ACCEPT's WOLF HOFFMANN Says KIRK HAMMETT Citing Him As An Influence Is 'A Huge Honor'

In a recent interview with Australia's Subculture, ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann was asked what it felt like to see METALLICA's Kirk Hammett citing him as a musical influence. Wolf responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, man, it's a huge honor, isn't it? It's amazing — it totally is. I've heard that story from other bands in the past, how supposedly we influenced a lot of people in the early '80s without even being aware of it at the time. But he's definitely the biggest name of 'em that I've heard so far. So it makes me totally proud when he says something like that. He seems to be a super-nice guy."

Another metal musician who has been vocal about ACCEPT's influence on his early drumming style is ANTHRAX's Charlie Benante. Three years ago, Charlie told Reverb that ACCEPT's "Fast As A Shark" "was the fastest double kick that there was" at the time of the song's 1982 release. "And for me, they set the standard."

Last year, ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian said that the first time he and original ANTHRAX bassist Danny Lilker jammed with Charlie in 1983, they asked Benante if he could play "Fast As A Shark". "He could, and he did — faster than ACCEPT," Ian recalled. "Those were the days when playing the fastest double kicks was important."

ACCEPT's latest album, "Too Mean To Die", was released in January via Nuclear Blast. The LP is 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 He has since been replaced by Martin Motnik.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 studio sound of ACCEPT since 2010.