Accept

The Final Chapter (CMC)
by Chaz Thorndike

This chapter need never’ve been written. Accept, for those secure enough to admit it, was a great metal band in their day. Restless and Wild and Balls to the Wall are reference points. Along with Breaker before, and Metal Heart after, Accept was part of the tight cluster of bands you liked long after you’d gotten out of metal or felt metal let you down. And, for many, Accept continued (with many acknowledged stumbles) along the path of great metal bands. They kept the homefires burning for any metalhead lost in the cold. Unfortunately, The Final Chapter is thinly produced (not that it’s crappy or flat, but having seen a few of their shows, this definitely lacks power and presence, requirements of a great live album) and poorly documented. A few photos collaged together and a quick “thank you” to the fans is not a fitting epitaph. Accept deserve a multi-page booklet following their career(s) and winding up with a few witty comments about what the future holds. Accept is a necessity for a well-rounded archive, but this double live record is not.