longest track on the album and I love it; again the subtlety and the screaming, the gang vocals - it's great. Gang vocals again feature on "Walking In The Shadow", Udo screams as well as ever on "Another Second To Be" and "Man Enough To Cry", and "Stand Tight" is a great album closer sounding somewhat anthemic.
I think this album has been underrated over the years and definitely rates up there with their best work.
It is a classic 80's metal album, and unfortunately although there were some bright sparks to come in the 90's, Accept never again released an album with the consistent quality of "Russian Roulette".

Well I guess I should pay my respect to this
awesome album, I own it both on vinyl and CD
and it was my first Accept album, it quickly became
my favourite. So today I returned to it after maybe
5 years and I have to say that it still holds up.
And I just love the gang backing vocals it just sounds great.
So I rate it pretty high maybe nr 1...hm well I don't know.. it's one of their finest, in my mind anyway!!

Accept was a German metal band that sounded like a cross between Judas Priest and AC/DC with a troll as lead singer who sounded like an over-the-top mesh of Bon Scott and Brian Johnson.

Accept released ten studio albums during their career; most cite "Restless & Wild" (1983) and "Balls to the Wall" (1984) as their best recordings. This is true but I feel 1986's "Russian Roulette" stands on a par with these two earlier releases.

Here's a run down of the songs on "Russian Roulette:"

1.) T.V. WAR (3/5 Stars): This is an energetic and fun metal rocker reminiscent of "Fast as a Shark" but not quite as good.

2.) MONSTERMAN (5/5 Stars): "Monsterman" is brief at a mere 3:24, but it's catchy as heck. The bridge is melodically potent and the chorus is uniquely inspired. You'll never hear anything else like it. Who knows what the lyrics are about, who cares?

3.) RUSSIAN ROULETTE (4/5 Stars): This titular song eerily starts off with a militaristic drone and riff before kicking into a mid-paced slice of 80's non-hair-band metal. In light of the chorus lyrics, one wonders why they didn't call the song "Wargames."

4.) IT'S HARD TO FIND A WAY (4.5/5 Stars): This is a catchy pop rocker with an incredibly hook-laden chorus. It should have been a hit on the radio. Some cried "Sell out!" but, come on, it's just ONE song.

5.) AIMING HIGH (3/5 Stars): This isn't a bad piece of filler between the better songs.

6.) HEAVEN IS HELL (5/5 Stars): This is the second masterpiece of the album. It's structure is very reminiscent of "Balls to the Wall," although it doesn't sound like that song. The lyrics are an intriguing commentary on religion and religious people with the conclusion that we experience (or make our own) heaven or hell during our life on this earth. I strongly agree with some of their points and disagree with others but, regardless, the lyrics are not presented in an offensive way. Here's one stanza that I agree with:

I'm sure we all know them
Those perverts, they're everywhere
Mmh, we're talking straight about facts
You know deep inside what's right or wrong
And the world stinks, and the paradise is now a sewer
And they sell sh*t for gold
And you have to take what you've got

As you can see the words are honest, overt, slightly ambiguous and completely brilliant all at the same time.

7.) ANOTHER SECOND TO BE (3/5 Stars): Another brief enjoyable ditty.

8.) WALKING IN THE SHADOW (4/5 Stars): Emotionally potent and intriguing tune that deals with a person struggling to live on in face of the 58,000 that died during the Vietnam conflict. Whether the guilt is over one combat victim or all 58,000 is a mite unclear.

9.) MAN ENOUGH TO CRY (4.5/5 Stars): Great short piece! The title somewhat reveals the mature subject matter, but the lyrics maintain an esoteric element.

10.) STAND TIGHT (5/5 Stars): This is a creative and aggressive number with a melodic bridge and ultra-catchy chorus with cool backgound vocals. It has militaristic vibe and is the third masterpiece of the album.

Some have criticized that Accept were trying to go pop rock on this album but nothing could be further from the truth. "Russian Roulette" features the same diverse song-writing of both "Restless & Wild" and "Balls to the Wall." Yeah, one or two songs would've fit well on the radio, so what?

One thing this CD proves is that Accept had perhaps the best background vocals in all of metal at the time and even to this day (!).

"Russian Roulette" is quite a bit better than the good-but-not-great "Metal Heart," which was released in 1985. The song-writing on "Metal Heart" just wasn't as good, plus Udo (the singer) went overkill with his irritating screaming, which no doubt turned off potential life-long fans. Hence, when "Russian Roulette" was released the next year not many took notice. They should have.

My five favorite Accept albums are as follows:
"Restless & Wild," "Balls to the Wall" and "Russian Roulette"
"Predator" (1996) -- their last studio album, inexplicably underrated.
"Metal Heart"

Check 'em all out.

When I first heard Accept, I thought who in the world could listen to this guy (Udo) sing for any period of time without going crazy. Udo sounds like a mix of Bon Scott, Brian Johnson and an evil troll. But somehow his voice grows on you and you can't imagine anyone else fronting Accept. (They tried with an album called Eat the Heat and it fails miserably)Russian Roulette is a really good album, with catchy riffs and ominous backing vocals. The guitar work and the flow of the songs on this album remind me a good deal of early 80's Judas Priest. I really like Balls to the Wall, and this album is just as strong. It's interesting listening to Heaven is Hell post 9-11, and right when Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ is going strong in theaters. I believe the stand-out track on this album has to be either Stand Tight or Walking in the Shadows. If you are a fan of heavier 80's metal, along the lines of Judas Priest's Defenders of the Faith, or Iron Maiden's Powerslave, then you should like Russian Roulette as well. Take some time to listen to this under-rated band and give Udo's vocals a chance to work thier magic and you'll soon be an Accept fan too.

Owning every album Accept has ever played on, (including the ever-elusive Kaizoku Ban) I believe I can offer intelligent and logical insight on this album.
1. This album is not like Balls to the Wall or Metal Heart. It's more like Breaker or Restless and Wild, with killer gang vocals
2. This album is not glam or pop! I cannot understand how some reviewers are claiming that Russian Roulette is weaker than Balls to the Wall or Metal Heart. On the contrary, Balls and Metal are the Accept pop metal albums, with weak guitar, no gang vocals, and tiny-sounding electronic drums. Russian Roulette, from the thunderous double-bass onslaught of TV War to the workout Teutonic metal of Stand Tight, delivers with every song! No pop metal here, just superb melodic minor heavy metal with melancholy vocals of Udo Dirkschneider.

Frankly, the best of the rest. I am longing for Accept's past especially Metal Heart and Russian Roulette. This is military strong CD!!!

Accept has always been a band not for the faint at heart;their demolishing guitar attack,complete with a powerful rhytm section and Udo Dirkschneider's vocals propelled them to a cult status among the most rabid metal fans.This 1986 opus marked a twist in the road,where they took a slightly more commercial approach,and yet retained a vigorous sound,e.g.,"T.V.War","Heaven is Hell","Aiming High",etc.Without doubt,this is one of their most accomplished works.

I can't beleive some of the reviews here (1 star?). I acknowledge that Russian Roulette is not Accept's best album, but what is all this talk of selling out to the commercial market? If anything this album is less commercial than Metal Heart of which I am also a big fan. Russian Roulette's (originally titled Wargames - changed for obvious reasons) content is chiefly about the negatives of war and raises some very serious issuses. Accept showed they had matured with this album in both their personal views and songwriting. As ever the dual guitars, together with the bass and drums of the 4 classicaly trained muscians sounds fantastic, but with a polished edge - not commercial.

To WIZEY, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! I COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT BETTER, & I'VE TRIED FOR YEARS TO FIND ANOTHER PERSON OF FINE TASTE! I first heard "Balls To The Wall", the song anyway, the first time I stepped into a bar on my 18th birthday. I thought Udo sounded like Bon Scott so I went to buy it,but when it was sold out I picked up Russian Roulette. I WAS BLOWN AWAY! As the forementioned reviewer pointed out, the gang vocals are great, and the title track may be the coolest & best song this group ever did, closely followed by "Heaven Is Hell". I later picked up the full "balls To The Wall" album, & Eat The Heat, and they don't hold a candle to this disc. GET IT!

Incredible! I can't believe some of the reviews of this album. How can you complain about the vocals? Do these people even listen to Metal? Anyway, the highlights of this excellent effort are Heaven is Hell and Stand Tight. Monsterman is great too even though the lyrics are a little goofy. The only let downs on the album are Aiming High and Man Enough to Cry which are still great but do not have the overall excellence of the other songs. Overall an 80's Metal classic. Everyone who claims themsleves a Metal fan HAS TO HAVE this album in their collection!