Opening the show was local Melbourne traditional metalers Elm Street. Now last time I saw them I wasn’t too impressed with them because purely they didn’t really fit as with the bands they were opening for but tonight they were in their element. They tore through a very quick set of their track like “Barber Wire Metal” and “Elm Street Children” showing off their chops getting the crowd prepared for night to come. I can guarantee they won over a large percentage of the crowd that had never heard of them and most likely move a bit of merch of the table to a new fan base.
Next up was local thrash up and comers Mason. Without a full time lead player at the moment they were able to get fill in to make the show. The band hit the stage and again played through an incredibly fast and blistering set. Front man Jimmy Benson was able to whip the crowd into a frenzy as they went through tracks of their debut album Warhead including “Lost It All”, “Ultimate Betrayal”, “Wretched Soul” and the albums title track “Warhead”. These guys were able to wow the crowd this their technical shops and their incredible speed as they quickly ended their set to make way for the headliners.
Accept took to the stage and ripped into tracks from the latest album Blind Rage like “Stampede” and “200 Years”, paid tribute to their heroes on “Dying Breed” which they pay tribute to Motorhead, AC/DC and Led Zepplin among others. The band was on point with lead guitarist Wolf Hoffman absolutely owning the stage as he scowled and grimaced at the crowd while he shredded like a man possessed. Front man Mark Tornillo’s was fantastic and he makes a great replacement for Udo, he really can hit the same notes and has an extremely similar vocal style. Still that Brian Johnson esque bark. The band was on point and extremely tight with one of the highlights being and amazing trade off solo between Wolf and bassist Peter Baltes. The bands set was a great mix of all time classics and newer releases which seemed to blend together seamlessly.
The band then thank the crowd for finally making it to Australia and selling out the show before leaving and quickly returning for an amazing encore featuring the classic “Metal Heart” and closing with a blistering rendition of their most well known track “Balls To The Walls”. The band were fantastic from the moment they hit the stage to the moment they thanked the sellout crowd and left. For a band that’s been around since 1976 they show not signs of ever slowing down they were on point from start to finish. This is the first time they have ever been to Australia and it was definitely worth the wait. Hopefully the come back soon and it doesn’t take another 38 years!
