[Not Christmas Balls] -- Is December a good time to release an album? Bigger artists with major labels might use the 4th quarter to take advantage of a retail spike that occurs during the holidays, especially if they have a song about the New Year, Christmas, etc. Of course the market is super saturated at the end of the year, more now than it ever was in the 1980s. So, a recording artist probably needs something with a holiday or end-of-the-year vibe to do well.
At least, that is the conventional music marketing wisdom.
Enter German heavy metal band Accept. Into the bluster of the holiday season, they released their fifth studio album, Balls to the Wall. And, no, we're not talking about Christmas balls. The European release was 40 years ago last week – on December 5, 1983 – while the US release was delayed a month until January 1984.
Balls to the Wall was Accept's biggest commercial success, continuing to drive down the road that their previous release, Restless and Wild, had opened. One of this album's achievements was being Accept's first album to chart in the US; it peaked at #74 on the Billboard 200. Another achievement as that of being notorious and the band's most sexually charged album [per the AllMusic review]. And then there was the gay metal "controversy," which likely fueled some popularity or at least generated additional PR for the record. I mean, look at the cover image and listen to "London Leatherboys."
Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann downplayed the supposed controversy, later calling out Americans as overly uptight about sex and sexuality. But the best comment came from Accept's drummer, Stefan Kauffman:
"It's a phenomenon that should be taken into consideration. Because it exists on a wide scale and should be demystified. In fact, this is a phenomenon of society that needs to be taken as such. For a long time gay people have been considered as sick or insane. And yet, it's time to respect these people, open our minds which are often closed." [1983, p. 9. Archives of Enfer Magazine (in French)]
Whether Accept was ... more accepting ... than others on the metal scene, or simply trying to be controversial for the sake of being controversial, their album is considered a classic of the heavy metal genre. And it is about as far as you can get from holiday songs and carols, if you need a break from that kind of thing.
In addition to the single, check out "Fight It Back," "Head Over Heels," and, one of my faves, "Losing More Than You've Ever Had."
Flashback: Balls to the Wall (December 5, 1983)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
I'll see you in seven!
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