In a recent interview, David Reece was asked about the chances of a new IRON ALLIES album. His response was unequivocal.
“Oh, hell no. He and I started with a clean slate, but a partnership is a partnership, and I quickly realized it was no longer a partnership.”
Reece delved deeper, attributing the issue to the legacy of ACCEPT’s management:
“That whole ACCEPT family — with the exception of [original ACCEPT vocalist] Udo [Dirkschneider], I must say — has a certain strangeness to them, and I know why. It was created by the old management, which was very good at dividing everyone and pitting them against each other. Real evil. And the only one who wasn’t a part of that dark side was Udo himself. We’ve been good friends since ’88. I can call him today if he’s home, talk to him and his son. But some of that bred distrust in everyone around. And that’s how managers control the situation. They create that discord, making everyone nervous so that in the end they make you do what they want. And I’ve noticed that in a lot of these guys, in those outsiders who are doing their own thing, it’s still there. You hear about it, and I started to feel it myself.”
Commenting on the musical discrepancies and concluding his thoughts, Reece added:
“He writes great riffs [with his long-standing band] VICTORY. It’s funny that when he came and said, ‘If we do this [IRON ALLIES project], it will be heavy metal,’ and blah-blah-blah, blah-blah-blah. But if you look at VICTORY, it’s something like BANGALORE CHOIR; it’s more of a pop-rock group. And he’s happy. He has a great singer. Gianni [Pontillo] is wonderful, and I wish him all the best. But no, I don’t want to work with that guy. I don’t hate him. I just don’t want that tension. I want to be happy. I want to focus on what I’m doing and not worry that ‘Oh, God, everything’s cool today,’ and then you come to rehearsal and it’s not cool. I mean, fuck all that, man, you know?”
