ACCEPT's WOLF HOFFMANN Doesn't Know If Touring Will Ever Return To How It Was Before Pandemic

In a recent interview with Finland's Kaaos TV, ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann was asked how the coronavirus pandemic has affected his "daily life." He responded (see video below): "It hasn't, really, to be honest. I'm a bit of a recluse myself anyhow. In my day-to-day work, I usually work by myself in my studio or in my office or in my house. I don't go out much. I don't go to many concerts, so it really is pretty much the same as always, except for when you go out, you have to put the mask on and do all that stuff. But of course, from the business side, it's terrible, because the tour to coincide with the release of this [new ACCEPT] album ['Too Mean To Die'] has been pushed back one year to 2022 now. So who knows when we the fuck we can go on the road again? And since the road is not only the main part of our income, it's also what we do — we're not really studio musicians; we're a live band — so right now, we're fucked. It's terrible."

Asked if he thinks if touring will return to how it was before the pandemic or if it will be different, Wolf said: "I have no idea, man. Everybody thinks it's going back to normal at some point, but sometimes I wonder. Is it ever gonna be like it was before, or is there gonna be a slow transition to a new normal? I wonder if there's ever gonna be a day when everybody says, 'It's over. We're done.' It might never come. It might always be some say it's over, some says it's not, and some people are gonna wear a mask, and some are not. Who knows, man?"

He continued: ""[It's] a given [that] there won't be any serious concerts before we have a vaccine [widely distributed], but even when there is a vaccine, there might be people who are not vaccinated yet. What I'm saying is there's never gonna be a day that somebody punches a clock and declares the virus to be over for good worldwide. There's gonna a little bit of this and little bit of that, and it's a gonna be a slow transition to God knows what."

"Too Mean To Die" will be released on January 29 via Nuclear Blast. The LP will be the group's first without bassist Peter Baltes, who exited ACCEPT in November 2018. He has since been replaced by Martin Motnik. ACCEPT's lineup has also been expanded with the addition of a third guitarist, Philip Shouse, who originally filled in for Uwe Lulis during 2019's "Symphonic Terror" tour, before being asked to join the band permanently.

"Too Mean To Die" was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with British producer Andy Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, MEGADETH),who has been responsible for the magnificent studio sound of ACCEPT since 2010.

ACCEPT's last album, 2017's "The Rise Of Chaos", marked the band's first release with Lulis and drummer Christopher Williams, replacing Herman Frank and Stefan Schwarzmann, respectively.