“We thank you again for all the kind wishes regarding Mark‘s health. He is very grateful and says they help tremendously!”

Two days ago, ACCEPT canceled its concert in Vineland, New Jersey due to Tornillo‘s illness. The decision to call off the show came two days after ACCEPT performed without Tornillo in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

It was announced prior to the Toronto concert that the 68-year-old Tornillo, who joined ACCEPT in 2009, would be unable to play the gig because he was having vocal issues and could have risked losing his voice had he gone ahead with the performance.

ACCEPT played an hour-long set in Toronto, with drummer Christopher Williams, bassist Martin Motnik and some of the other members handling the vocal parts.

On Monday (October 17),Williams shared a statement below The Metal Voice‘s Facebook post regarding the Toronto gig, writing: “Look: we could have cancelled the show, then there would have been nothing. That’s it, good night, go home. Rather than that, we wanted to at least do SOMETHING for the fans, especially since it’s been so long since the band has performed in Canada.

“I don’t sing the ACCEPT songs, I play drums and sing backing vocals. During a show I’m not thinking about the lyrics for the full song, I’m performing. Same with Motnik.

“We tried to do something for the people that were there. We could have bailed out and done nothing. The situation was a major bummer but we did what we could.

“I can say this 1000% on record: Replacing Mark isn’t an easy task. We still play in the original album key, tuned to standard. We don’t drop tune like a lot of vocalists prefer which makes it ‘easier’ to hit the notes. We don’t use backing tracks, it’s all live. It’s not like Mark can change a set of strings or sticks… We took a shitty situation and did what we could.

“Mark will be back up there in no time kicking ass like he always does.”

Tornillo joined ACCEPT as the replacement for the band’s original lead singer, Udo Dirkscheider. He can be heard on ACCEPT‘s last five studio albums, “Blood Of The Nations” (2010),“Stalingrad” (2012),“Blind Rage” (2014),“The Rise Of Chaos” (2017) and “Too Mean To Die” (2021).

ACCEPT‘s North American tour, featuring support from NARCOTIC WASTELAND, kicked off on September 29 in Nashville, Tennessee and is scheduled to conclude on October 29 in Columbus, Ohio.

In a 2018 interview with Metal Shock Finland, Tornillo stated about what it was like to first join ACCEPT: “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.”

Asked about fans who have yet to “accept” him, Mark said: “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 Udo well, and his band, you know. No hard feelings on my part, that’s for sure.”

Asked about ACCEPT‘s overall approach since he came into the group, Tornillo told “That Jamieson Show”: “Basically, (we went) back to what we did in the ’80s — what everybody did back in the day. The whole thing was, when I joined the band, Wolf (Hoffmann, guitar) did not want the band to rest on its laurels and only go out and play the classics. He wanted a real band. So we’ve been album-tour, album-tour — like it always was.”

Mark also talked about his musical personal chemistry with Hoffmann, who is the sole remaining member from ACCEPT‘s classic lineup.

“It’s grown quite a bit, actually,” he said. “We’ve got a great mutual respect for each other and for our talents. This album (‘Too Mean To Die’) was a total collaboration. This is the first ACCEPT album without Peter, so that was a big gap to fill. But everybody stepped up. Our (new) bass player Martin Motnik contributed quite a bit to this album.”

ACCEPT will start their long-awaited “Too Mean To Die” European tour on January 14, 2023 in Oberhausen. The metal Teutons will tour across Europe from mid-January to the end of February, playing 29 gigs in 13 countries, ten of them in Germany alone.

ACCEPT mastermind Wolf Hoffmann states:
“It’s been two hard years because we really wanted to go on stage but couldn’t for the reasons we know. Anyway, now the time of suffering has come to an end. And only one thing counts now: ACCEPT and our fans are ‘too mean to die’ – we won’t let it get us down and rock the beginning of 2023.”

Tickets for the “Too Mean To Die” European Tour 2023 are now available. Get your exclusive VIP access for the shows of your choice (incl. meeting and photo with ACCEPT) AT THIS LOCATION!

ACCEPT live 2023:
“Too Mean To Die“ Tour 2023:
14.01.23 DE – Oberhausen / Turbinenhalle
15.01.23 BE – Brüssel / La Madeleine
17.01.23 DE – Frankfurt / Batschkapp
18.01.23 FR – Paris / Bataclan
20.01.23 ES – Pamplona / Totem
21.01.23 ES – Madrid / La Riviera
22.01.23 ES – Barcelona / Razzmatazz 1
24.01.23 FR – Toulouse / Bikini
25.01.23 FR – Lyon / Transbordeur
27.01.23 CH – Zürich / Komplex
28.01.23 AT – Telfs / Rathaussaal
29.01.23 HU – Budapest / Barba Negra
31.01.23 CZ – Zlin / Hala Euronics
01.02.22 PL – Warsaw / Progresja
03.02.23 EE – Tallinn / Helitehas
04.03.23 FI – Helsinki / House Of Culture
05.02.23 FI – Tampere / Pakkahuone
07.02.23 SE – Stockholm / Fryshuset
08.02.23 NO – Oslo / Rockefeller
10.02.23 SE – Gothenborg / Trädgår’n
11.02.23 DK – Kopenhagen / Vega
12.02.23 DE – Bremen / Aladin
14.02.23 DE – Berlin / Huxley’s
16.02.23 DE – Ulm / Ratiopharm Arena
17.02.23 DE – Munich / Tonhalle
18.02.23 DE – Filderstadt / FILharmonie
19.02.23 DE – Geiselwind / Eventzentrum
21.02.23 DE – Leipzig / Haus Auensee
22.02.23 DE – Saarbrücken / Garage

ACCEPT are:
Wolf Hoffmann – guitar
Mark Tornillo – vocals
Uwe Lulis – guitar
Philip Shouse – guitar
Martin Motnik – bass
Christopher Williams – drums