Wolf Hoffmann — Headbangers Symphony

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

7 years ago this week, Wolf Hoffman released his second solo album nineteen years after his first solo release.

On July 1, 2016, Accept lead guitarist and founder, Wolf Hoffman released his second full-length solo studio album “Headbangers Symphony” via Nuclear Blast nineteen years after his first solo release, “Classical”.

The album is available on limited edition red vinyl, limited edition vinyl, digipack CD and digital album formats.

Background:

On December 1, 2014, Wolf revealed that he was working on a new solo album during an interview with Metal Shock Finland's Alison Booth before the Accept show in London on November 27. He claimed that he was working on the album during Accept's touring break. He described the album as "a lot more Metal than the first one".

On April 22, 2016, German independent record label, Nuclear Blast, officially revealed the title, artwork, track list and release date of the album.

The first single from the album, "Scherzo", was released on June 6 worldwide and received more than ten thousand views in its first two days on YouTube. Nuclear Blast revealed the first trailer on June 15, in which Wolf explains why it took so long between his first classical release and “Headbangers Symphony”. He also explained the difficulties he faced when bringing the Classical pieces together with Metal music. The second trailer was published on June 23, showing Wolf driving his old Cadillac and talking about the album.

Devin Townsend recorded a bass track for the song "Dance of the Knights", which did not make the album due to legal issues. On June 23, Wolf Hoffmann revealed that he was working on a new video for the track "Night On Bald Mountain". The video was released the same day as the album on both Nuclear Blast and Accept's YouTube channels. It was viewed more than four thousand times on the Nuclear Blast channel in the first few hours of posting. The video starts with Wolf Hoffmann driving his car and four bikers heading toward a location where later they can be seen joining Wolf in playing the musical instruments. It also features Accept drummer Christopher Williams on drums.

Some tracks were played at the Wacken Open Air 2017 and released on the Accept live album “Symphonic Terror: Live at Wacken” (2018).

Album Information:

“Headbangers Symphony” has eleven songs on its track list, which are arranged in the Neo-classical Metal music style. Even though the majority of musicians who are active in this genre tend to lean towards the baroque way, Wolf Hoffmann mainly involves elements from the romantic period of classical music on this album.

• The song "Scherzo" is an adaptation of Ludwig van Beethoven’s "Symphony No. 9". Some guitar riffs are taken from "Teutonic Terror" from Accept's album “Blood of the Nations”.

• The song "Night on Bald Mountain" is an adaptation of Modest Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain".

• The song "Je crois entendre encore" is an adaptation of Georges Bizet's "Les pêcheurs de perles" Act 1.

• The song "Double Cello Concerto in G Minor" is an adaptation of Antonio Vivaldi's "Concerto for two cellos in G minor, RV531".

• The song "Adagio" is an adaptation of Tomaso Albinoni's "Adagio in G minor".

• The song "Symphony No. 40" is an adaptation of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Symphony No. 40".

• The song "Swan Lake" is an adaptation of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake".

• The song "Madame Butterfly" is an adaptation of Giacomo Puccini's composition from opera Madama Butterfly with different time signature.

• The song "Pathétique" is an adaptation of Ludwig van Beethoven's "Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13".

• The song "Méditation" is an adaptation of Jules Massenet's "Méditation" from opera Thaïs.

• The song "Air on the G String" is an adaptation of Johann Sebastian Bach's "Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068", also known as "Air on the G String".

Critical Reception:

Writing for Blabbermouth.net, Ray van Horn states; “Embracing the slower, romantic measures of Albinoni, Bach and Bizet, Wolf Hoffmann sways elegant impressions overtop the unwound melodies. His passages from "Swan Lake" will not only ring familiar of Tchaikovsky, it will identify no less than a hundred power metal and symphonic metal sequences, debts from all paid here by Wolf.”

“You just know The Great Kat's gonna have an ear-gouging response to this album!”

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

Click this link to listen to “Headbangers Symphony” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/headbangers-symphony/1457038080

Click this link to listen to “Headbangers Symphony” via Spotify: Headbangers Symphony https://open.spotify.com/album/3x4wBnvgvMTHnAMiL4Txfb

Click this link to watch the official music video for “Night on Bald Mountain”: https://youtu.be/F-WazDQZu0I

Click this link to follow Wolf Hoffman on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wolfhoffmannofficial/

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells

Wolf Hoffmann — Headbangers Symphony

Background:

Album Information:

Critical Reception:

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

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