#mark tornillo

[strykershollow]

Band: Accept

Song: Pandemic

[rollingstoneandvogue]

Mark Tornillo

[metalsongoftheday]

Thursday, May 29: Metal Allegiance, "Terminal Illusion"

If the two Metal Allegiance albums accomplished anything, it was giving a bunch of vocalists a chance to work slightly out of their usual context.  So even if “Terminal Illusion” wasn’t all that different from Accept’s post-reformation output, there were enough dynamics in the tune to give Mark Tornillo more space to play in.  The tune certainly included some Accept-isms, but was also harsher with more thrash elements, to say nothing of Mike Portnoy’s overplaying, and pushed Tornillo a little harder.  If anything, he sounded a little hungrier and less settled, as if he was trying to match the energy of the music, and came off stronger as a result.  To that point, “Terminal Illusion” benefited from having a singer like Tornillo bring a different kind of energy than, say, someone like Mark Osegueda who would’ve inherently understood how to work in this space.

[metalcultbrigade]

Mark Tornillo 08/06/1954

[eyeofrock]

Mark Tornillo (Accept) - Rockfest 2018 Barcelona

[midnight-madonna]

This hell around you This is your new reality Mayhem surrounds you Beyond the edge of sanity

Accept | The Rise of Chaos music video

[metalsongoftheday]

Friday, August 26: Accept, “Hung, Drawn and Quartered”

Blood of the Nations was more successful in revitalizing the Accept brand than anyone expected, with audiences immediately embracing Mark Tornillo as their new frontman, so the band was riding high and confident on Stalingrad, which opening track “Hung, Drawn and Quartered” made immediately clear by kicking ass right out of the gate.  Here was a band completely comfortable in their skin and in full lockstep on their mission statement, and it was a joy to behold.  The song felt clear in its purpose, leaning in on Accept’s trademarks in a way that felt natural to everyone involved, including the audience. The band actually did stretch out a touch on Stalingrad, apparently to the disappointment of some listeners, but “Hung, Drawn and Quartered” was a straight-up rager that delivered on its promises.

[metalsongoftheday]

Friday, August 9: Accept, “Against the World”

Stalingrad wasn’t quite as well-received as Blood of the Nations, even though it was arguably a more well-rounded and complete statement by this iteration of Accept: it didn’t have the shock value of its predecessor, which surprised everyone with its overall quality and focus, but the second album of the Mark Tornillo era was more confident and ambitious in its scope, and a little less ham-fisted (sure, there were still the simplistic clarion calls to action, but that was always fundamental to Accept’s value proposition).  As such, while the general thrust of “Against the World” was obvious to anyone within 30 miles, it didn’t feel rote- the success of Blood of the Nations gave Accept added vigor and confidence, and both were in abundance here.  Even though Tornillo’s vocals were inherently different from those of the inimitable Udo Dirkschneider, he worked within the same tonal range and fit seamlessly into the band’s framework, and this clearly juiced Wolf Hoffmann and Peter Baltes to craft an anthem that not only sounded like classic Accept, but actually felt like it. “Against the World” was precise, charging and classic heavy metal by a group of veterans that were more than ready to stand up and reassert their legendary status.