Accept

With their brutal, simple riffs and aggressive, fast tempos, Accept are one of the top metal bands to emerge in the early '80s and a major influence on the development of speed metal and thrash. Led by the distinctive vocal stylings of Udo Dirkschneider, the band forged an instantly recognizable sound and were notorious as one of the decade's fiercest live acts. Despite recording two of the best heavy metal albums of the decade in Restless & Wild and Balls to the Wall, Accept remained too heavy and extreme for American audiences to embrace. Ultimately conquering the rest of the world, but with their career stalled in the U.S., the band ceased operations on and off throughout the '90s and early 2000s but mounted an impressive comeback in the 2010s -- sans Dirkschneider -- with acclaimed efforts like Stalingrad (2012) and The Rise of Chaos (2017), and Humanoid (2024).