{"id":49894,"date":"2016-07-01T00:00:41","date_gmt":"2016-07-01T00:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=49894"},"modified":"2016-11-20T19:31:51","modified_gmt":"2016-11-20T19:31:51","slug":"feature-wolf-hoffmann-07-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-wolf-hoffmann-07-16\/","title":{"rendered":"WOLF HOFFMANN &#8211; Guitarist On Bald Mountain (July 2016) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"title\"><strong>WOLF HOFFMANN &#8211; Guitarist On Bald Mountain<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"smalltitle\">Anthony Morgan<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: arial; font-size: 8pt\">July 2016<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"image floatedleft\">\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/wolfhoffmann2016promophoto1.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/p>\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<div align=\"left\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><em><b>Wolf Hoffmann<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div align=\"right\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-content\/themes\/metalforces\/images\/spacer.gif\" width=\"10\" border=\"0\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-content\/themes\/metalforces\/images\/spacer.gif\" width=\"10\" border=\"0\"><br \/>\nGerman metal group Accept embarked on an initial hiatus between 1997 and 2005, the interlude lasting roughly eight years until the veterans temporarily reunited for a summer festival run during 2005. A more permanent return would not unfold until four years later. September 1997 full-length studio album <em>Classical<\/em> marked guitarist Wolf Hoffmann\u2019s inaugural solo foray, the affair consisting of metal interpretations of classical compositions from the likes of Tchaikovsky, among others.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany years ago, I had some off-time from Accept,\u201d Wolf remembers. \u201cI really wanted to make an album complete with the classical ideas I had sort of gathered over the years, and all of the classical themes I perhaps couldn\u2019t do with Accept. I always wanted to do that; to combine classical and metal music. In Accept songs, there is only so much room. I thought that it would be fun to make a complete album with nothing but these instrumental tracks, where they don\u2019t have to fit in any framework of an existing metal song. So, that\u2019s what led to the first album many, many years ago, and I enjoyed it very much. Many people always came back to me year after year, and said \u2018I love this album. I still listen to it. You should make a follow-up album.\u2019 So, it\u2019s been in the back of my mind for a long time to do another album.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That second classically themed solo endeavour arrives in the form of July 2016\u2019s <em>Headbangers Symphony<\/em>, although its initial inception was conceived some time ago. \u201cIt started around 2007 or 2008, and at that time Accept was not on anybody\u2019s minds,\u201d the axeman informs. \u201cNobody had any intention of regrouping. Accept was pretty much finished, because we didn\u2019t have a singer. All of this stuff is pretty much well known, that Udo (Dirkschneider, former Accept vocalist) was no longer interested in working with us. I thought \u2018Alright. If I can\u2019t do Accept, what else is there that I would like to do?\u2019 Then I thought of doing a follow-up to the classical album. I always wanted to do that, so I started working. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI started to look around for a collaborator, because I knew I wanted to have it with strings and orchestra this time around. I started to look for somebody to work with to write all of those scores, because I can\u2019t do that obviously. I couldn\u2019t do it all alone. I finally found this guy from Italy \u2013 Melo Mafali. We started to work on the first demos around 2007 or 2008. Shortly after we did the first demos, we started getting everything into motion. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen Accept started to regroup, and we had to go on tour. We had to make albums, and then all of a sudden, there was no more time for anything but Accept. That\u2019s why everything was dragged out for so many years. We literally only met every other year for a couple of weeks, and continued to work on it here and there. That\u2019s not the right way to do it, but at least I figured that this was finally the time to finish everything and get it out on the market.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Purchasing <em>Classical<\/em> via the market as it were, however \u2013 to backtrack \u2013 seems difficult. \u201cI should talk to the label, and maybe see if we can do like a package deal for both of them together, or something like that,\u201d Wolf muses. \u201cThat might actually happen, because you\u2019re not the first person to complain that it\u2019s so hard to find. I think you can get it on our website. Actually, there are still some copies left, but most people don\u2019t even know to look there. I\u2019ve heard that many times, yeah. It\u2019s been out of print for so many years that the copies that are sometimes available are imports, and they\u2019re expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Headbangers Symphony<\/em>, to return to that central topic, includes the involvement of Melo Mafali. \u201cHe\u2019s a classically trained pianist, composer and arranger,\u201d the composer lists. \u201cHe knows all of that stuff, but at the same time, he has an understanding and a love of metal. He grew up listening to Deep Purple, just like I did, and all of the classic rock and metal bands. We speak the same language in that department as well; he is basically a classical guy with a love for metal and I\u2019m a metal guy with a love for classical, and we can just sit there and work together. I can sing him something that I hear in my head, and he can make it happen. He can put it on tape and translate it into rock orchestra language. He knows what a viola will play versus a violin, for example. He knows all of that stuff and I don\u2019t, so I needed somebody like that. That\u2019s his role in the whole thing, though.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"image floatedleft\">\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/acceptwolfhoffmann2016livephoto1.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/p>\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<div align=\"left\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><strong><em>Wolf Hoffmann<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div align=\"right\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-content\/themes\/metalforces\/images\/spacer.gif\" width=\"10\" border=\"0\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>The pair originally met in Germany. \u201cHe actually approached me after I released my first classical album,\u201d Wolf recalls. \u201cHe approached me, and said \u2018I\u2019d love to write some string arrangements for your next album, if you ever need some.\u2019 I thought \u2018Yeah, that sounds great, but I don\u2019t really need anything right now,\u2019 because the first album had already been released. I kept his address and tried to track him down all these years later though, and finally did. I\u2019m glad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Armed with a classically trained arranger, the axe-slinger was tasked with selecting which tracks to adapt for inclusion on <em>Headbangers Symphony<\/em>. \u201cOh my God,\u201d he ponders. \u201cThe field of classical music is so vast that you could never know it all, for sure. I just go about it like an average listener. I have classical music on in the background a lot of times, here in my house, and whenever there\u2019s something that really moves me. I write it down, and I have a short list of pieces that I\u2019d love to try. Then you just sit and try to play them on guitar, and see how well they translate. That\u2019s pretty much the main criteria: \u2018Is this piece even playable with electric guitar and with drums?\u2019 <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome pieces are really hard or almost impossible to translate and play with a metal band, just because they weren\u2019t written for that. They were written for orchestra, and have a different sense of timing and different sense of everything. Some pieces work really well, though. You just gotta figure out which ones they are, but the pieces that I chose were pretty much just all across the board and the spectrum. Just favourite tunes of mine that I admired and loved for a long time. Some of the stuff, like \u2018Swan Lake\u2019, is something that I wanted to do my whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Having admired and loved the genre for a number of years, Wolf was just generally exposed to classical music at a young age. \u201cJust growing up, it was everywhere pretty much, but I\u2019m not from a musical household,\u201d he notes. \u201cNobody plays an instrument, or anything like that. Originally when I was a teenager though, I didn\u2019t want to have anything to do with it. I just wanted to make metal, but for some reason, every time I heard classical music, I thought \u2018There\u2019s something there that touches me.\u2019 The first guy that I really got into was Tchaikovsky. I thought \u2018Man, that stuff is pretty dramatic and pretty metal in a weird way,\u2019 so I started to buy more and more records. Then I really got into it for a while, and it never left me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A friend or family didn\u2019t introduce the performer to the genre, per se. \u201cSometimes I just heard stuff on the radio,\u201d he shares. \u201cLike I said, growing up in Germany in those days, I think it was there all the time. I don\u2019t know where, but it was on the radio. It was just around everywhere, even on TV and stuff, maybe more than today. I don\u2019t actually know how I\u2026 It seems so remote now, because everything is about modern rock and the latest trends. Classical music really seems to be further in the back of people\u2019s minds. It\u2019s not as prominent now as it used to be. I don\u2019t know, but it was around more (laughs). I was exposed to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Classically themed elements seem more prevalent within the metal sphere in recent years, especially with the likes of symphonic metal rising in prominence. \u201cRight,\u201d Wolf seconds. \u201cI\u2019m not the first to discover this kind of stuff. Even back then, I noticed there were a bunch of bands and people trying to combine the two elements \u2013 Deep Purple was obviously one of them. There was a band in the Netherlands called Exseption that were somewhat popular in the 70s, and they did that extensively. There was Emerson, Lake And Palmer, who were really successful with some of that stuff. So, I\u2019m totally not the first one to try this. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cNowadays, there\u2019s a lot of symphonic metal, like you said. I\u2019m just trying to put my own personal spin on it, and do what I always wanted to do. In a weird way, this album is a very personal project of mine. I mean, it\u2019s meant to be released to the public, but it\u2019s really not written for anybody else. I didn\u2019t really go about and study all of the other bands, and say \u2018I\u2019ve gotta do this for this or that target audience,\u2019 blah blah blah. I honestly did it mostly for myself, the way I wanted to do it for all of these years. If people love it then I\u2019m happy, but if they don\u2019t then honestly I almost don\u2019t care. It\u2019s really a very ego project, if you want.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If a musical concern isn\u2019t personal in nature, then said musical concern isn\u2019t arguably as exceptional in terms of its respective quality. \u201cThat\u2019s what I was always hoping, and it\u2019s how I approached the first album,\u201d the musician reckons. \u201cI honestly went about these things saying \u2018I don\u2019t care what anybody else thinks. I\u2019m gonna do this because I love doing it. I wanna do it until I feel it\u2019s the right way to do it.\u2019 If people like it then great, but that\u2019s usually the best way I believe to go about it. Deep in my heart, I kind of know when it\u2019s right or when it\u2019s wrong. If you think about somebody else, it\u2019s tricky. You always go wrong I believe if you write stuff or release stuff with somebody in mind, with a certain target audience.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"image floatedright\">\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-content\/themes\/metalforces\/images\/spacer.gif\" width=\"10\" border=\"0\"><\/td>\n<td>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/wolfhoffmann_headbangerssymphonylarge.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/p>\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<div align=\"left\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div align=\"right\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Classical music has influenced Accept\u2019s material through the years. \u201cCertainly in the solo parts and stuff, it always has been,\u201d Wolf judges. \u201cThe way I play guitar, I think I have always been deeply influenced by classical themes and melodies. Even going back to albums like <em>Restless And Wild<\/em> (October 1982) and songs like \u2018Fast As A Shark\u2019, what I play on that song in particular \u2013 all the way back then \u2013 has definitely got some classical elements in it. It doesn\u2019t really rip off any existing pieces, but it has that feel to it, and that melody could\u2019ve been a classical piece. It never was, but it is definitely very heavily influenced by that, and that\u2019s also in a song like \u2018Metal Heart\u2019 (from the March 1985 album of the same name). Obviously, there are many, many Accept songs where we can say \u2018Oh, that sounds like a classical piece\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Had classical composers of times past been alive today, said composers would be rock stars in critical stature. \u201cOf course, of course,\u201d the axeman concurs. \u201cI believe all of these composers that are still well known today, whether it\u2019s Mozart or Beethoven or Tchaikovsky or whoever, they were sort of the Paul McCartneys and Princes of their time. They were the ones who broke the rules and became world famous, and they would be today. If those guys were alive today, they would write contemporary music. They probably wouldn\u2019t write the music. They just use different tools, and they would probably use drum machines and who knows what else. Electric guitars and anything that\u2019s out now, they would\u2019ve used it. Back then, they used what they had available, which was classical orchestra music.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As referenced by Wolf, difficulties exist with respect to translating classical music into a metal platform. \u201cYou\u2019re always sort of looking for a main melody that\u2019s easily recognisable,\u201d he explains. \u201cSome pieces are very elaborate; sometimes they have these 20-minute symphonies, or long, stretched out pieces. They don\u2019t really have a melody that jumps out. It\u2019s just beautiful music that sort of goes on and on, but you can\u2019t pick out one melody that you can say \u2018Oh, I can remember that, and I can even sing along to it.\u2019 <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe best pieces to transpose are the ones that have a very strong, recognisable main theme, like Beethoven\u2026 \u2018Da da da\u2026 Da da da\u2019 (hums the opening of \u2018Symphony No. 5\u2019), or&#8230; I don\u2019t know&#8230; Mozart\u2019s \u2018Eine Kleine Nachtmusik\u2019. Everybody knows those kinds of melodies, so the trick is to find the ones that are not too well known, but well enough and are actually playable on an electric guitar. If it\u2019s just an orchestra with many voicings interlaced and you can\u2019t pick out a certain strong melody, then it becomes really hard to translate that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Inevitably, certain classical pieces proved too difficult to transpose. \u201cOh, there was actually quite a few,\u201d the songwriter highlights. \u201cI have a whole list of things\u2026 I don\u2019t even remember half of them. I know we worked on a bunch where we were like \u2018No\u2019, and a lot of times we just listened to them. We didn\u2019t even try them that much. We just listened to them, and figured out that maybe they weren\u2019t the right vibe and stuff. There were some Tchaikovsky pieces that I remember, and actually Mozart\u2019s \u2018Figaro\u2019. We never quite figured that one out, but sometimes later, you come up with another part that actually makes it possible for it to work. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s pretty much like writing a song; sometimes you have a snippet of a song idea and it never gets quite finished, but then a year later you come back and have the right idea for it, and it turns into a song. So, I wouldn\u2019t really say that there are songs which are impossible to do. I would just say we didn\u2019t find the right approach for some of these songs, so we just left them alone. Maybe we will attack them next time, if there\u2019s ever a follow-up album.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One track Wolf successfully attacked eventually didn\u2019t surface on the final track listing for <em>Headbangers Symphony<\/em>. \u201cA song (\u2018Dance Of The Nights\u2019), which is a tragedy a little \u2013 it\u2019s a little tragedy,\u201d he describes. \u201cIt\u2019s from <em>Romeo And Juliet<\/em> by Prokofiev, and it was all finished and recorded and mixed. At the very last minute, we hit a legal snag. We had to wait for permission to use that song, because the author or writer\u2026 Basically, he hasn\u2019t been dead long enough (laughs). I think it takes 75 years for the rights to clear and become public domain, after somebody dies. I think in this case, we had to ask for permission from the family. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe permission finally came, but it was too late at that point. We\u2019re gonna release that as a bonus track somewhere, which is a shame, because it was one of my favourite tracks on the whole thing. We had to leave it off at the last minute, though. It\u2019s one of those brutal decisions you have to make sometimes; you\u2019ve gotta slaughter one of your kids basically, and let it go. It\u2019s still gonna see the light of day eventually though, which is good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Dance Of The Nights\u2019 features a guest bass appearance from Devin Townsend. \u201cHe did an amazing job,\u201d the axe-slinger enthuses. \u201cI was super-happy with the performance he did. He\u2019s really an amazing player.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"image floatedleft\">\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/acceptwolfhoffmann2016livephoto2.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/p>\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<div align=\"left\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><strong><em>Wolf Hoffmann<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div align=\"right\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-content\/themes\/metalforces\/images\/spacer.gif\" width=\"10\" border=\"0\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Additional performances Wolf happens to be enamoured with are that of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, a full orchestra omitted from predecessor <em>Classical<\/em>. \u201cI knew from the get go that I wanted there to be strings on the album,\u201d he divulges. \u201cInitially, we did what everybody\u2019s doing. We went and used some sample libraries, where they\u2019ve played on a piano and made it sound like an orchestra \u2013 like a violin, or a cello, or whatever. We did that initially and it sounded pretty good, but I wasn\u2019t really happy with it. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe replaced it with a better library, but eventually I got a hook-up with an orchestra in Prague and I went all the way. I wanted to do this properly; I wanted to do this right. We flew out there and had everybody play together in one big room; 40 people, a full-blown orchestra, performed the whole orchestration for us and recorded to the existing tracks. What you hear on the album is really played by human beings, and not by a computer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Each of <em>Headbangers Symphony<\/em>\u2019s interpretations feature improvised guitar solos placed alongside. \u201cThat\u2019s usually been my approach,\u201d the entertainer critiques. \u201cOn a lot of these adaptations or pieces, I use the main theme and then come up with other parts that work well with it. Usually some metal riffs that I think work well, like in the case of \u2018Night On Bald Mountain\u2019, there\u2019s a bunch of riffs that are of course not in the original piece. So, I write those riffs and then I solo over them, and that\u2019s where the fun is. The fun for me is to write something that has a similar vibe to the original piece, but really just compliments, because that\u2019s where my own person or own influence comes in. To me, it\u2019s less fun to just play classical music. The most fun for me is to invent stuff that goes with the original piece, if you know what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is arguably where Wolf\u2019s individual stamp enters the fray. \u201cI believe so, yeah,\u201d he agrees. \u201cAbsolutely, but I\u2019m trying to be careful to not destroy the mood of the original piece. I\u2019m quite liberal with what I do. I\u2019m not really trying to represent the original composition; I take quite a lot of liberties and do whatever I feel is right, but at the same time, I\u2019m mindful of matching the mood of the original. Say it\u2019s a really slow and moody piece like \u2018Air On The G String\u2019; I would never in a million years turn that into a double-bass track, because that wouldn\u2019t do the piece justice in any way. I\u2019m trying to be mindful and come up with something that at least resembles the original thought and mood of the composition. I take a lot of liberties and do whatever the hell I would\u2019ve done. I always said to myself \u2018If I would\u2019ve had that idea, what would have I done with it?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To promote <em>Headbangers Symphony<\/em>\u2019s release, a music video was filmed for the track \u2018Night On Bald Mountain\u2019. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of fun,\u201d the musician feels. \u201cIt\u2019s epic, and quite impressive. We took the time to really have a full production with many cameras, so it\u2019s a high quality video. It\u2019s not just something on an iPhone. For now, it\u2019s the only video. We might actually shoot another one, but it depends on how everything is going and how much time we have. We\u2019ll have to wait and see. I haven\u2019t even thought about it. All of my thoughts and all of my efforts have been concentrated on getting this one out on time, so I don\u2019t even wanna know about a second one at this moment (laughs). There might be, though. You never know. If things go well and the whole world is screaming for more, we might do another one. Why not?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Touring to promote <em>Headbangers Symphony<\/em> is being plotted. \u201cThat would be the best part of it all, if we managed to do that,\u201d Wolf submits. \u201cI don\u2019t quite know yet how this is gonna happen, or when and where, but we\u2019re definitely scheming on it. I\u2019m talking with orchestras right now. we\u2019re trying to get the logistics under control, so hopefully we can pull it off. I can\u2019t quite promise yet, because it\u2019s still in the works. As soon as you\u2019re talking about orchestras and all these many players, it becomes very expensive and very complicated. That would be something that would be a lot of fun, but I want to do this right. I wouldn\u2019t want to do it with just a handful of players. If it\u2019s not done right, I wouldn\u2019t want to do it. I would want all or nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Given the hefty expense of hiring an orchestra, such an undertaking might be restricted to festival appearances. \u201cExactly,\u201d the axeman replies. \u201cIt might be a festival appearance, or something. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s ever gonna be a full-blown tour in the traditional sense where we go from Manchester to Cologne, Germany, and back and forth. That would be very, very tough to pull off, but there might be special appearances here and there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A third classically themed platter may come to fruition. \u201cI can see it, possibly,\u201d Wolf discloses. \u201cI won\u2019t let it take another 20 years. I might be too old by then (laughs), but I would definitely want to make another one if I get the chance. I would most likely do it in one go. I wouldn\u2019t stretch it out over years; I would take a few months of my time and get it done, get it out, and record it with an orchestra all in one go. I would never try to do it in this layered approach, because it\u2019s just painfully slow and it\u2019s no fun. I would want to record it right away, which is really the best way to stay with the momentum. It\u2019s really hard to make an album like this where you let it sit for a year or two, and then go back to it. It can take a lot of energy to force yourself to stay with it. It\u2019s much more fun to stay in the moment, and do it in one go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To clarify however, a third classically themed jaunt isn\u2019t in the works. In addition, the composer rules out cutting a more conventional metal solo album, where guest vocalists lend their services. \u201cI will I tell you why,\u201d he reasons. \u201cMy main gig is Accept, and I\u2019ve been involved in this band for so many years that I really feel like this is all I can handle, man. All my songwriting energy and skills and everything goes into Accept, and I totally feel there\u2019s nothing outside that I would have the energy or time for doing. I have no interest in making&#8230; If I wanted to do anything outside of Accept, it would be this classical stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"image floatedright\">\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-content\/themes\/metalforces\/images\/spacer.gif\" width=\"10\" border=\"0\"><\/td>\n<td>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/accept2016promophoto1.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/p>\n<table width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<div align=\"left\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><strong><em>Accept (l-r): Christopher Williams, Wolf Hoffmann, <br \/>Mark Tornillo, Peter Baltes and Uwe Lulis<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div align=\"right\"><span class=\"smalltext\"><em>Pic: Scott Diussa<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Having authored a weighty composition, Wolf\u2019s natural inclination is to use said composition within the Accept camp. for Accept. \u201cYeah,\u201d he confirms. \u201cA lot of people have always asked me over the years \u2018When Accept wasn\u2019t existing, why didn\u2019t you have your own band?\u2019 I always say \u2018If I had done that, it would have still sounded like Accept, and then everybody would have compared it to Accept.\u2019 Everybody would have wanted me to play Accept songs live, so it would have been like a lesser version of Accept and it would have competed with the real deal. So, there\u2019s really no need. Accept has been my band for 40 years, and I have no interest in doing anything outside of Accept that even competes remotely with the style of music that we\u2019re doing. There\u2019s really no sense in it. It would just dilute my energy, and dilute everything else that I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/site\/black-sabbath-articles\/\" target=\"_blank\">Black Sabbath<\/a> guitarist Tony Iommi is arguably a great example, whose solo work musically resembles Sabbath but with someone else behind the microphone. \u201cYeah,\u201d the axe-slinger responds. \u201cI\u2019ve seen it in other musicians many times, where it\u2019s like the original band but it\u2019s not as good. It competes, so why even go there? I have no need to. If I wanted to make albums, I\u2019d make Accept albums.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A follow-up to August 2014 Accept effort <em>Blind Rage<\/em> is in the works. \u201cWe are in the middle of it right now, actually,\u201d Wolf reports. \u201cI meet with Peter (Baltes, bass) all the time; we write songs and make demos all day long, all the time. When we have enough stuff, we call in the other guys. We\u2019ll call Andy Sneap over, and we\u2019ll go over everything, and start recording. It\u2019s still not quite there yet, but you can\u2019t rush this process. It\u2019s not going quite as fast as it has been in the last couple of years, because we\u2019ve been on tour all this time. We need a little bit of a break, but it\u2019s getting there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A 2017 issue is being targeted. \u201cThat\u2019s the goal; for it to be released in 2017, and to be recorded this year,\u201d the performer updates.<\/p>\n<p>Accept fanatics shouldn\u2019t expect a deviation from previous works, per se. \u201cIt\u2019s too soon, but our goal is to not make it be any different,\u201d Wolf expresses. \u201cWe want it to be exactly like the last three albums, only better. That\u2019s our goal. We don\u2019t really want to change anything. We don\u2019t really want to have a change of style; we don\u2019t want it to be harder, or softer, or faster, or slower, or nothing. It\u2019s just right in your face, Accept-styled metal riffs like we\u2019ve always been doing, and as good as it can possibly be. The first songs we\u2019ve written are really amazing. I\u2019m feeling pretty damn good about what we have so far \u2013 we just need more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Guitarist Uwe Lulis and drummer Christopher Williams, whose additions were confirmed on April 12th, 2015, will make their Accept studio debuts on the forthcoming opus. \u201cThat\u2019s another thing that\u2019s gonna contribute,\u201d the musician observes. \u201cNow that we have two great players \u2013 new guys in the band \u2013 they\u2019re definitely gonna help the process, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Headbangers Symphony<\/em> was released on July 1st, 2016 via Nuclear Blast.<\/p>\n<p><em>Interview published in July 2016.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WOLF HOFFMANN &#8211; Guitarist On Bald Mountain Anthony Morgan July 2016 Wolf Hoffmann German metal group Accept embarked on an initial hiatus between 1997 and 2005, the interlude lasting roughly eight years until the veterans temporarily reunited for a summer festival run during 2005. A more permanent return would not unfold until four years later. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,3194],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-wolf-hoffmann"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49894"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50424,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49894\/revisions\/50424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}