Mark Tornillo (born June 8, 1954) is an American singer and songwriter best known for serving as the frontman of heavy metal band Accept. He joined the band officially in May 2009 as Udo Dirkschneider's replacement. He also became the main lyricist of Accept, replacing the band's long-time manager Gaby Hoffmann. Career and style Raised in Brielle, New Jersey, Tornillo graduated from Manasquan High School in 1972. His both grandfathers were musicians and because of that he had musical training since young age, including classical piano lessons for nine years. Hearing the Beatles at the age of 7 or 8 inspired Tornillo to become a musician. Before gaining fame as a singer he also played bass in bands. Before he joined Accept, Tornillo was in the group T.T. Quick. The band arose from the fertile club scene in Tornillo's native New Jersey and picked up enough of a following to successfully tour across the state as well as play in New York. His vocals appeared on multiple releases by the band in the 1980s and 1990s. Although T.T. Quick folded around the turn of the millennium, it eventually reunited in May 2013 at a Rock N' Roll Heaven and the Old Bridge Metal Militia's concert serving as a charity fundraiser, helping the victims of Superstorm Sandy. Despite the fact that Tornillo replaced him, vocalist Dirkschneider has praised the other singer, stating that even if Tornillo "has problems" with "the old songs" he "has a good voice" and a method of "singing different". In a review for Blind Rage, music critic Gregory Heaney remarked that "with Tornillo on vocals, Accept still sound the way you remember them sounding when they were at the height of their power". He concluded that "even the lapsed, Balls to the Wall-era metalheads out there will feel as though they're picking up with the band right where they left off." Tornillo talked about how he came to join the band, saying it was "just a freak thing". He also said that he was a fan of Accept prior to joining, "I was a fan back in the '80s, in the early days. TT Quick covered Accept songs before we had a record deal. I actually turned a lot of people on to Accept. We would cover 'Son Of A Bitch' and 'Flash Rockin' Man'. People would say, 'What is that?' 'That's original stuff that we wrote.'