How Hoffmann thinks before he plays

Accept have released the third video preview for their forthcoming album Blind Rage, in which co-founder Wolf Hoffmann reveals he sings solo ideas to himself before working them out on guitar.

The German axeman believes he has a unique approach to the creative process. He says: “I’m a gut player – I just play what I feel. I’m not somebody who sits down and practices all day long, and waits for a nice melody to come his way.

“I do the opposite. I sit and think, ‘What could the song really need?’ as if it was a vocal idea, then I work it out that way. I sing it to myself first, then teach myself how to play it.”

Hoffman also discusses some of the artists who influenced him, name checking Ritchie Blackmore and describing Uli Jon Roth as “probably the best of them all.”

The veteran guitarist revealed last month the band decided on the album title after seeing Dan Goldsworthy’s cover artwork: “None of the song titles we had worked with the cover so we figured we’d come up with something that symbolises what Accept and our music stand for,” he says. “And Blind Rage just seemed fitting.”

Their 14th studio work on August 15 via Nuclear Blast.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.