Ex-ACCEPT Singer DAVID REECE To Perform With The Band At Two Shows On 50th-Anniversary Tour

In a new interview with Jimmy Kay of Canada's The Metal Voice, David Reece, who fronted ACCEPT in the late '80s, revealed that he will reunite with the band for two shows in November and December where he will perform "a few" songs in honor of ACCEPT's 50th anniversary.

Reece was recruited for ACCEPT's "Eat The Heat" LP in 1989 following the departure of original singer Udo Dirkschneider. Reece's higher-pitched delivery was in sharp contrast to Dirkschneider's distinctive style, and overall, the album was a critical and commercial disappointment. Midway through the "Eat The Heat" tour, differences between the band and Reece had come to a head, leading to the altercation between the singer and bassist Peter Baltes in Chicago. By the end of 1989, ACCEPT had hung it up. In 1993, after releasing four albums with his own band U.D.O., Dirkschneider agreed to a reunion with ACCEPT, resulting in the comeback album "Objection Overruled".

Regarding how his upcoming reunion with ACCEPT came about, Reece told The Metal Voice (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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 [ACCEPT guitarist] 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."

Reece went on to say that he "got kind of radio silence" after his initial contact with Wolf. "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," David explained. "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."

According to Reece, his reunion with ACCEPT will go a long way toward spreading kindness and positivity in a world that needs it.

"I think when [legendary DEEP PURPLE guitarist Ritchie] 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," David said. "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 [current ACCEPT vocalist] Mark [Tornillo], who, he's the longest singer tenure, I think since ACCEPT's inception."

Reece added: "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.'"

Asked how many songs he will perform with ACCEPT in Oberhausen and Milan, Reece said: "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," David added. "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."

Referencing the fact that he wasn't approached to contribute to ACCEPT's recently released 50th-anniversary album "Teutonic Titans 1976–2026", which includes a re-recording of the aforementioned "Hellhammer" track from the "Eat The Heat" album, David said: "When ['Eat The Heat'] first came out, there was no in between — [the ACCEPT fans] either loved me or they hated me. But every show I do [now], I even have original ['Eat The Heat'] copies that have not been opened, vinyl or CD, where they bought a few, and they'll open it for me and I'll sign it and say, 'I'm really sorry that I hated your guts, but I really love this album now.' Okay, 37 years later, I'll take it. But I play 'Hellhammer' in every show. I play 'X-T-C', 'Generation Clash' and sometimes 'D-Train'. And when I play those songs, I'm telling you, dude — boom. But what got me about that was nobody asked me to participate on that record. I saw all these names and I'm, like, 'Man, I wish...' I did say to ['The Classic Metal Show' in a recent interview], I said, 'I was a little miffed that I wasn't asked to participate.' But then I watched, on YouTube I saw ACCEPT, I think in Stockholm, and Mark was singing 'Hellhammer' and the audience all had their arm in the air going, 'Hellhammer', and I went, 'You know what? I was part of that. I'm proud of that.' So that's cool with me. I was, like, 'You know what? I don't have to be on that record. [DANGEROUS TOYS'] Jason [McMaster] did a good job [singing 'Hellhammer' on 'Teutonic Titans 1976-2026'].' I knew Jason. They opened for us when we did the club tour with ACCEPT, when we were down in Texas, I think, DANGEROUS TOURS. And that's how we met him."

This past April, several months before David was approached to perform with ACCEPT in Oberhausen and Milan, Reece was asked by Nejc Zupančič of PodRaznoKast if there has been any talk about him rejoining ACCEPT for a special appearance during the band's 50th-anniversary tour. Reece said: "I hear rumors of 'ACCEPT fest', like Michael Schenker did [with MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST, a revolving all-star reunion project launched around 2016-2018, bringing together iconic vocalists from the MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP (MSG) era — Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet and Robin McAuley — along with TEMPLE OF ROCK vocalist Doogie White]. But I've never had any hard contact. I'm really good friends with Udo, I'm good friends with Peter Baltes, but I've never been actually approached about it. It wouldn't surprise me. And I'm okay if they say, 'Okay, we want you to do a few shows.' I'll just ride in a rental car and follow the bus. I don't care. I would love to do it. I mean, that part of my life is the reason I'm talking to you. That's what brought me to the forefront publicly in the music business. That was my breakout moment. So I would love to. I mean, I play 'X-T-C', I play 'D-Train', I play 'Generation Clash', 'Hellhammer' live in my set — even now. I would love to. But it's up to Wolf. I mean, it's Wolf's band now."

David went on to say that he is not holding his breath for an ACCEPT reunion with all of the band's former members. "It would be a massive undertaking, trust me," he explained. "There's so much history with that band, and let's say good blood and bad blood. I mean, to get everybody to agree to do it would be a really big job. But my door is open. Call me, find me. I'm there."

Reece also praised Dirkschneider, with whom David had played several times in the past. "The man, he's in his early seventies," Reece said. "He's a Panzer tank. I mean, I did the U.D.O. 'Steelfactory' tour, David Reece solo, as a special guest, in 2018, '19, and I think we played 38 shows together, and it was fabulous. And every night he was the same. He's not lost a step. But I can tell you this — he had a bone infection that he had contracted in Spain, and the doctors told him, 'You need to go home and get well.' And he said, 'I never cancel.' So most of the tour I did with him, he used a cane on stage. And it was unbelievable. I mean, I respect that man to no end. I'm dear friends with him and his son Sven [who is now playing drums for U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER]. Sven's band DAMAGED used to open for me in Germany. And if Udo was home, he would come to the shows, and, of course, people would go, 'Oh, David Reece is playing, and Udo's here.' So it was kind of an event. People get to see us together."

Regarding his personal relationship with Udo, David said: "We never had a problem. When I joined [ACCEPT], he was doing [the U.D.O. album] 'Mean Machine' next door to me in Dierks Studios, and that's where I met [U.D.O.'s then-guitarist] Andy [Susemihl]. And Udo never, ever treated me weird. He was always a gentleman, said, 'Good luck. You'll see what I'm talking about. It's not easy. I wish you the best.' And we've always been gentlemen."

On the topic of "Eat The Heat"'s more commercial sound compared to ACCEPT's earlier efforts, David said: "Sometimes I look back in retrospect and think maybe we should have changed the [band] name. But again, it goes back to branding. I think the first released single, the video for 'Generation Clash', was a terrible mistake because it's a heavy metal band. If we released 'D-Train' or 'X-T-C' as the first single, keep the fans that were devout followers: 'Oh, they're still heavy.' But we came out with kind of the polished American blonde singer Americanized version, which all came from corporate. 'Cause basically the after 'Balls Of The Wall', they started moving in the direction of that sound, like 'Metal Heart' and 'Russian Roulette'. They started to kind of get more commercialized, and Udo's voice did not suit that. So the record companies all said, 'Hey, get a singer that's got this vibe, and we can break this record into a million seller,' which was a mistake. I mean, people that wear suits and ties and record companies, they don't know what fans want. They have no clue. All they think about is money. And it was a shock for the band that it wasn't that successful, and a shock for me that I wasn't taken in and loved. I was either hated or loved — there was no middle."

As for why his collaboration with ACCEPT was so short lived, Reece said: "I'm an American. They're Germans. Number one, you've got cultural differences. One thing I learned from ACCEPT, you go from playing five shows [a week at clubs] to joining a band like ACCEPT — they were the second-largest metal band in Germany, SCORPIONS being number one — that was a whole different game for me. I was, like, you know, 'I can do this.' Well, ['Eat The Heat' producer] Dieter [Dierks] said, 'You've got a great voice, but we have to discover what it is. We have to find the identity.' And I didn't understand that, but when you're trying to sing like [Rob] Halford or [Ronnie James] Dio or David Coverdale and doing cover songs, you really don't have an identity, where Udo, that's just how he sings. That was the voice when he started the band in 1974. So that's what it was."

Reece added: "The hardest part of the process was being accepted in the band, no pun intended. The final audition was a live show in Cologne, and they invited a lot of heavy people there to give their opinion. And there was about a thousand people at the show. I was convinced that that was my last day there, that it won't work. And I did the show. It went really well, and we had a guest house and I heard everybody talking in the morning. So I got up and said, 'Well, I better go say goodbye.' And I walked into the kitchen and they all said, 'Welcome to ACCEPT.' So I was hired. That was pretty terrifying, because I had been there for a long time, and they were really nervous about making the change, because they had a singer before me from England named Rob Armitage for a while, and he didn't work out. And you never really knew with them what they were thinking. They kept things very much in their private circle. Nobody would say 'yes', nobody would say 'no'. So that was really the final test, if I could fit in the band. And I made it."

Back in 2022, Reece was asked by Via Nocturna 2000 YT how he looks back on his time with ACCEPT. Reece said: "Well, I can be blatantly honest — it was super positive and super negative, but I wouldn't be speaking with you right now if I hadn't done that album. The doors were opened; the floodgates happened. The critics hated me. Some loved me. But I have to be honest and say that was an opportunity of a lifetime. I did the best I could. I have no animosity towards those guys. I don't care what they're doing; they don't care what I'm doing; but I'm grateful for the opportunity. It speaks volumes as a singer that I was chosen over 50 people to be the guy. It was a difficult job."

David went on to say that his association with ACCEPT landed him a call from JUDAS PRIEST after the latter band parted ways with Rob Halford. "At that time I could really sing like that," he said. "It was myself, Ralf Scheepers [PRIMAL FEAR] and Ripper Owens; [we] were the top three guys. So they chose Ripper. But they were contacting me six months later: 'Come over to England and let's jam.' So, obviously, it did a lot for me in a positive way."

According to Reece, he looks back on "Eat The Heat" fondly. "I mean, everybody has an album they regret, but if you regret an album, maybe you're not thinking clearly about the personal turmoil that was going on during the album," he explained. "That could affect how you think about it. And I've gotten to my old, mature state where I can go, 'That's pretty damn good.' I still play 'X-T-C' and 'D-Train' and 'Hellhammer' live, and 'Generation Clash', and people go crazy. So those songs are timeless for people."

In January 2021, Wolf called "Eat The Heat" "a dark time in our history of ACCEPT. I would say that all of the '90s were very difficult and very dark in a way, and I don't even like to think about it so much," he told Hardrock Haven. "If only you journalist guys didn't constantly ask me about it, I would never even think about it. [Laughs] 'Cause it was just a time when heavy metal was going through a very dark period. The traditional sound was out of style and nobody wanted to listen to it, so it was sort of searching for a new direction — especially in the '90s. 'Eat The Heat' came out at the beginning of that era and it was meant to be a new chapter, but it's just never panned out because basically everything went wrong with that album. And it's just something you go through in life. I don't see why I still have to defend myself in a way… People always ask me this question almost in a provocative way, as if I have to defend myself about this album. It's ridiculous… It's almost like people have to apologize that they like it."

He continued: "There's something about this album that rubs a lot of people the wrong way and they have such a strong opinion about it… It's sometimes laughable. In my mind, it had some fantastic songs but it was just never executed properly, and it was not meant to be. But over the years, I've met so many fans who said exactly the same thing, 'Man, I really wanna apologize, but I really like this album… I know nobody likes it, but I think it's great.' And I think that's so bizarre. If you like it, you like it. It's so strange that people are so opinionated about it.

"It's just music," Wolf explained. "You can like it or not, but it's not more than that. In any case, it wasn't the period of time that I like to even think about much, 'cause it was very difficult."

In addition to ACCEPT, Reece has played with BONFIRE, BANGALORE CHOIR and IRON ALLIES.

In a recent interview with "The David Ellefson Show", hosted by former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson, Wolf confirmed that several former ACCEPT members, including Dirkschneider, were offered an opportunity to contribute to "Teutonic Titans 1976–2026". Wolf said: "We invited every one of the old members, of the original members, to be part of this. But as it happens, nobody wanted to have anything to do with it, which is quite sad, I believe, because it would've been a great way to reconnect or something, or even as a friendly gesture. But no, it wasn't [to be]... And to me, that is still a sad and weird phenomenon that… You probably know this. As soon as somebody leaves the band, you never see them again. They don't answer your e-mails. Usually, whatever, when they're out, they're out. And it's really unfortunate. I wish it wasn't that way, just because whatever disagreements or whatever change of minds happened to the departure, we could still be friends and talk and stay in touch. But it's not that way."

"Teutonic Titans 1976–2026" was released on September 4, 2026 via Napalm Records. On the LP, ACCEPT is joined by a staggering 50 guests across 19 reimagined versions of their biggest tracks. Chronologically progressing through albums from their formative years, from "I'm A Rebel" (1980) to "Eat The Heat" (1989),ACCEPT presents its songs with an all-new, all-star lineup, alongside the signature voice of Mark Tornillo and Hoffmann's unmistakable riffs.

Tobias Forge (GHOST) delivers a commanding performance on the track "Save Us" ("I'm A Rebel", 1980),joined by Ray Luzier on drums. Philip Anselmo (PANTERA),Kirk Hammett (METALLICA) and Mikkey Dee (SCORPIONS) tear through the speed metal classic "Fast As A Shark" ("Restless And Wild", 1982). "Balls To The Wall" surges with the powerful range of Rob Halford (JUDAS PRIEST),alongside the guitar work of Matthias Jabs (SCORPIONS),while the reimagined "Love Child" is elevated by Billy Corgan (SMASHING PUMPKINS) and David Ellefson (MEGADETH) (both songs from "Balls To The Wall", 1983).

Other guest stars on ACCEPT's extraordinary release include K.K. Downing (JUDAS PRIEST),Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth (OVERKILL),Hansi Kürsch (BLIND GUARDIAN),Chris Jericho (FOZZY),Ralf Scheepers (PRIMAL FEAR),Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG),Ola Englund (THE HAUNTED) and Jeff Loomis (NEVERMORE). The re-recording of "Hellhammer" ("Eat The Heat", 1989) was performed by ACCEPT's current lineup: Wolf Hoffmann, bassist Martin Motnik, guitarist Philip Shouse and drummer Christopher Williams, joined by Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS) on vocals.

Photo credit: Matt Bischof (courtesy of El Puerto Records)