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True metal never dies.

It carries on its legacy with German headbangers Accept. Formed in 1976, it carries on the torch for true heavy metal that has seen three generations of concertgoers who are singing every lyric and banging their heads.

It is a new world, and so suits the name of its latest album, 鈥淗umanoid.鈥� There is no theme or rhyme or reason for its latest album. It is a hodgepodge of music that touches base on current discussions such as AI.

鈥淚鈥檓 not really sure if it鈥檚 good or bad,鈥� said Wolf Hoffmann, guitarist and original member of Accept. 鈥淚 noticed the shift from when I grew up and when, for the longest time, everybody thought art is just something that can be created by humans, you need emotions, intelligence or feelings, and all these things to create art. And here we are, all of a sudden, we live in an era when machines can do art or what looks like art, and it sounds like art, it might not be art, but it鈥檚 damn close, and it鈥檚 scary.鈥�

Hoffmann ponders if artificial intelligence will replace humanity.

鈥淚s there going to be a time when people don鈥檛 even go to concerts anymore?鈥� he questioned. 鈥淥r maybe there鈥檚 concerts by machines. Or maybe the museums are going to be full of art that were all created by, cloned by machines. It鈥檚 just interesting times. And I don鈥檛 have a solution for it. I don鈥檛 even know if it鈥檚 good or bad.鈥�

The album lightens up with a fun song, 鈥淪traight Up Jack,鈥� that has an AC/DC vibe and revolves around drinking at a bar.

鈥淓verybody needs a good drinking song,鈥� Hoffmann said. 鈥淭his song was literally created after the lyrics were written first (by vocalist Mark Tornillo). He鈥檚 a guy who hangs out at the bar. He wrote these lyrics. And it took us several attempts to write the right kind of music for it, but in the end, it turned into this sort of fun, easygoing, drinking kind of song, very AC/DC influenced, obviously, but it鈥檚 a lot of fun. And we play it live every night. People love it. It鈥檚 very easy and catchy, and it鈥檚 fun.鈥�

He added, 鈥淪traight Up Jack,鈥� has a double meaning, of being direct.

鈥淕ive it to me straight, you know, don鈥檛 beat around the bush, tell me what鈥檚 on your mind, just give it to me straight,鈥� he explained.

Hoffmann, who is an original member of Accept, is not ready to hang up his hat any time soon.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 really know, man, I just wonder myself sometimes, because here I am, 64 years old now, and I鈥檝e been doing this since I was 16,鈥� he said when asked what the key is to longevity. 鈥淲e鈥檙e coming up to our 50th anniversary, and I can鈥檛 believe it鈥檚 that number, it鈥檚 like a scary number, if I think about it, but it doesn鈥檛 feel that way to me,鈥� Hoffmann said.

Music and touring continues to keep Hoffman young.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just something that never gets old, it鈥檚 just amazing,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o I guess that as long as we feel that we鈥檙e still going to keep doing it, I mean, there鈥檚 a reason why nobody ever wants to retire. I mean, I鈥檓 not, by far, anywhere near retirement age, but there鈥檚 a lot of people who are still out there doing it that are my age or even much older. The idea of just stopping and doing nothing or staying at home, is not very appealing. That鈥檚 why musicians never retire.鈥�

Accept has seen its share of generations attending its concerts, keeping the flame of metal alive.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very humbling and very rewarding, in a way, when I meet people that tell me that, they started to (listen to) Accept and they鈥檝e been influenced by us,鈥� Hoffmann said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an amazing honor for me. Sometimes it blows my mind how many musicians are out there who tell me that. It鈥檚 just a wonderful feeling.鈥�

He added that Accept also had influences from other bands.

鈥淲e had our heroes we looked up to that we stole a little bit or borrowed from their style, made it our own style, and the next generation will do that too,鈥� Hoffmann explained. 鈥淭hey take a little bit from here, a little bit from there, and then that鈥檚 the way it鈥檚 supposed to be. It鈥檚 almost like passing the torch.鈥�