ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann has revisited the German metal veterans' turbulent 1990s period in a new interview, admitting some of the band's output from that decade still leaves him uneasy as ACCEPT prepares to mark its 50th anniversary.
"We released some albums in the '90s that I'm less proud of, because it was kind of a weird time — we didn't really know what to do with ourselves," Hoffmann said, pointing to the broader identity crisis that hit traditional heavy metal bands as grunge reshaped rock radio and guitar solos briefly fell out of critical favor. "I'd rather forget the whole '90s, to be honest."
That candor arrives just weeks ahead of ACCEPT's 50th-anniversary project, "Teutonic Titans 1976-2026," due September 4 via Napalm Records. The album reimagines songs from across the band's five-decade catalog with a rotating cast of 50 guest musicians, including a newly re-recorded version of "Hellhammer," originally released on 1989's "Eat The Heat" — one of the very albums from the era Hoffmann now second-guesses.
The guest list underscores how far ACCEPT's influence has traveled: GHOST's Tobias Forge, PANTERA's Philip Anselmo, METALLICA's Kirk Hammett and JUDAS PRIEST's Rob Halford all lend vocals or guitar work to the reworked tracks, alongside a wider roster of contributors still being revealed ahead of the release. The project positions "Teutonic Titans" as both a victory lap for ACCEPT's core catalog and an acknowledgment, in Hoffmann's own words, that not every chapter of the band's history has aged the way its members would have liked.
ACCEPT's current lineup — Hoffmann alongside vocalist Mark Tornillo, guitarist Philip Shouse, bassist Martin Motnik and drummer Christopher Williams — has kept the band a consistent touring and recording presence since Tornillo's arrival in 2009 reinvigorated the group after original singer Udo Dirkschneider's decades-long tenure. With "Teutonic Titans" set to place ACCEPT's catalog in conversation with some of metal's biggest names, Hoffmann's willingness to single out a weaker stretch of that catalog reads as an unusually blunt moment of self-assessment from a band more often focused on celebrating its highlights.
Further details on "Teutonic Titans 1976-2026," including its complete tracklist and full guest roster, are expected in the coming weeks as the September release date approaches.