The Metal Voice recently interviewed singer Mark Tornillo of Accept. Tornillo talked about the bands new album ‘Humanoid’ which will be released April 26, 2024 via Napalm Records.
When asked about writing the lyrics for Humanoid
“It’s a challenge to find things to write about. You try not to rehash the same thing over and over again but luckily we seem to come up with these topics.”
When asked about not having Gaby’s Hoffmann’s input in the lyrics anymore has given him more free reign
“I’ve always enjoyed Gabby’s input, she’s a very smart woman and really well read. You should see her library. But I never have free reign because it always gets edited. Andy’s (Sneep) is gonna change things on me, Wolf’s gonna change things on me you know. I just like thinking to myself it’s never going to be free reign and it’s the same for them. Nothing’s ever finished until it goes to press.”
When asked about the musical direction of the new album
“It sounds like classic Accept classic. A little of both (Udo ara and Tornillo era). I don’t think the band has strayed that far from what it was in the 80s. You know different members obviously You put it on you and you know that’s Wolf Hoffmann there’s no there’s no doubt about it. It’s a classic metal album without trying to be too redundant and we try to make things interesting. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, just refresh it.”
When asked if having Udo releasing music and Accept releasing new music, does this competition make everyone’s albums better
“I suppose. I mean I really don’t think about that but you know you could look at it that way. I’m sure some people do. Some people say that about KK’s Priest and Judas Priest. We just saw K.K. and Ripper on the Monsters of Rock Cruise and they were amazing. “
When asked if he misses former bassist Peter Baltes as songwriter in the band
“Of course. Martin Motnik ( current bassist) has stepped up and become that guy right now. He brings in ideas and we bounce them off of him as much as each other. So it’s just tough shoes to fill, I know all about that. It’s tough shoes to fill but you know you gotta man up and do it.”
When asked about being sick while on tour in 2022 and having Jason MacMaster to replace him
“I was more than sick for a few days. I had R.S.V. (Respiratory syncytial virus). F**-evil I’m telling you and I was singing through it. I had sang four shows already with it I mean we had been out on that run for a few weeks already. I got sick, I think in Colorado and I sang that show and then I sang like two more after that and I woke up on the bus in Toronto and I couldn’t breathe. Seriously I was literally laying in the bunk on the bus and I had to cough. I’m going, I don’t want to cough. But okay go ahead cough. I went to take a breath and nothing went in. I was like oh whoa whoa whoa what the hell is that about? I jumped up out of the bunk and I’m like calm down dude if you couldn’t breathe you would have died in your sleep. Oh yeah that makes sense, so just calm down and breathe through your nose. Okay that works. I went up to the front of the bus and they were all sitting in the lounge and said there’s no show tonight, it’s not gonna happen. I then went to the hotel and they got a doctor and he came in and he pumped me up full of freaking cortisone and he pretty much said dude don’t (sing), you’re gonna kill yourself. Don’t do it, your vocal cords are like this big. That’s why you couldn’t breathe this morning. So I missed that show then there was a show in New Jersey two days later that they cancelled. And then Jason did the show in Pennsylvania and then there was two in New York and one in New Jersey with all the same promoter and the promoter got wind into what was going on and he calls the management and goes if Tornillo doesn’t show up to these shows I’m canceling them. I was home by then and my wife’s an emergency room nurse or she was at that point and we went down to her emergency room and they ran a full panel on me. They test me for covid and I had R.S.V. I don’t wish that on no one. I’ve had covid three times that was shit compared to this. This was nasty man and they were going to cancel the shows and I said well I can’t let that happen. So I got in the car and I drove to Upstate New York and Jason and I split the night. We did the same thing for the next three shows. There was one in New Jersey and then he (Jason) went back to Texas and I played New York City show. I wouldn’t wish it on anybody bro and trying to sing with it is even worse. I mean because you know it’s not it’s not working so you try harder and you’re literally just beating yourself up.”
When talking about using backing tracks when singers are ill
“It’s not Fair. It’s not it’s not fair to the audience to be doing that (singers using backing tracks).”
Once again finalized by leading metal producer Andy Sneap (Judas Priest, Amon Amarth, Testament, Saxon, etc.) at his Backstage Recording Studios Ltd. in Derbyshire, UK, Humanoid is a towering musical achievement and another world class entry in the ACCEPT catalog, certain to rally fans from around the world. Humanoid will be available in various formats worldwide, some of them strictly limited.
Humanoid joins absolute genre classics like Balls To The Wall, certified Gold in USA and Canada, Metal Heart, and newer masterpieces like Blood of the Nations or the #1 album Blind Rage. Their albums regularly place in national Top 10 sales charts, with global sales in excess of 17 million to date.
