Mark Tornillo thinks metal music is not as popular in the U.S. as it is in other countries.
“Truly, [metal is] not as big here as it is in the rest of the world by any means,” the singer told Rockin’ Metal Revival in a new interview. “Europe, it’s still huge. South America, it’s huge. Japan, it’s huge. And it’s kind of not the main attraction here; it’s just not.”
He continued, “I think it has more to do with the fact that the record companies don’t promote it properly. Nothing against ours — I mean, I love working with Napalm now. They’re really doing a great job for us, but in the mainstream, the big labels, they don’t promote metal.”
“They don’t… But they don’t promote it well enough. And I think if they did, kids would get into it. They’re more interested in selling Taylor Swift and hip-hop,” Tornillo also suggested. “So it’s what it is. But heavy metal will always be there; it’s not going anywhere. It’s just underground again.”
The musician made similar comments earlier this year when he spoke with the Metal Voice. “No trouble selling tickets in South America. No trouble selling tickets in Europe or anywhere else. So I think the United States is just not metal territory anymore. I don’t know why,” Tornillo said while explaining why Accept doesn’t have sold-out shows in the U.S.
Then, the host, Alan Dixon, told him, “We just had Adrian Vandenberg a couple of weeks ago. He was saying the same thing. It was kind of a test drive for him going around this tour, but the reaction was so strong that they’re going to do a full tour down the road. His agent makes it now.”
Mark replied, “Let’s hope so. I hope they prove me wrong. I mean, I would love nothing better than to tour the US every year, but we’ll see how it plays out.”
Accept is currently touring the United States to promote their latest album, ‘Humanoid.’ Their next album is at Sunshine Theatre, Albuquerque, on October 1. The band will be in the U.S. until October 7.