Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Former Accept vocalist David Reece has confirmed that he will reunite with the German heavy metal veterans for two special appearances during their upcoming 50th-anniversary European tour.
The singer, who fronted Accept on their 1989 album “Eat The Heat”, will join the band on November 21 in Oberhausen, Germany, and December 2 in Milan, Italy. Reece is expected to perform a handful of songs at each concert.
Speaking to Canada’s The Metal Voice, Reece explained that the reunion came together after guitarist Wolf Hoffmann unexpectedly contacted him.
Long story short, I was in Bulgaria in August playing a festival, and there was a phone call with a United States phone number. I get a lot of spam calls, and I don’t answer them ’cause of this A.I. thing. They get you to say ‘hello’ or ‘yes, this is me,’ and they can copy your voice. So I’m a little bit paranoid about that. I didn’t answer it, and then I heard my little e-mail beep, and I looked at it and it was Wolf Hoffmann. And I’m, like, ‘Surely this isn’t real.’
I opened it and [I was] blown away by the question: ‘Hi, David. How are you? I wonder if you’d be interested. I’d be very honored if you would join Accept live and perform some songs with us on this upcoming ‘Teutonic Titans’ [50th-anniversary] tour.’ And I think I almost broke into tears. The weight of it kind of being over… Finally I can… ‘Cause I had always held great respect for the man. I’ve spent hours with him. When I was in the band, driving down highways, going…
I took him to see Stevie Ray Vaughan for 40 people in Bonn. We went through a lot together. But just to hear his voice and to see him writing me and saying, ‘We would be honored for you to join us.’ And, of course, what answer would you expect? Absolutely.
He “got kind of radio silence” following his first interaction with Wolf, Reece continued.
I was, like, ‘Well, I don’t wanna get my hopes up,’ but I really wanted to do it. I’ve been let down so many times in this business. This could all be talk. And about two weeks after I got back, I was heading to Oklahoma to see my mother, and I sent an e-mail checking in, and [Wolf] goes, ‘Hey, man, everything is very optimistic.
We’re just kind of figuring out what cities would suit best.’ And being that [I live] in Italy, they have a show in Milano on December 2nd. I’m doing that. And I was just told yesterday that I’m gonna be November 21st in Oberhausen, Germany, which is a great city for us, Accept especially. And it’s been going over the process — well, since about the 15th of August, back and forth.
Reece believes that his reconnection with Accept will significantly contribute to the propagation of happiness and love in a world in need.
I think when Blackmore got on stage in New York with Deep Purple [this past August], for the fans it was kind of like a sigh of relief: enough of this already. Because a lot of this animosity is created by the media. It’s not even real. Of course we’d throw mud at each other back in the early days but we’re grown men and there’s so much water under the bridge that just the fact that I get to share the stage with him and hang out with Mark [Tornillo], who, he’s the longest singer tenure, I think since Accept’s inception.
I thank God and the fact that human beings can come to terms and have the respect for one another and go, ‘You know what? ‘Hellhammer’ was a great song and ‘Eat The Heat’ was a great record.’ And the fact that Wolf has said, ‘Yeah, let’s do this,’ that speaks volumes to me. So if that’s all that ever happens out of this, I can go to bed and sleep. It’s a great opportunity for all of us and the fans to see us smiling together. I just think it’s a positive thing, ’cause we need something like that in this business. There’s a lot of dirt getting thrown around.
Seems like every day I wake up, somebody famous has passed, somebody’s canceling a tour, a singer’s quitting out of the blue. Things are going fantastic, 50 shows, and then they’re, ‘I’m leaving the band.’ Can you imagine what it feels like for me? I sound like a little kid… I think it’s a beautiful thing… I’ve been kind of walking on eggshells waiting for the confirmation because I’m not gonna go out and blow my blabbermouth before I have the confirmation. And today I got the flights, I got the date, I got everything… Talking to Wolf today and his organization, they go, ‘This is really good for the fans.’ And I went, ‘Yeah.’
Which songs will he perform?
Uh, a few. But see, the thing is things can change… Yeah, there’s a few songs. Wolf is putting it all together. It’s his band. And I’m just following. I said, ‘Dude, call it. I’m ready.’
As I said, music is, is like an octopus. It grows another tentacle. And who knows what they’re gonna decide? But I’m just honored to have them come back… I’ve managed to keep my relationship with Udo pretty strong. I’ve yet to really sit down with Peter and break bread. One day maybe — I don’t know — but that’s not my problem. I’m just happy to be where I am.
Additional tour information is available on Accept’s official website.
