Live Reviews : Accept, Mason & Elm Street @ Corner Hotel, Melbourne 15/11/2014

Words: Jonathon Besanko

Images: John Raptis

(Click here to view the full gallery)

Accept. The ‘Teutonic Terrors’, the kings of German heavy metal. At last, the legends have graced us with their presence down under. And let me tell you, what a coming it was! Taking place at the Corner Hotel in Richmond, this was my first time ever catching a live act there. The Corner is one of those venues that’s facade hides the extent of the venue’s full size. By the time I’d made my way inside behind the massive line that ran the length around the street, it was remarkably spacious within. With two disco balls hanging low off the ceiling, the dance floor area sprawled out before the stage, and still managed to leave a significant amount of room around the rest of the venue.

Yet, despite the impressive size of the Corner Hotel, tonight was packed out, and not surprisingly so, I must say. A sold out event, with doors opening at 8 o’clock, one of the things that immediately grabbed me about tonight was the wealth of older people in the crowd; individuals who undoubtedly grew up on this band. The whole night retained an inviting atmosphere and quality to it, and coupled by a mix of people around my own age and beyond, regardless of our differences in years alone, we all felt as one as the excitement of the night built up and the first act of the evening, Elm Street, took to the stage at 8.45pm.

Accept

I’ve seen Elm Street a couple of times now and they’re one of those rare bands that only seem to grow stronger and more appealing with each new visit. I manage to discover something new every time I catch this band live, and it must be stressed that Elm Street maintain one of the strongest and most melodic rhythm sections I’ve heard to date (as musicians, they truly make their instruments sing). The Melbourne lads opened with a bang, bringing the night into full force from the first few seconds they hit the stage bathed in the saturated greens of the lighting above. With a speed metal fury I’m sure would have made Accept themselves blush, Elm Street’s riffs were sharp and Aaron Adie’s guitar solos an even stronger highlight (this man can bloody play! And always seems to have a ball doing it, too). However, it must be noted that I felt frontman Ben Batres’ vocals to at times be a bit off. I know the gruff way he speaks is his trademark, but when he incorporated that a tad too strongly in their live set – as least more so than how it appears on the band’s debut, ‘Barbed Wire Metal’ – it rather lessened their otherwise virtually flawless performance in my mind. Perhaps I’m alone there, but that’s how I felt.

What was rather entertaining, if not a tad cheesy, was how Elm Street constantly incorporated song titles from Accept’s discography into their onstage banter. I found it entertaining, and it was an effective way for the band, as the opening act of the night, to engage with a crowd that otherwise may not have given a damn who they were. Whilst the applause for the most part was strong, it did seem at times that the crowd, including myself at moments, didn’t always know how to react at parts – mainly due to the abrupt changes in the band’s sound. A song would be blasting relentlessly for a moment with everyone banging away, and then would suddenly shift. Whilst Batres kept on singing in the same note, the rest of the bands rhythm section shifted the time signature leaving everyone looking a tad confused. All in all though, Elm Street served as a solid opening to the night.

Accept

At just after 9.30pm, Melbourne’s thrash up-and-comers Mason emerged on stage, lit by the harsh vermillion of the overhead lights. “We came here for one reason, and that’s to destroy! So let’s enjoy it, alright?” frontman Jimmy Benson announced to the crowd before him. I feel something that should be noted first and foremost here is that tonight was not a thrash metal crowd. And for this reason, I don’t think Mason always received the welcome they were expecting. As mentioned earlier, half of this night’s crowd comprised older metalheads who grew up on bands such as Accept, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Saxon and others, i.e. heavy metal. I think a fair few were a little thrown off by the unending ferocity of Mason’s sound. It was a shame too because by the time most of the crowd had warmed to it properly, it was near the end of Mason’s set. What can be said, however, was Mason’s unwavering attitude. They were here to have a good time and tear up the place, and that was something the band delivered in spades. Musically, Mason sounded great. Albeit, their guitars didn’t sing to the same degree as Elm Street’s before them, and I felt Mason to be slightly overshadowed by that earlier performance. But to set Mason on their own merit, it was hard to fault them, with Jimmy, drummer Nonda Tsatsoulis (who, for any of you Jungle Rot fans out there, looks surprisingly similar to Dave Matrise), and crew all playing their hearts out. Lead guitarist Chris Czimmermann was absent tonight, and in his place stood Brendan Farrugia of Melbourne’s Envenomed (as an interesting sidenote, Brendan is also an ex-member of Elm Street). Brendan was a great choice to fill in for Chris, and he blended in seamlessly with Mason’s lineup, offering unique little tidbits of his own guitar talent amidst the set-in-stone solos.

Hit 10.30pm, it was time for the German legends to rule the stage. As the red velvet curtains parted across the stage, the sonic bliss of Accept’s latest single “Stampede” fell over the eager crowd. From the first few seconds, frontman Mark Tornillo and co. held the crowd completely under their spell, and this carried for the next two hours of Accept’s setlist. Sometimes it happens that when a set is as long as this, it grows tiresome, or at the least, can seem to lose a touch of its magic once the raw energy begins to die down. The same cannot be said of tonight, or of Accept, specifically. I was absolutely taken aback by these fellows. For a bunch of guys in their forties to early sixties, their energy onstage was absolute. They were relentless, soaring, and devastating! I could continue to write a list of adjectives to describe how epic Accept were tonight, but I don’t feel I’d have enough space for it. Accept can definitely run with the best of them, and in many degrees, outdo the youthful energy of their understudies. I said to one of my friends afterwards, it reminds me of when I saw AC/DC live back in 2010. It was the same thing. Age is not a restriction for these guys. It is merely a number.

Accept

“[We] want to thank you for being so hospitable,” Tornillo began, “This is our second time ever playing in Australia!” Ever the humble professionals, if any band deserved to be a wee bit proud or overconfident it’d be these guys. I mean, what more can you say? Accept were just larger than life. I felt I was experiencing something special, something unlike any other traditional gig I’d been to. And considering I only discovered this band relatively recently – via Tornillo’s debut record, 2010’s ‘Blood of the Nations’ – after a random purchase one day, after tonight, I felt I’d known their music all my life. When the music is as grand and powerful as this, it can have that effect on you.

What must be noted too is the sheer exuberance and enthusiasm this band bled onstage. Not only did their energy never die down, the massive smiles over all their faces never went away, either. You could tell right off the bat how much of a thrill this is for them. They fed off the crowd’s enthusiasm, and never once stopped engaging with us. On more than one occasion, guitarist Wolf Hoffman and bassist Peter Baltes played directly to the screaming fans before them; encouraging us to fist pump, crowd sway, and chant in time with the beautifully melodic guitar riffs. Before then playing side-by-side in glorious synchronicity! Oh, and Tornillo’s stamping machine walk was a nice throwback to the moves of Rob Halford on Priest’s seminal track, “Metal Gods”.

Accept

As the evening rounded out with the classic and obvious choice of “Balls to the Wall”, I don’t think I’ve ever quite been to a show where the energy of the crowd and the band was as alive as this. Whether you were in your twenties as I am or in your forties or beyond, it mattered not. Everyone sang along, swayed and banged to the metal fury, and crushed the chorus and chants like no other. It truly was a brilliant thing to be a part of.

Tonight was a gig I don’t think I’ll ever forget – or grow tired of speaking enthusiastically about, for that matter – and I feel blessed and honoured to have been one of the first Melburnians to ever see these heavy metal legends live in our home town. If you’re catching Accept in Brisbane tonight, or seeing them again, or for the first time, in Melbourne on Monday, you’re in for an absolute treat! This band rocks harder than most, whether young or old.

Balls to the wall, indeed!

‘Blind Rage Over Australia’ Tour 2014

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