Accept’s Mark Tornillo Was Back and Sounding Fantastic After a Brief Illness at The Paramount Hudson Valley Theater in Peekskill, New York October 22

October 25, 2022
International Concert Reviews
by Jody Wilk Photographer/Writer

Upon arriving at The Paramount Hudson Valley Theater for Accept’s “Too Mean to Die Tour”, the first thing I noticed was the huge iconic lighted marquee. My daughter and I arrived early and stopped at a quaint coffee shop across the street for a warm beverage and sat outside at the seating area. We could see that there was no line at the theater yet, so we were able to take our time and try to guess if Jason McMaster was going to help out Mark Tornillo on vocals tonight and, if so, on what songs. When we got in line it was a comfortable 60 degrees and we got to see a beautiful sunset over Peekskill. There were about 100 people in line as the doors opened. We got slightly held up at the will call, as they hadn’t received the photo passes yet. Once that was sorted out, we were still able to get to the front of this beautiful theater. The Paramount first opened in 1930 and was open until 1973. In 2006, the city was given a million dollar grant to restore the venue to its former glory and is currently operating as a non-profit by Paramount Hudson Valley Arts.

While standing in line, I overheard the singer from the first opening band, Reaper, talking about how his voice wasn’t up to par, and he couldn’t hit the high notes. Reaper is Melodic power metal from Westchester, New York. Their music focuses on horror and fantasy. Tommy’s vocals were amazing. With screams the likes of King Diamond, he was able to capture the audience’s attention right from the start. I saw no sign of a struggle to hit the notes. If today was a bad day, I would love to hear him on a good day. Playing all 4 songs off their 2016 ep, Anthems of the Cursed, they kept the fans entertained with catchy riffs and screams galore, with all their songs ranging from 5 to over 7 minutes long. What a way to start the evening and get the fans excited for a night of heavy metal.

Reaper is:

Mario Consolo – Guitar

Tommy Santangelo – Vocals

Jaymz Delisle – Bass

Tye Keesler – Drums

Setlist:

1.Transylvanian Quest

2.Lycan Sins

3.It’s ALIVE!!

4.Buried in the Sand

Asraya, a metalcore from Orange County New York, was the next to grace the stage. I had the pleasure of getting to see them open for Accept at The Chance Theater in Poughkeepsie New York in December of 2021 and was glad they were invited back. Asraya played a set of 5 songs off of their Ayatana album which was just released in May. They hit the stage with “Forged in Fire”. Screaming vocals and kick drum punch you in the face, with occasional melodic harmonies, this band has a unique sound. Of note, there was no bassist on stage with the band. According to the band, they all get along so well that it’s easier just to use tracks for the bass.

Asraya is:

Scott Luposello – Vocals

Adam Coddington – Guitar

Phil Longden – Guitar

Josh Ward – Drums

Setlist:

1.Forged in Fire

2.Resonate

3.I Rise (Tianlong)

4.Stigmatic Plague

5.Amaterasu

Black Water Rising was the most refined band of the opening acts. A straight-forward hard-hitting melodic rock band that is just now playing their first shows back in over two years. Their debut, self-titled album came out in 2008 and they have had two others since. According to their website, their message is “socially and politically driven by the dark times we live in”. “Payback” was a favorite of mine and had the crowd singing along. I love the catchy riffs in the song “No Halos”. With several songs having been played on Octane, I am surprised and disappointed that I wasn’t introduced to this band sooner. I’ll be downloading some of their music soon, and you should too!

Black Water Rising is:

Rob Traynor – Vocals, Guitar

Johnny Fattoruso – Guitar

Mike Meselsohn – Drums

Oddie McLaughlin – Bass

Setlist:

1.The Mirror

2.Show No Mercy

3.Black Bleeds Through

4.Payback

5.No Halos

6.Living Proof

7.Brother Go On

Accept is always a must see for me when they come to my area. They are currently touring to support their Too Mean to Die album, which was released in January of 2021. This will be my third time seeing them on this tour, however this time was a little different. Mark Tornillo got a severe viral infection that affected his voice and they had to cancel their October 18 show in Vineland New Jersey. Jason McMaster of Dangerous Toys and Dirty Looks stepped in to cover the Penns Peak Show on the 20th. The next night Mark was feeling better, so he was able to get back to some singing but still had Jason singing some of the songs. The same held true for our show in Peekskill. Mark sang the first three songs of the night and sounded as good as ever. Jason then stepped in for a couple songs to give him a rest, and later did some duets with him.

The band was on fire with three guitarists melting our faces with Flying V guitars. Wolf Hoffmann and Philip Shouse are always interacting with each other and the crowd and doing synchronized moves along with Mark. Christopher Williams is a showman behind the drums, and you can see he is having the time of his life. Although, I think Jason might have been even a tad more excited. Martin and Uwe were perched on their risers on each side of the stage but came down to perform near the front of the stage for “Ball’s to The Wall”. It was a spectacle to have that many talented performers inches away from us as we were right against the stage.

Cruising through an 18-song, hour and a half set, they played many songs off of Too Mean to Die, along with all of the crowd favorites. My personal favorites off of the current album are “Overnight Sensation”, “Zombie Apocalypse”, and “The Undertaker”. The crowd was on their feet and singing throughout the entire show. Accept announced the European dates for January, and the continuation of their tour through the end of April. They are also working on new music for the next album.

The Peekskill New York stop on Accept’s Too Mean to Die tour was a success. Mark’s voice held out and he sounded awesome. Jason was having a blast singing solo on some songs and helping Mark on others. I always love Wolf and Philip’s crowd interaction. Accept ranks in my top 5 favorite bands to see live. And special thanks to all the opening bands that killed it and got everyone even more pumped to see Accept.

Accept is:

Mark Tornillo – Lead vocals

Wolf Hoffmann – Guitar, backing vocals

Martin Motnik – Bass

Uwe Lulis – Guitar

Christopher Williams – Drums

Philip Shouse – Guitar

Jason McMaster – Assisting on Vocals