Title: “Forged in Steel: ACCEPT Gears Up for the Most Ambitious Collaboration of Their Career”
There’s a fire lit inside the studios of Wolf Hoffmann and it’s not just the sound of Marshall amps at full throttle. It’s something deeper, older, and more powerful—an echo from the metal gods themselves. In the heart of Germany, where the riffs never sleep and the double kicks never falter, heavy metal legends **ACCEPT** are readying a project that could redefine their legacy: a full-length collaboration album simply titled *”Check In.”*
The studio smells of solder, sweat, and vintage leather jackets. The walls are plastered with decades of gold records, backstage passes, and black-and-white photos of long-haired rebellion. But for the first time in years, the old guard feels electric with something new. Because *Check In* isn’t just another ACCEPT record—it’s a statement.
“Metal has always been about brotherhood,” says Wolf Hoffmann, the band’s long-standing guitarist and creative helm. “But this time, we decided to take that literally. We’re not just writing for ourselves—we’re writing with others. Some of the best in the game.”
The details of *Check In* had been a tightly guarded secret for months, whispered only in cryptic social media posts and grainy rehearsal clips. But now, with the album wrapped and pre-orders climbing the charts before a single track has dropped, the floodgates are opening. And what pours out is a molten mix of old-school thunder and genre-bending risk.
**The Collaborators**
Rumors swirled early on—was that really Tobias Sammet seen leaving the studio last winter? Did Tarja Turunen just post a photo in front of ACCEPT’s gear cases? The answer: yes and yes.
*Check In* features 12 new tracks, each co-written and performed with some of metal’s most iconic voices and unexpected allies. On one track, “Bloodlines of Steel,” Hoffmann and Udo reunite for the first time in over a decade—burying old tensions in favor of a scorched-earth anthem that sounds like it was dug from the same mine that gave us *Balls to the Wall*.
Then there’s “Cathedral of Static,” a song that fuses Tarja’s operatic vocals with the hammering riffs of ACCEPT, creating an atmospheric yet punishing soundscape. Elsewhere, Tobias Sammet’s contribution to “Neon Tongues” feels like a speed-metal sermon—equal parts chaos and clarity.
Other collaborators include Nergal (Behemoth), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Mark Tornillo (of course), and even an unlikely cameo by Dave Mustaine, whose razor-sharp solo on “Second Coming Machine” earned a standing ovation in the mixing booth.
**The Process**
“We didn’t want this to be just ‘ACCEPT plus feature.’ That’s too safe,” says producer Andy Sneap, who flew in from the UK to oversee the mixing. “This was about building a real conversation. ACCEPT invited these artists not to stand next to them, but to *become* them for a moment. To stretch what this band is capable of.”
Each song on *Check In* began with a jam session, often late into the night, with musicians flying in from around the world. “It was chaos at times,” laughs bassist Martin Motnik. “You’d walk in and see Doro Pesch screaming into a mic while Wolf was noodling some baroque piece on guitar and Nergal was lighting candles in the corner. But that chaos? That was the magic.”
They tracked most of the instruments analog—deliberately embracing a raw, unfiltered sound that harkens back to the band’s 1980s heyday. “There’s too much perfection in metal these days,” says Hoffmann. “We wanted soul, friction, and even a little danger.”
**The Theme**
The title *Check In* isn’t just a reference to hotels or tours—it’s a philosophical flag. “It’s about checking in with ourselves, with the fans, with the world,” explains Tornillo. “Metal isn’t just nostalgia. It’s alive. And every generation has to check in and prove they still mean it.”
Lyrically, the album veers between themes of technological alienation (“Firewall Saints”), lost heritage (“Iron Memory”), and redemption through rebellion (“Echoes from Below”). The centerpiece of the album is “The Table of Twelve,” a nine-minute epic where each guest vocalist takes a stanza. It’s a metal opera in miniature—and a testament to the spirit of unity that defines *Check In*.
**The Release**
Set to drop worldwide on **June 6, 2025**, *Check In* will be accompanied by a limited-edition vinyl box set, behind-the-scenes documentary, and a world tour where select collaborators will join the band on stage in rotating cities. Already, the buzz is seismic. Metal magazines are hailing it as ACCEPT’s most ambitious record since *Restless and Wild*, and fan forums are ablaze with speculation over the hidden track teased at the album’s end.
“For a band like us to still be experimenting, still hungry… that’s not normal,” says Hoffmann. “But ACCEPT was never meant to be normal. We’re the steel hammer. We’re built for the long haul.”
**Legacy Reinvented**
As the final mixes bounce down and the mastering tape spins, there’s a quiet moment where the whole studio goes silent. Hoffmann leans back, closes his eyes, and lets the last chord ring in his mind. It’s not just another record. It’s a *check in* with everything he’s lived for—every battle fought in leather and sweat and sound.
“When the fans hear this,” he says, “they’ll know—we’re not done. Not even close.”