Sting In The Tail / Scorpions (2010)

1. Raised On Rock

2. Sting In the Tail

3. Slave Me

4. The Only Good Die Young

5. No Limit

6. Rock Zone

7. Lorelei

8. Turn You On

9. Let's Rock

10. Sly

11. Spirit of Rock

12. The Best Is Yet to Come

In the last two albums, they took a journey to go back to their roots. They had the mood of 70's. My impression of this album is that they summarized their career in it. It has some of positive pop rock tunes, sad and dramatic minor songs, beautiful ballads, and heavy metal tracks as well. Initially, this album was going to be their last album (Then they released a re-recorded album). One thing that reassured me of this band was that Klaus Meine's voice really made this band unique. Because of his voice, heavy songs are subdued its heaviness, ballads become more dramatic, pop tunes are lightened, and minor melody becomes more beautiful.

The album is full of Scorpions flavor. It has some good pop songs such as tracks 1, 8, and 11. One of the highlights in this album is the dramatic tune, track 4, featuring Tarja Turunen. Two ballads 7 and 10 are beautiful and moving. They have the same feeling as the songs such as "Send Me An Angel" and "When The Smoke Is Going Down". Another highlight of the album is track 12. It is very dramatic, and both music and lyrics have really positive energy. I do not know if they will release another studio album, but I can say that they brought a clown glory and beautiful conclusion to their career if this album become the last.

☆☆☆☆

Humanity: Hour 1 / Scorpions (2007)

1. Hour 1

2. The Game of Life

3. We Were Born to Fly

4. The Future Never Dies

5. You're Lovin' Me to Death

6. 321

7. Love Will Keep Us Alive

8. We Will Rise Again

9. Your Last Song

10. Love Is War

11. The Cross

12. Humanity

In their early career, Scorpions was not the pop rock/metal band. Their music had really dark tone and beautiful longing melody. Since 80's, their music shifted more pop and catchy, and the dark tone was cast away. However, I think they started coming back to their root as they come to the end of their career. They showed some glimpse of it in the last album, but this album really reminded me of their early songs. The sound is heavier than ever, yet not only sound but song itself became darker. Desmond Child wrote the story line of this album and jointed largely on songwriting as well.

1. Hour 1
I was bit freaked out by the sound. The guitar sound became much heavier compare to their past albums. But, chorus really sounds like Scorpions.

2. The Game of Life
It is super heavy, but you can tell that riff sounds like Rudolf if you listen to it carefully. The funny thing is that he is not credited as one of the composers. I guess these producers also know this band well.

3. We Were Born to Fly
Very heavy yet sensitive and beautiful. The chorus has sad longing melody.

4. The Future Never Dies
They were always great ballad composers. However, ballads songs they wrote in 80's and 90's were very different from 70's (I am not saying they were bad. They were great but different from their early days). I was waiting for this kind of melody. This song is really moving.

5. You're Loving Me to Death
A song start with typical Rudolf's power chord riff. It is amazing how many riffs he can come up with simple power chords. The song features catchy chorus.

6. 321
Intro riffs reminded me of Velvet Revolver and Nickelback. The band started using this kind of heavy riff from 90's, but it sounds much more modern now since their sound is much heavier. This is also a song has good flowing chorus. 

7. Love Will Keep Us Alive
This is not necessarily the one of the songs in this album that reminds me of early days of the band but is definitely one of the most beautiful ballads they have ever written.

8. We Will Rise Again
A song that has good contrast of silence and movement. They used to do this a lot in early career too.  

9. Your Last Song
This song has a lot of modulation. The key switch from minor to major key back and forth. I really love the lead guitar parts in this song.

10. Love Is War
A mid-tempo song featuring acoustic guitar. Another thing really impressed me about this albums is the high-level arrangement. It may be largely counted on Desmond Child.

11. The Cross
Another good rock number. It has good heavy riff and catchy chorus. Pretty straightforward. 

12. Humanity
The leading single from this album. This song is not the most catchy song in this album but well describes this album. It has dramatic beginning, contrast of silence and movement, dark tone, and longing melody. One of my favorites in this album.

Overall, I was fully satisfied. If you like only 80's and early 90's of this band, you may not like this album. Nevertheless, if you are a fan of early Scorpions, please come back and listen to this album. I highly recommend you this album!

☆☆☆☆☆

Unbreakable / Scorpions (2004)

1. New Generation

2. Love 'em Or Leave 'em

3. Deep And Dark

4. Borderline

5. Blood Too Hot

6. Maybe I Maybe You

7. Someday Is Now

8. My City My Town

9. Through My Eyes

10. Can You Feel It

11. This Time

12. She Said

13. Remember The Good Times

14. Dreamers (Japanese Release Only)

15. Too Far (Japanese Release Only)

This is my all-time favorite Scorpions album. It strongly reminds me of their '70s era, and for some reason, the songs really hit me emotionally.

Sound-wise, the album is heavy and dark, yet the melodies recall the Uli Jon Roth era. At the same time, it blends that classic vibe with modern production, catchy hard rock elements, and the power ballads that made them famous in the '80s.

Back in the '70s, the Scorpions weren't big in the U.S. yet, but they were already quite popular in Europe and Japan. I believe the reason they resonated so much in Japan back then was their beautiful minor-key melodies. Their songs weren't overly commercial yet, but they had a distinct atmosphere that perfectly matched Japanese musical sensibilities. It wasn't as pop-oriented as their '80s work, but it captivated Japanese fans. This album captures that exact same magic.

At first, I was really surprised by the sound. It was extremely heavy! Some songs are down-tuned to C. Perhaps this album and Humanity: Hour I are the heaviest albums in their catalogue, but it really matches the musical direction they were heading in at the time.

Tracks like "New Generation", "Love 'em Or Leave 'em", "Deep and Dark", "Maybe I Maybe You", and "Through My Eyes" all have a great '70s vibe. I’d call "Maybe I Maybe You" a 21st-century version of "Holiday." Of course, the album also features fantastic ballads like "She Said" and "Dreamer". "Dreamer" is only a bonus track on the Japanese edition, but it instantly became one of my favorite Scorpions songs. It's truly one of the best pieces they've ever written, and I honestly don't understand why it wasn't included in the worldwide release. It also features more upbeat songs like "Blood Too Hot", "Someday Is Now", "My City My Town", and "Remember The Good Times", which will surely please '80s fans.

They continued this musical direction on their next album, but shifted back to a more pop-oriented hard rock sound with Sting in the Tail. To me, this album represents the best of both worlds ('70s Scorpions & '80s Scorpions).

☆☆☆☆☆