ACCEPT's MARK TORNILLO Says His Statement That U.S. Is 'Not Metal Territory Anymore' Was 'Just A Passing Comment'

In a new interview with Rockin' Metal Revival, ACCEPT singer Mark Tornillo was once again asked to clarify his recent comment that "the United States is just not metal territory anymore." He explained (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, in my defense, that was just a passing comment [that I made in an interview]. And actually, those two guys that were interviewing [me] were friends of mine, and we were just talking candidly. Something goes out in press like that and, of course, Blabbermouth grabs it and makes it a headline. Jesus, you can't say anything without these bottom feeders grabbing it."

Addressing the original question, Tornillo continued: "Truly, [metal is] not as big here as it is in the rest of the world by any means. Europe, it's still huge. South America, it's huge. Japan, it's huge. And it's kind of not the main attraction here; it's just not. And I think it has more to do with the fact that the record companies don't promote it properly. Nothing against ours — I mean, I love working with Napalm now. They're really doing a great job for us, but in the mainstream, the big labels, they don't promote metal. They don't… But they don't promote it well enough. And I think if they did, kids would get into it. They're more interested in selling Taylor Swift and hip-hop. So it's what it is. But heavy metal will always be there; it's not going anywhere. It's just underground again."

When the interviewer noted that some metal bands are able to play stadiums in Europe but can only play "to a small audience" in America, Tornillo concurred, saying: "Well, K.K. [Downing's new band KK'S PRIEST] and us [in ACCEPT] both played Wacken [Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany in front of] 80,000 people with SCORPIONS. And now we're gonna play small theaters and big clubs [together in America]. So, this is what it is."

Mark's original comment came this past March when he gave an interview to Canada's The Metal Voice. Asked about the challenges of touring North America for a band like ACCEPT, especially in the last few years, the now-70-year-old New Jersey-based singer, who joined ACCEPT in 2009 as the replacement for the group's original frontman Udo Dirkschneider, said: "It's always been difficult to tour North America. It's mostly promoters and the fact that we need to play at least a big enough room where we're gonna make some money. But it's gotta have the turnout to do it. But we're gonna make it happen this year no matter what. I know that. We've all decided that if we have to take a cut, we'll take a cut. But we've gotta play — we've gotta play for the fans."

He continued: "We have no trouble selling tickets in South America. [We have] no trouble selling tickets in Europe, or else. I think it's just that the United States is just not metal territory anymore. I don't know why."

Tornillo added: "I would love nothing better than to tour the U.S. every year. But we'll see how it plays out."

Mark previously clarified his "United States is just not metal territory anymore" comment last month in an interview with Mike Hsu of the 100 FM The Pike radio station. He said at the time: "During that [The Metal Voice] interview, I was actually being interviewed by a couple of guys who I know. And that was just a line in passing. It was, like, 'Why don't you guys play here more often?' Well, the fact of the matter is that we can't really afford to play here that often, because we make way more money in Europe, South America and the rest of the world than you do in the United States. And if you think about it, most metal bands are playing smaller venues here, unless you team up together and you go out and you play the sheds, or you're METALLICA with PANTERA and you can sell out arenas.

"The things that are being pushed is not metal," Mark continued. "The music, not so much the radios and stuff, but the record companies in this country do not push metal. They push whatever flavor of the week it is and aim towards kids. If they aimed metal towards kids, I think it would sell. So it's hard to say. But I certainly didn't mean it in a derogatory way. I just meant that it's very difficult for us to get to get a good tour together now."

Referencing the fact that ACCEPT was about to embark on a U.S. tour with KK'S PRIEST, Tornillo added: "Luckily, we got two good bands together that are gonna go out and we're gonna kick some ass. We are on the same page. Ripper [KK'S PRIEST singer Tim Owens] and I are becoming pretty good friends and we're looking forward to doing this."

When Hsu noted that he "didn't want to make it sound" like Mark was "dissing anybody or anything" in his original remarks, Mark said: "But Blabbermouth did. Blabbermouth runs with it — that's the headline [Editor's note: The actual headline was 'ACCEPT's MARK TORNILLO: 'The United States Is Just Not Metal Territory Anymore'']. It was just a comment in passing. But they're bottom feeders. That's what they do."

ACCEPT's tour with KK'S PRIEST, which features former JUDAS PRIEST members K.K. Downing (guitar) and Tim "Ripper" Owens (vocals),kicked off on August 31 in Los Angeles, California, visiting a slew of major cities in the USA and Canada — such as Toronto, Montreal, New York and Nashville — before coming to an end in San Francisco, California on October 7.

Tornillo can be heard on ACCEPT's last six studio albums, "Blood Of The Nations" (2010),"Stalingrad" (2012),"Blind Rage" (2014),"The Rise Of Chaos" (2017),"Too Mean To Die" (2021) and "Humanoid" (2024).