Via Northeast Rock Review

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. -The legendary German Hard Rock / Heavy Metal band, the Scorpions brought their Rock Believer tour to the Premier Theatre at Foxwoods Casino in support of their new release Rock Believer. The band’s current lineup is: Rudolf Schenker (rhythm guitar, backing vocals) (1965–present), Klaus Meine (lead vocals) (1969–present), Matthias Jabs (lead guitar, backing vocals)(1978–present), Paweł Mąciwoda (bass guitar, backing vocals) (2003–present), Mikkey Dee (drums) (2016–present).

The band hit the stage with a brand new song “Gas in the Tank,” from their current release Rock Believer (2022), and then following it up with two classics “Make it Real” and “The Zoo,” both from Animal Magnetism (1980). I was quite amazed on how well singer Klaus Meine sounded on vocals. At 74 years old Klaus sounds better than many singers half his age. This is quite an amazing feat considering that he has been the singer for the Scorpions for over 53 years (since 1969).

Next up was “Coast to Coast,” an instrumental from Lovedrive (1979) in which Klaus strapped on a guitar and rocked out with his bandmates. They then introduced two more new songs, “Seventh Sun” and “Peacemaker,” from Rock Believer (2022) before hitting back with another deep cut with “Bad Boys Running Wild” from Love at First Sting (1984).

After playing “Delicate Dance” the guys decide to slow it down a little with “Send Me an Angel” and “Wind of Change,” both from Crazy World (1990). The lyrics of “Wind of Change” had been changed to show their support for Ukraine. This was a powerful message considering Klaus Meine wrote the song after performing at the Moscow Music Peace Festival in August of 1989 and his experience leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989.

The band sped it back up with “Tease Me Please Me” and “Rock Believer.” After that bassist Paweł Mąciwoda kicked into a bass solo with drummer Mikkey Dee backing him as the others left the stage. At the end of the bass solo Pawel left the stage as Mikkey continued on to do his drum solo. The full band returned to the stage for “Blackout” from Blackout (1982) and “Big City Nights” from Love at First Sting (1984) before taking their bows and leaving the stage. After a few minutes, the band came back out to close the night out with legendary classics “No One Like You” and “Rock You Like A Hurricane”

It truly amazes me that after 57 years the Scorpions are still writing good music and are performing great live shows. I was truly pleased with the stage setup, the lighting, the tv screens, the setlist and the performance. I hope these guys continue to tour because I’d love to see them again.

Scorpions kick off the North America leg of the Rock Believer World Tour in Toronto.

 

German hard rock band Scorpions, who released their newest album, Rock Believer, on February 25^th, 2022, performed at Budweiser Stage in Toronto last night (Aug 21^st).

Listen to our new single: https://scorpions.lnk.to/Hammersmith
Our new album Rock Believer – OUT NOW: https://scorpions.lnk.to/RockBeliever
Connect with the Scorpions YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcvn…
Website: https://www.the-Scorpions.com/
Tour Tickets: https://smarturl.it/rockbelieveralbum/tourtickets
Rock Zone Fan Club: http://www.The-ScorpionsCommunity.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scorpions
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Scorpions
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Hammersmith is an event venue located in the London district with the same name. Some artists who performed there were The Who, Queen, AC/DC, Motörhead, Metallica and Scorpions. 

The new single by the SCORPIONS is not just an anthem to an iconic music venue, it is also a contemporary manifesto, showing just how much enthusiasm they still have for hard rock, the roots of their fame and original metal. “The song,” says Klaus Meine, “takes us back to a time when we played in the smallest clubs, just dreaming about being able to perform in the Temple of Rock, the Hammersmith Odeon.” The music, composed by SCORPIONS-founder Rudolf Schenker, drummer Mikkey Dee and Magnus Ax, gives singer Klaus Meine (lyrics) a great opportunity to prove that not only he can perfectly intonate the balladesque tones of the great SCORPIONS songs, but that his rock voice is incredible as well. An almost brutal start, in which the great ex-Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee is already letting off steam, followed by driving guitar sounds, opens the stage for Klaus Meine’s vocal excursion. Mixed with harmonic riffs, repeatedly interrupted by aggressive drumming, “Hammersmith” is something very special in the rock band’s brand-new repertoire. One of the highlights is when lead guitarist Matthias Jabs masterfully rocks his instrument until the song reaches its finale. As Klaus Meine sums it up: “Rocks Like Hell!”

“Hammersmith” will be released as a digital single on August 12^th 2022 through Universal Vertigo

Attention Rock Believers!

We wanted to let you know that Whitesnake will no longer be joining us on our U.S. and Canadian Rock Believer tour. Nothing is more important than our fans and it was important to us that we keep the shows as scheduled. We wish Whitesnake all the best and look very much forward to seeing you and rocking with you all on tour along with Thundermother.

The Rock Believer World Tour is heading to the States this Fall! Follow Scorpions and/or RSVP to the show on BandsInTown for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the show of your choice.*

Earlier this month, SCORPIONS singer Klaus Meine was asked by Greece’s RockPages.gr how much “gas is left in the tank” for him and his bandmates after more than five decades of rocking as a group. He responded: “We played almost 30 shows now this year after two years break because of the pandemic. And I think there’s still a lot of gas in the tank. When you imagine that we went through shows we did in the U.S. and now all over Europe, it looks like there’s plenty of gas in the tank. It feels good.”

This past May, Meine, who turned 74 that same month, told Portugal’s “Metal Global” that there is no more talk of retirement for the SCORPIONS, as there was back in 2010 with what was purported to be a final album and a farewell tour that never quite took hold. “No, we scratched that word [retirement] out of our [vocabulary],” he said. “It’s not there. We don’t think about it and we don’t talk about it and we take it as it comes.

Continue reading at Blabbermouth

The Volvo electric heavy-duty trucks are just as flexible as their diesel equivalents and can be built for virtually any task. And the absence of noise and emissions makes them perfect for indoor jobs or nighttime assignments – like the possibly highest-ever drum solo in the history of heavy metal. Watch Mikkey Dee (Motörhead, Scorpions) take his skills to new heights at the classic Ullevi arena in Volvo’s and Mikkey’s hometown of Gothenburg.

Since “Wind of Change”, Klaus Meine has probably not succeeded in creating a song that is as touching, as emotional, as raw as this one: a harmonious guitar solo by Matthias Jabs to start, then the unmistakable voice of the SCORPIONS singer picking up the sound and singing: “I walked down to Notre-Dame, To say a prayer for Bataclan…” The story of this song is from almost seven years ago, when an attack in Paris at the Bataclan music club tragically killed more than a hundred people by gunfire during a concert. In November 2015, the SCORPIONS were the first band to return to the stage and play a concert in Paris. Moving moments, both for the artists and for more than 20,000 fans who spontaneously tuned in the Marseillaise.

Klaus Meine: “It’s a tribute to France, with its wonderful culture and our fantastic fans.” A tribute to the legendary Olympia, to Johnny Hallyday, to the unique city on the Seine, with a good portion of rock in the finest SCORPIONS style – and an amazing ending…