'Accept's fifth outing 'Balls to the Wall' is arguably their finest and definitely their most acknowledged, if not for the music but for the tongue-in-cheek album cover. Musically this is more commercial sounding than 'Restless and Wild', but don't think this album lacks punch, because it doesn't, the production is leaps and bounds better than any previous 'Accept' album which helps make this release the pinnacle of their career.

The title track opens in the fashion that dictates the whole album, rugged and uncompromising but as the same time has an appealing cross-over, lyrically this isn't anything special but is still a good hearty opener. Following in fine form is the pulsating tongue-in-cheek 'London Leatherboys' a song which at the time raised a few eyebrows, that said this is still a quality track graced with deft fret work and fine driving rhythm. The momentum is maintained with the energetic 'Fight it Back', the formula of which has since been used many times by '.U.D.O.', the highlights here are some sweet guitar solos and 'Udo's' maniacal screeching. The pace falls for the mid tempo 'Head Over Heels' a solid plodder that benefits from a glorious 'Wolf Hoffmann' guitar fuelled instrumental break, lyrically this isn't them at their best, as the chorus eventually gets repetitive. Better still is the melodic rocker 'Losing More than You've Ever Had', which cleverly blends the heavier more Metallic with harmonious passionately sung passages to make for another effective cut. More quality shows up on the energetic guitar driven 'Love Child', which is braced throughout by sublime pulsating rhythm and riffs, again the lyrics are pretty forgettable, but this is made up for by the quality instrumentation. More simplistic but still very effective is 'Turn me On' which highlights another couple of cracking guitar solos, regrettably the lyrics get far too repetitive by the end though. Brisker still is the uncompromising 'Losers and Winners' which takes a slightly different approach to what you might expect, 'Udo' delivers the decent lyrics harshly, while the guitaring throughout this track is exemplary. The momentum falls for the gothic intro to 'Guardian of the Night', only to develop as a mid paced plodder, a little disjointed in places to really make the grade, but far from a poor track. 'Balls to the Wall' bows out with the balladsy 'Winterdreams', personally I think it has that European flavour that perhaps doesn't crossover so well to UK and US markets, but that said still a decent cut that's passionately executed.

As with most 'Accept' and later '.U.D.O.' albums the lyrics are often lacking, but in the case of 'Balls to the Wall' this can be overlooked in favour of the wealth and consistency of the music.