I had the chance to interview Herman Frank years ago. When people bring up the band U.D.O., they usually bring up Accept, because of the obvious connection. But the artist and or band that should be brought up in the same conversation is Herman Frank.

The former Accept, Victory, and Sinner guitarist has consistently put out strong albums. I would argue that his musical output is as strong and at times better than the other two bands. Herman has been able to release albums that don’t just focus on one sound, or one style of song. Sure, you get those Accept sounding songs, but there is much more to what he does that makes his music stand out to me.

As much as I like all of the Mark Tornillo fronted Accept albums, and Herman has appeared on three of them, the man behind everything is Wolf Hoffman. The band has not changed its formula since Blood Of The Nations. So the five albums with Tornillo kind of run into one another for the most part. Truth be told, you could take the best songs off of each, and make one hell of a compilation. None of these albums suck, but they make you fell like it’s just another album by the band, and although good, not something that’s special.

U.D.O. the band has been more adventurous, mixing in elements over the years Hoffman and his band have not. You’ll find all types of modern elements along the way that sometimes help the music but sometimes hinder it as well. Nothing that completely sucks, but it also leaves you kind of wanting some additional ingredients added to the music.

Herman Frank has married the classic Accept sound, with a modern sonic attack. Giving you a mix of the old school warmth, with some new school production values to make the album sound really great. Giving you enough to remember some of those classic Accept albums he played on, without it sounding dated.

The songs all stay both musically and lyrically within something that a fan of the Accept family tree would enjoy. He’s not reinventing anything here, but he’s also mixing things up enough that the album doesn’t feel like a retread of other things you’ve also heard on the album.

I’ve turned more than one person onto Herman Frank’s music. The response is almost always the same “why haven’t I heard of him sooner?”. He doesn’t carry the brand names Accept or U.D.O., but to be honest, he could be the missing ingredient that both of those bands are missing. That is if he was able to present his music without someone retconning it and making theirs.

If you’re a long-time Accept fan, it may be what you’re missing as well. As well as a great gateway to his other solo albums.