Staying a Life [German Import] - Accept

It's important to keep in mind that even though Accept had already achieved legendary cult status (at least in Europe) on early records like Restless and Wild and Breaker, it wasn't until the release of Balls to the Wall and 1985's Metal Heart that the band would rise from theater sensation to worldwide arena rock heroes (everywhere except in the United States). Staying a Life (perhaps a poke at the German enunciation of staying alive?) captures Accept at the height of its commercial popularity on their 1986 tour of Japan. Like all things German, it's with clinical precision that metal goblin Udo Dirkschneider leads his troupes through 19 tracks that span the gamut of the band's career. Opening with the classic Metal Heart title track (which, as fate would have it, later breaks into a full-on metal version of Beethoven's "Fur Elise"), it's impressive to hear just how good and just how tight the band had become by this juncture. With a double kick monster attack in tow, drummer Stefan Kaufman (who also produced the record) then proceeds to guide the band through a neck-breaking version of "Breaker." Sounding like a chipmunk on acid, prior to "Screaming for a Love-Bite" UDO bellows at the Japanese audience to "scream for me" and asks them if "they're ready to rock?" No doubt they are as they respond fanatically to "Living for Tonight" (the closest the band would ever come to actually sounding like The Scorpions). After a completely unnecessary four-minute guitar solo courtesy of Wolf Hoffman, the band erupts into the seminal "Restless and Wild." The rest of the record touches upon the band's most popular songs, including fan favorites like "London Leatherboys," "Balls to the Wall," and "Princess of the Dawn." ~ John Franck, All Music Guide