| Written by Alex Stojanovic TRACK LISTING Gas In The Tank Roots In My Boots Knock 'em Dead Rock Believer Shining Of Your Soul Seventh Sun Hot & Cold When I Lay My Bones To Rest Peacemaker Call Of The Wild When You Know (Where You Come From) Release Date: February 25, 2022 Label: Vertigo Berlin Records Website: www.the-scorpions.com www.facebook.com/Scorpions |  |
SCORPIONS:
Klaus Meine - Vocals / Rudolf Schenker - Guitars / Mathias Jabs - Guitars
Pawel Maciwoda - Bass / Mikkey Dee - Drums
Klaus Meine - Vocals / Rudolf Schenker - Guitars / Mathias Jabs - Guitars
Pawel Maciwoda - Bass / Mikkey Dee - Drums
Whether you've been a fan since their start in the 70s, or later on during their mainstream explosion in the 80s and 90s, or even recently in the 2000s and 2010s, there's no denying that Scorpions are worthy of all the respect in the world. They've been rocking for nearly 6 whole decades, and are still rocking at a high level. You can count on one hand the amount of bands that have been able to do that, and that are still doing it. That being said, the last decade saw the Scorpions celebrating the release of their last album Return To Forever, and their 50th anniversary with a bunch of worldwide touring, and also welcoming in Mikkey Dee on drums, replacing longtime drummer James Kottak. With Mikkey coming into the band in 2016, the timing couldn't have been more perfect, because Motorhead had just called it quits after Lemmy's ill health and passing, so Mikkey's transition was quite seamless.
For a while, a new Scorpions album was an uncertainty, but interest eventually started coming back around, and a new album started taking shape in 2019. The pandemic also altered recording plans, and they had to work remotely via Zoom. However, after 7 years, the band's 19th album Rock Believer arrived this year. The album found favour with a lot of fans due to the return of their anthemic, hard rocking sound from Blackout, Love At First Sting and Crazy World. For example, on opening track "Gas In The Tank", you can hear hints of "Can't Live Without You" in the riffing and its pace.
After writing so many riffs for so many years, it's no secret that certain old riffs are going to subconciously come back into the creative process. Case in point, "Knock 'em Dead" gives a pretty obvious nod to the main riff in "Don't Believe Her" from Crazy World. Over the years, Scorpions have always made sure to mix up the tempos between songs, so you have a healthy balance of up-tempo rockers and soulful ballads. Songs like "Rock Believer", "Shining Of Your Soul" and "Seventh Sun" bring the tempo down before things pick up again with "Hot & Cold" and "When I Lay My Bones To Rest". The guitar work from Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs is just as potent as ever, with their signature tone taking center stage, alongside Klaus Meine's unmistakable voice. Vocally, you can hear that Klaus' range is still in a good place, but it obviously isn't what it used to be in the 70s, 80s and 90s anymore, so to compensate, it has been taken down a few notches, and it's obviously worked.
Scorpions have also never shied away from singing about the rock 'n roll spirit, and even including some rather corny references to said spirit. This is where the only flaw about the album needs some addressing. The lyrics seem a bit too try-hard for a bunch of guys in their twilight years. It almost feels like Klaus is running out of ideas for great lyrics, and just rushes through the process by finding the most simplistic, and sometimes overused, terms and phrases to put down. Aside from this flaw, Scorpions have delivered quite possibly their best album in a long time.
It's obviously high time to give the new blood the much needed attention and recognition to help build them into the next big rock acts that will carry the torch, but at the same time, we should also cherish the time we still have with the legends and forefathers, because they're not going to be around for much longer. These are the bands that paved the way for all the bands that came after them, so they are to be celebrated to the fullest. If this turns out to be the last studio album from the Scorps, it goes without saying that they closed out their recording history with one of the best albums of their career.
For a while, a new Scorpions album was an uncertainty, but interest eventually started coming back around, and a new album started taking shape in 2019. The pandemic also altered recording plans, and they had to work remotely via Zoom. However, after 7 years, the band's 19th album Rock Believer arrived this year. The album found favour with a lot of fans due to the return of their anthemic, hard rocking sound from Blackout, Love At First Sting and Crazy World. For example, on opening track "Gas In The Tank", you can hear hints of "Can't Live Without You" in the riffing and its pace.
After writing so many riffs for so many years, it's no secret that certain old riffs are going to subconciously come back into the creative process. Case in point, "Knock 'em Dead" gives a pretty obvious nod to the main riff in "Don't Believe Her" from Crazy World. Over the years, Scorpions have always made sure to mix up the tempos between songs, so you have a healthy balance of up-tempo rockers and soulful ballads. Songs like "Rock Believer", "Shining Of Your Soul" and "Seventh Sun" bring the tempo down before things pick up again with "Hot & Cold" and "When I Lay My Bones To Rest". The guitar work from Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs is just as potent as ever, with their signature tone taking center stage, alongside Klaus Meine's unmistakable voice. Vocally, you can hear that Klaus' range is still in a good place, but it obviously isn't what it used to be in the 70s, 80s and 90s anymore, so to compensate, it has been taken down a few notches, and it's obviously worked.
Scorpions have also never shied away from singing about the rock 'n roll spirit, and even including some rather corny references to said spirit. This is where the only flaw about the album needs some addressing. The lyrics seem a bit too try-hard for a bunch of guys in their twilight years. It almost feels like Klaus is running out of ideas for great lyrics, and just rushes through the process by finding the most simplistic, and sometimes overused, terms and phrases to put down. Aside from this flaw, Scorpions have delivered quite possibly their best album in a long time.
It's obviously high time to give the new blood the much needed attention and recognition to help build them into the next big rock acts that will carry the torch, but at the same time, we should also cherish the time we still have with the legends and forefathers, because they're not going to be around for much longer. These are the bands that paved the way for all the bands that came after them, so they are to be celebrated to the fullest. If this turns out to be the last studio album from the Scorps, it goes without saying that they closed out their recording history with one of the best albums of their career.
FINAL RATING
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