ACCEPT To Support JUDAS PRIEST On German Leg Of 2025 'Shield Of Pain' Tour

German/American heavy metal legends ACCEPT will support JUDAS PRIEST on four shows of the "Shield Of Pain" 2025 tour.

Earlier today, ACCEPT shared the following message via social media: "EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT FOR METAL FANS!! ACCEPT will be sharing the stage with JUDAS PRIEST in 2025 ! FOUR shows in Germany!!

"Save these dates in your Metal Diary and get your tickets today!

"Bonus points for diehard fans who know when the last time these 2 Heavy Metal Titans toured together last!"

ACCEPT 2005 dates as support act for JUDAS PRIEST:

Jun. 17 - Stuttgart, Germany @ Schleyerhalle
Jun. 18 - Bad Vilbel, Hessen, Germany @ Stadtwerke Arena
Jul. 13 - Munich, Germany @ Olympiahalle
Jul. 20 - Oberhausen, Germany @ Rudolf-Weber-Arena

ACCEPT recently completed a North American tour with KK'S PRIEST, the band led by former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing.

This past July, ACCEPT was joined by its longtime producer — and JUDAS PRIEST touring guitarist — Andy Sneap on stage at the Release festival in Athens, Greece for a performance of the ACCEPT classic "Balls To The Wall".

In a recent interview with Chris Akin Presents, ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann spoke about the band's decade-and-a-half-long working relationship with Sneap. He said: "He's kind of a member of the family. He's the go-to guy to give us that sound that we're looking for, to work with us in the way that we're comfortable. And we know each other so well over the years, it's really a fantastic way of working. A lot of times when you have worked with somebody for a long time, you don't really have to express a lot of the whys, and you sort of just do it with a blind understanding of we both understand or everybody understands what we're going for and we're all on the same page. So it makes life quite easy, or work easy."

Asked if Andy offers suggestions for how to tweak the music before it is laid down in the studio or he serves more as a "guide" during the recording process, Wolf said: "I'd say it shifts over time a little bit. I mean, I think we all evolved from when we first started to get… I remember when we first started to work together with Andy, he came from more of a background of thrash and heavier stuff. And we were kind of an almost old-school band that was slightly different because we have songs that are very much melody-based. We have sing-along vocals and backing vocals and we have proper choruses and pre-choruses. And I think now that he's working with other bands along those, or more of those bands, like JUDAS PRIEST and SAXON and all that, he's more adapted to our style of songwriting. And I think he makes suggestions and hints that are more suited to us."

He continued: "The good thing about [Andy], he grew up being an ACCEPT fan. He very much understands what an ACCEPT fan would like because he is one, or he was one. So I really like the fact that he's hasn't changed much over the years. You can still see the sparkle in his eyes when we come up with a cool riff or something really pops and we all go, like, 'Oh, fuck yeah. That's amazing.' That kind of thing. So he's genuine. He's great. I love it."

Photo credit: Christoph Vohler