ACCEPT - Balls To The Wall 12" Vinyl LP Album

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Stommeln, near Cologne: Breeze Music GmbH has operated as an independent music publisher since 1974—the kind of outfit that lives in the credits, not the spotlight. On Accept’s "Metal Heart" the sleeve spells it out: "produced and arranged for Breeze Music GmbH." "Eat The Heat" carries the same trail (recorded/mixed in Cologne Sep 1988–Jan 1989; mastered by Bob Ludwig at Masterdisk, New York). Earlier, Accept’s "Restless And Wild" even prints a "c/o Breeze Music GmbH" address line. Breeze also turns up beyond Germany: Twisted Sister’s "Come Out And Play" lists production for Breeze, and Discogs label listings include Scorpions titles such as "Make It Real". Unsexy work, sure—but it’s how the metal catalog stays properly owned and properly credited.

Michael Wagener is the German-born producer/engineer who taught heavy guitars to sound huge without turning into soup. Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s he helped shape Accept's steel-plate punch, then in the 1980s Los Angeles grind he became a go-to set of ears for Dokken—tight, glossy, and still mean. By the late 1980s he was guiding arena-sized hard rock for Skid Row and White Lion, and in the 1990s he kept that balance of bite and clarity alive for bands like Extreme. I can spot his signature fast: drums snapping, guitars spread wide, and reverb kept on a short leash. From his WireWorld room in Tennessee, he mixes like a craftsman: edges sharp, low end disciplined, vocals sitting just forward enough to start trouble.