MARK TORNILLO Says ACCEPT Has 'Moved On' From UDO DIRKSCHNEIDER Era: 'We're Almost A Different Band At This Point'

ACCEPT frontman Mark Tornillo was recently interviewed by Alison Booth of Metal Shock Finland. The full conversation can be streamed at this location. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET and Metal Shock Finland).

On how songs from the group's latest album, "The Rise Of Chaos", are being received live:

Mark: "Right now, we're playing five songs off the new record, which is pretty much unheard of, but we do it, and they work well. I think it was accepted very well, actually, and I'm really happy with the way it turned out, and with the way things are going. We just keep plugging away. We're still of the old-school formula — you make a record, and then you go out and tour in support of that record and try to sell it, and sell more records. And it works — it's perseverance."

On the inspiration for "Analog Man", a song on "The Rise Of Chaos":

Mark: "I'm just one of those people that has issues with computers and all of that nonsense. I'm not totally crippled, but [I'm] just not computer-savvy, let's put it that way. I get what I have to get done, and that's about it. But in the end, it just annoys me, you know, when things don't work and things I can't figure out. And I just get annoyed. I always look at [my bandmates] and I go, 'Look, see me — analog, analog man! You can have your digital world, analog man!' And they just wrote the damn song! It goes over so well live, it's crazy."

On joining ACCEPT:

Mark: "It was frightening. When we first announced what was going to happen, there was really not many people on board with it. Online, there was a lot of naysayers, a lot of badmouthing. It was very disheartening. We all sat down and said, 'Look, we have to make an amazing record, or else we're gonna die here. This is going to be a swansong. We have to make an amazing record.' And that's what we did. We spent a lot of time writing 'Blood Of The Nations' and a lot of time recording it, and I think in retrospect, it paid off. If that album wasn't what it was, we wouldn't be here."

On fans who have yet to "accept" him:

Mark: "Everybody is entitled to their opinion. I'm a purist too with certain things. I get it. But I think we've moved on. We're almost a different band at this point. We really are a different band at this point. We still pay tribute to the old ACCEPT by playing the old songs — I mean, we have the two people that wrote most of the songs, [so] we have to. That's always going to be part of ACCEPT's history. You can't change it. All we can change is the future. But everyone's entitled to their opinion, and I get it. I wish them all well, and I wish [former ACCEPT singer] Udo [Dirkschneider] well, and his band, you know. No hard feelings on my part, that's for sure."

On the band's future plans:

Mark: "It's still up in the air what's gonna happen the rest of the year after the festivals. We may continue touring all year, I really don't know. After that, that remains to be seen. Maybe do another record, I don't know. We're too old to take five years off. [Laughs] At some point, we're either going to have to call it quits or just go right back to the studio. It is what it is. Or just continue touring. We do as much as we can, but you can't oversaturate either. You just have to pray for new markets too, and thank god for South America — that's become a great market for us. Australia seems to be picking up for us. We just have to be consistent. It's just like the old days — you have to tour consistently and hit those places and keep pounding them, and that's how you pick up fans."

"The Rise Of Chaos" was released last August via Nuclear Blast. The cover artwork for the disc was created by the Hungarian artist Gyula Havancsák.