Sep 43 min read

KK’s Priest and Accept bring their Full Metal Assault Tour to the Oriental Theater in Denver, Colorado 9-3-2024

A night of old school metal was on tap at the Oriental Theater in Denver and a band that has been around for 45+ years started the night to a much older crowd or better yet, a bunch of old school head bangers. From Germany, Accept took to the stage to get a night of metal off to a great start. Opening their set with “The Reckoning” fired things up right away and the crowd was head banging and throwing up the horns. Though there had been many changes in band members over the years, it was great to see Wolf Hoffman, one of the founding members of Accept in 1976 on lead guitar and backing vocals.

Working through their set with songs, “Princess of the Dawn” and “Teutonic Terror”, their stage presence interacting with each other and their fans was fun to watch as the band would line up together and rock back and forth playing hard to the delight of the crowd. Accept couldn’t have finished their 13 song set with a stronger song than, “Balls to the Wall” which had the crowd moving and singing along with the band, it was something to see and hear.

Accept members:

Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals (1976–1989, 1992–1997, 2005, 2009–present)

Mark Tornillo – lead vocals (2009–present)

Uwe Lulis – rhythm guitar (2015–present)

Christopher Williams – drums (2015–present)

Martin Motnik – bass, backing vocals (2019–present)

Philip Shouse – guitar (2019–present)

Setlist:

The Reckoning

Humanoid

Restless and Wild

Straight Up Jack

London Leatherboys

Midnight Mover

Demon's Night / Starlight / Losers and Winners / Flash Rockin' Man

Princess of the Dawn

Metal Heart

Teutonic Terror

Fast as a Shark

Pandemic

Balls to the Wall

The stage now turned over the video screen in back of the stage lit up with different characters and then KK Downing exploded onto the stage in the fog and bright lights, guitar in hand and shredding to the opening song as his band members joined him on stage the CO2 clouds of smoke filled the air as the song “Hellfire Thunderbolt” rang throughout the venue to their cheering, head banging fans. Considered one of the most influential guitarists in metal, a former founding member of Judas Priest, KK’s legend lives on with his creation of, KK’s Priest. Powering through their set with images moving across the video screen and the CO2 clouds that would rise up, KK’s Priest keep their fans on their toes and moving with their music.

With a mix of original songs came a mix of Judas Priest covers, “Night Crawler” and “The Green Manalishi” to the delight of their fans. At 72, KK’s energy level was that of a 20 year old. Moving about the stage interacting with the crowd and his bandmates while working his magic on the guitar. As their set was winding down the band started the song, “Breaking the Law” and the crowd cheered and sang along with them. Finishing their night with “Raise Your Fists” topped off a night of old school metal that will never get old to listen to!