Label: Vertigo/Universal Music GmbH
Release date: Feb. 25, 2022
Production: Scorpions & Hans-Martin Buff
Album length: 44.29 min
Genre: Hard Rock / Heavy Metal
Rating: 8.0/10
It’s 2022, exactly 50 years since the debut “Lonesome Crow,” and the iconic German rockers from Hannover are handing us yet another of their rock gospels. Not that they couldn’t, wouldn’t, or shouldn’t. It’s just hard to imagine that Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine, both 73 now, still feel like wandering into a studio every once in a while to record anything at all. They’ve got nothing left to prove. And even though the ‘wet-behind-the-ears kid’ of the bunch, ‘barely’ 66-year-old Mathias Jabbs, can’t remember the last time the wind tousled his hair either, these three Scorpions are an iconic trio who most likely pointed the compass needle at the studio one last time to make one more hard rock album.
And what kind of album is it? One with a bundle of tracks that could easily have slotted right into the classic-era records, the ones that gave us unforgettable classics led by “Lovedrive,” “Blackout” and “Love At First Sting.” Roots in My Boots, Knock ‘Em Dead, Hot and Cold and Peacemaker prove it. But “Rock Believer” isn’t satisfied with that and goes even further. Deeper into the roots. Into the seventies. There are even a couple of moments on the album that flirt with the catalog from the days when Uli Jon Roth still handled lead guitar in the band. I’m thinking of the two tracks in the middle of the record, Seventh Son and, right before it, Shining Of Your Soul, which deliberately step away from that fixed ‘straight-to-the-face phrasing’ formula, with Shining Of Your Soul even theatrically working in some reggae rhythm. These are the album’s ‘detours,’ which don’t really surprise you even though nobody expected them, and which simply confirm that Scorpions have a long, dusty, winding road behind them, thousands upon thousands of kilometers of it. In the studio in 2022, Klaus Meine still cultivates the same vocal character, the same vocal figure, that puts not just him but the whole of Scorpions on a special spot on the rock’n’roll pedestal. The incorrigible vocal charmer crowns his inimitable vocal charisma in the closing track, the especially emotional When You Know (Where You Come From).
The new drummer could have been put to better use. Hard to say what that would have meant for the album’s overall look, but with a name like Mikkey Dee (Motörhead) on board, Scorpions could have afforded a faster-paced excursion or two. As it is, the songs mostly stay in mid-tempo territory. That doesn’t mean anything is wrong with the album, though. Take Hot And Cold, which definitely belongs in the assault league with its quicker rhythmic push. And that’s not all. It’s followed by the somewhat surprisingly sharpened rock’n’roller When I Lay My Bones To Rest, where Scorpions clearly took Mikkey’s past work into account. Even the drummer’s former mentor and ex-employer, the ‘Iron Chancellor’ Lemmy Kilmister, would have been proud of this track’s rough-edged look.
There are two versions of the album. A shorter one with the regular track list, the ‘cheaper’ one, and an extended one with bonus tracks, which is of course pricier. The extra tracks don’t bring any musical substance worth a special mention. “Rock Believer” fires up most intensely in its true-believer form in the standard format. From head to toe. Fans of the band will be more than satisfied. From start to finish, “Rock Believer” gives you the sense that these legendary hard rock grandpas were having a blast this time around, fully enjoying everything they took on. The album sounds relaxed and develops a predatory musicality, backed by a proper dose of rock decibels and the guitar phrasing intensity of the Jabs-Schenker duo, the tight, penetrating rhythmic recital of Dee’s hooks, the deep bass lines of Paweł Mąciwoda, and the one and only Klaus Meine on vocals. Authentic and sincere. No weird detours. There’s also no sign of Scorpions dusting off old, unused (archive) ideas on the new album, as was the case with its predecessor “Return To Forever” (2015). That’s exactly why “Rock Believer” feels even more genuine in the nostalgia it creates.
So Scorpions are at their best when they keep it elemental. When they don’t overcomplicate things. When they play rock! Their rock. “Rock Believer” doesn’t deliver anything spectacular and doesn’t offer any ‘earth-shattering excursions’ into artsiness. That’s precisely why it’s so good. Simple and direct. It honestly follows instinct and feel. The band is currently on a new North American tour. The story clearly isn’t over yet, and if Scorpions plan to stretch it out further, with the quality “Rock Believer” offers, nobody is going to complain about that decision from the legendary band.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Track list:
01. Gas In The Tank
02. Roots In My Boots
03. Knock ‘Em Dead
04. Rock Believer
05. Shining Of Your Soul
06. Seventh Sun
07. Hot And Cold
08. When I Lay My Bones To Rest
09. Peacemaker
10. Call Of The Wild
11. When You Know (Where You Come From)
Line-up:
Klaus Meine – vocals
Rudolf Schenker – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, guitar solo on track no. 11
Matthias Jabs – lead and rhythm guitar, guitar arrangements
Paweł Mąciwoda – bass guitar
Mikkey Dee – drums
Additional personnel:
Ingo Powitzer – additional guitars and bass guitars, guitar solo on “When Tomorrow Comes” (deluxe version), backing vocals, handclaps, guitar arrangements
Hans-Martin Buff – backing vocals, handclaps
Jakob Himmelein – backing vocals, handclaps
Alex Malek – backing vocals, handclaps
Pitti Hecht – percussion
