Their current lineup consists of Hoffmann, vocalist Mark Tornillo, guitarists Uwe Lulis and Philip Shouse, drummer Christopher Williams and bassist Martin Motnik. Before arriving at their current lineup, Accept has undergone numerous lineup changes, being Hoffmann the last remaining original member since its inception, and he is the only band member to appear on each album.
Accept played an important role in the development of speed and thrash metal, and they were part of the German heavy metal scene, which emerged in the early to mid-1980s. They have also been cited as an influence or inspiration by a number of acts, including Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Pantera, Testament, Anthrax, Guns N' Roses, Mötley Crüe, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Overkill, Exodus, and Annihilator, as well as fellow Germans such as Helloween, Blind Guardian, Doro, Sodom, Rage, and Grave Digger. Accept achieved its first commercial success with their fifth studio album Balls to the Wall (1983), which is the band's only album to be certified gold in the United States and Canada, and spawned their well-known hit "Balls to the Wall".
Accept have broken up and reformed multiple times. They first split up in 1989, several months after the release of Eat the Heat (which was their only album with Dirkschneider's initial replacement David Reece), but reformed in 1992 and released three more albums before disbanding again in 1997. After briefly reuniting in 2005, Accept announced their third reunion in 2009, with former T.T. Quick frontman Mark Tornillo replacing Dirkschneider (who declined to participate), and the band has recorded five albums with him: Blood of the Nations (2010), Stalingrad (2012), Blind Rage (2014), The Rise of Chaos (2017) and Too Mean to Die (2021); each of those albums renewed Accept's popularity in Germany and entered the top ten charts there.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accept_(band)
Studio albums
Accept (1979)
I'm a Rebel (1980)
Breaker (1981)
Restless and Wild (1982)
Balls to the Wall (1983)
Metal Heart (1985)
Russian Roulette (1986)
Eat the Heat (1989)
Objection Overruled (1993)
Death Row (1994)
Predator (1996)
Blood of the Nations (2010)
Stalingrad (2012)
Blind Rage (2014)
The Rise of Chaos (2017)
Too Mean to Die (2021)
Die By The Sword
Accept Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The balance of power, a thing of the past
Anything human has been abandoned
We're just drowning souls in a river of blood
What was built up in thousands of years
In just a moment is destroyed
Have we lost all compassion and love
If you live by the sword - you will die by the sword
If you live by the sword - you will die by the sword
We're sinking deeper in a world of darkness
It's kill or be killed from the day we are born
We're an evil seed from the soul of a serpent
An evil breed in a valley of thorns
What was built up in thousands of years
In just a moment is destroyed
Have we lost all compassion and love
Cast our souls into the void
If you live by the sword - you will die by the sword
If you live by the sword - you will die by the sword
Blood and vengeance, iron and bone
Fallen warriors, carved in stone
Crush this mindless desire for blood
And stop this endless crusade
Conquer our instincts and lay down the steel
Save our children from the blade
If you live by the sword - you will die by the sword
If you live by the sword - you will die by the sword
The lyrics to Accept's song "Die By The Sword" confront the destructive nature of human conflict and the consequences of living by the sword. The world has become paralyzed by fear as the balance of power has been lost and humanity has abandoned any sense of compassion and love. Drowning souls in a river of blood, we have become an evil breed, a product of the soul of a serpent in a valley of thorns.
The song acknowledges the destruction caused by wars and how easily thousands of years of progress can be destroyed in a moment of conflict. It encourages the need to stop the endless crusade based on mindless desires for blood and to lay down the steel in order to save our children from the blade. The lyrics hope to inspire listeners to reject violence and instead strive towards peace and empathy, before it's too late.
The repetition of the phrase "If you live by the sword - you will die by the sword" serves as a warning, reminding listeners that the violent cycle of destruction will also lead to their own downfall. It suggests that while revenge and bloodshed may provide temporary satisfaction, in the end, it will only lead to destruction and death.
Line by Line Meaning
The world around us, frozen in terror
The world is filled with fear and panic
The balance of power, a thing of the past
The balance between good and evil, right and wrong is lost
Anything human has been abandoned
Humanity and compassion have been forsaken
We're just drowning souls in a river of blood
We're all suffering in a sea of violence and death
What was built up in thousands of years
Everything that was created over thousands of years
In just a moment is destroyed
Can be utterly destroyed very quickly
Have we lost all compassion and love
Do we no longer show kindness and empathy for one another?
Cast our souls into the void
Our souls left empty and hollow
If you live by the sword - you will die by the sword
If you live aggressively, violence will beget violence
We're sinking deeper in a world of darkness
The world is getting progressively darker
It's kill or be killed from the day we are born
From birth, life is a struggle wherein one must fight or be destroyed
We're an evil seed from the soul of a serpent
Our very nature is corrupted and malevolent
An evil breed in a valley of thorns
We're an accumulation of badness in a world that is inherently dangerous and damaging
Blood and vengeance, iron and bone
The eternal cycle of revenge, fueled by the desire for domination
Fallen warriors, carved in stone
The memory of those who died in battle preserved in tablets of rock
Crush this mindless desire for blood
Eradicate the unquenchable lust for violence and killing
And stop this endless crusade
Put an end to this never-ending conflict
Conquer our instincts and lay down the steel
Overcome the natural inclinations that lead to warfare and disarm oneself
Save our children from the blade
Protect the coming generations from the harm caused by weapons and war
Writer(s): Mark Tornillo, Wolf Hoffmann, Peter Baltes
Contributed by Adeline S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@joaoantoniocruzdias859
Uma aula de Heavy Metal!
@luisnicolau4436
Accept una legendaria banda mas vigente que nunca maximos representantes del verdadero Heavy Metal
@atavvilliquine2147
Si!
@billycooper1630
one of my favorite bands of all time. still kicking ass
@nicolasterra1821
Billy Cooper
@trancebynature4
The coolest German metal band
@javieravaria2398
Corazón de metal. Desde el 85 que escuché aceptar. Nunca me a dejado de sorprender.
@diegopachilla9739
larga vida al Heavy Metal!!!
@igorurievich2443
Брутальный чел, с отличным вокалом.
@renatobonfantibonf.re.
Eccezionali non ci sono parole 💯💯🤟🤟