SCORPIONS
Rock Believer
Spinefarm Records
Fifty years after the release of the band’s debut Lonesome Crow, and nearly 60 after it formed in Hannover, Germany, it would be easy to give SCORPIONS a pass if the quintet – in particular frontman Klaus Meine and founding guitarist Rudolf Schenker - wanted to ride out the remainder of its remarkable career as a legacy act playing the classics on the nostalgia circuit. Because this is a band with a shitload of classics.
But those pretty much came during its first two decades. The last 30 years, from 1993’s Face The Heat on, have been marked by experimentation (Eye II Eye, Humanity: Hour I) and, at times, mediocrity (Pure Instinct) that haven’t yielded anything like a “Rock You Like A Hurricane”, “The Zoo” or even a “We’ll Burn The Sky” or “Pictured Life”, which have endured from the earlier phases of SCORPIONS’ long run.
Phase I might be considered the “classic rock” period up through 1978’s Tokyo Tapes that marked the end of guitarist Uli Jon Roth’s tenure just as the band was rising to prominence. Phase II would be the “classic hard rock” stretch from 1979’s Lovedrive to, with some diminishing returns as time went on, 1990’s Crazy World, when SCORPIONS pumped out one platinum album after another and filled arenas around the world. Indeed, the band pretty much ruled for the entirety of the ‘80s.
Of course, all good things must pass, and SCORPIONS are certainly not alone in that regard when it comes to hard rock/metal acts from that era. But the band kept cranking out new music in earnest and they continue draw a crowd, despite lagging interest in the recorded work, and put on a hell of a show – even with Meine and Schenker now into their 70s. So there is certainly still some “gas in the tank”.
Which leads us to Rock Believer, the band’s 19th studio album, give or take. Coming seven years after its last outing, Return To Forever, thanks to lineup changes (drummer James Kottak went to rehab and was replaced by Mikkey Dee, who’s 24-year stint with MOTORHEAD sadly ended in 2015 with the death of Lemmy), issues with lining up desired producer Greg Fidelman because of COVID and then just fucking COVID in general, the album launches what is likely the final phase of SCORPIONS' career with a breath of fresh air and a hearty kick in the ass.
Rock Believer is a vibrant, spunky and relatively no frills affair that takes a back-to-basics, old school approach to the compositions, but delivers them with the punch of the band in its prime. It boasts a fistful of genuinely memorable tunes – the propulsive opener “Gas In The Tank”, the almost punky “Peacemaker”, the ear-wormily infectious title track, the stirring, thoughtful ballad “When You Know (Where You Come From)” and the serpentine blues of “Shining Of Your Soul” that has a very Uli Jon Roth-era feel – which are right up there with some of SCORPIONS’ classic work.
To borrow a line from “Gas In The Tank”, “Let's play it louder, play it hard” is the primary focus here. And it is largely mission accomplished thanks to the, well, focus of the band. Where many of the post-Crazy World albums enlisted outside songwriters or strong-willed “visionary” producers like Desmond Child, which led SCORPIONS down some occasionally curious rabbit holes, the band sticks very close to home on Rock Believer.
Nearly all of the material here – 11 tracks on the standard edition with five additional songs on the deluxe version - was written by the tandem of Schenker and Meine alone, with lead guitarist Mathias Jabs contributing “Hot And Cold” and bassist Paweł Mąciwoda getting his first-ever co-writing credit on the bracing “Peacemaker” emboldened by its fittingly thundering bottom end. Though “Hot And Cold” and “Call of The Wild” are unremarkable and the very vintage vibe of “When I Lay My Bones To Rest” – which sounds like a mashup tribute to Little Richard and Chuck Berry or something - is an odd duck, albeit a rather catchy one, the rest is a solid batch that revels in simplicity yet consistently connects.
Working with co-producer Hans-Martin Buff, who picked up the torch from Fidelman, SCORPIONS keep the sound here refreshingly loose, raw and natural, giving the album a warm tone that echoes the pre-Lovedrive era – with a contemporary brashness that packs quite a wallop. It would seem the addition of the always energetic Dee and the extended break and closed ranks that were prompted by the pandemic were just what the band needed to get its mojo back, and the rest of the ingredients just fell into place.
Or maybe it was just circle of life. Either way, it all adds up to Rock Believer being as complete and resonant an album as SCORPIONS have delivered in a very long time.
4.0 Out Of 5.0
