Accept - 1989 - Eat the heat

Released 11 may 1989

Dirkschneider went off and formed U.D.O., while the rest of Accept searched for a new singer.  
Enter American vocalist David Reese.

Accept’s first album without Udo was 1989’s Eat The Heat.  
The album was met with critical derision and fan indifference.  
As such, it would be the only Accept album featuring Reese on vocals.  
But is it as bad as they say?  
I will say this — Eat The Heat is a flawed album, no doubt about it, but it is not a complete flop.  
The biggest flaw?  The production!  
Dieter Dierks’ knob job was stiff, mechanical, and colder than a Yeti’s dick.  
He really botched this one!  
The second biggest flaw was the band’s lack of direction.  
Accept weren’t sure whether they wanted to be a metal band, a hair band, or something in between.  
They were a bit rudderless at the time.  
So they threw a bunch of songs at the wall to see which of ’em would stick.  
Never a good plan.  
As for Reese, he was neither exceptional nor abysmal.  
I don’t think his presence hurt (or helped) the album in any significant way.

Eat The Heat has some decent songs, but lacks any truly killer tunes.  
Noteworthy tracks include X-T-C (the heavy album opener), Generation Clash (a hypnotic, slow burning pounder),
and Hellhammer (a driving metal number with an off-the-wall, melodic interlude).  
Another very interesting track is Stand 4 What U R.  
This song sounds nothing like Accept!  
It is more or less a “training montage” song that could have been used in any number of eighties movies.

There’s also a few dogs to be found on Eat The Heat —
like the tepid, overly long ballad Mistreated and I Can’t Believe In You (a Japanese bonus track).