Scorpions - Sting in the Tail (4.5/5)

01. Raised on Rock 03:58 02. Sting in the Tail 03:12 03. Slave Me 02:45 04. The Good Die Young 05:14 05. No Limit 03:22 06. Lorelei 04:32 07. Turn You On 04:23 08. Sly 05:16 09. Spirit of Rock 03:42 10. The Best is Yet to Come 04:32

The power-metal junkie’s darkest fear has been confirmed; Scorpions are retiring. After one last album, they’re going to bow out to the world with an epic tour spanning five continents. What is power metal going to be, without Scorpions?! I’m not dealing with this well, I’m still early in the grieving process…so as an opening thought, I’m going to quote one of the lines Scorpions use to close the album. “How can I live without you?/ You’re such a part of me/ and you’ve always been the one/ keeping me forever young/ …and the best is yet to come”.

I was actually a little afraid going into this album, because I knew, I knew it was to be their last - and I don’t want Scorpions to retire. Maybe it’s just me - it took me two days to pluck up the courage to watch the last episode of ‘The Wire’, because I just didn’t want it to be over…well, I got the same feeling with this album right before I hit ‘Play’. “Raised on Rock” is the perfect song to dispel such negative thoughts, though - regardless on your feelings for Scorpions or their demise, I dare you to be a heavy metal fan and listen to that opening riff without cracking a big cheesy grin.

As an opener, it sets the bar high, but thankfully there’s easily enough passion and invention in this old band to see the album through. Oh, and guitar solos. There are plenty of those. Songs like “Slave Me”, “Sting in the Tail”, “Turn You On” and “Spirit of Rock” are all standout genre songs, the kind of songs that inspired the whole of power metal - it’s hard to believe they’re the work of a group of sixty-somethings. It’s gratifying, in a way, to know that a band formed in 1965 (yes, 1965…they were going at the same time as the fucking Beatles) can still squeeze into the tight leather pants and turn it up to eleven with the best of them.

The lyrics on the album are of the very highest standard of cheesy crap, incidentally - but hey, I‘d be disappointed if Scorpions were suddenly deeply intellectual. Take “The Spirit Of Rock”, for example, which does exactly what it says on the tin - a classical “heavy metal is awesome” song, in true Man’O’War tradition. “The spirit of rock will never die/ just like a rock in the ocean”. Yeah, so, rock is like…a rock…but why in the ocean?! That’s arguably the one place where a rock could die. “Yeah, the spirit of rock will never die/ except possibly due to the forces of tidal erosion/ even then it will persevere as some form of sand”…well, it’s not quite as catchy, I‘ll admit.

It’s possible that this is actually the message behind the song, though - even after Scorpions have retired, like the rock, their sand will still be there. Because we’ll all still be playing “Rock You Like A Hurricane” on Guitar Hero. This fits in with the ‘subtle’ message that a lot of the album puts across - I mean, come on, “The Good Die Young”?! That was the lead single from the album, incidentally, and features Klaus Meine duetting with former Nightwish warbler Tarja Turunen.

The album features not just one obligatory power-ballad, but three - “Lorelei”, “Sly”, and “The Best is Yet to Come” - and while after that many mid-tempo soaring melodies you can’t quite shake the feeling you’re watching ‘Top Gun’, at the same time it’s hard to begrudge Scorpions this final indulgence. Especially in the case of “The Best Is Yet To Come”, which closes out the album…it’s a lovely little slice of bittersweet melancholy, and you really feel it in your gut that it’s the last song - not just of the album, but of the band’s storied career. Honestly, if I was a little drunker the first time I heard that song, I could have cried. “How can we grow old/ when the soundtrack of our lives is rrrrrawk ’n’ roll? / and the best is yet to come”. That, my friends, is the sound of a band going out on top of their game, with their heads held high.

(On a side note, don’t make the mistake I did, and put this album in your alphabetical-order winamp/iTunes/whatever playlist before listening to it…because the chances are, the next thing that’s going to come on is Sepultura, and after that closing song, the very last thing you need is “Arise”. Talk about a mood-killer…)

Alright, if you look right across Scorpions’ career, I guess ‘Sting in the Tail’ isn’t their greatest ever work - but if you think I’m going to give it a poor mark, you can fuck right off. In case you hadn’t picked up on it, this isn’t really a review - it’s a god-damn tribute. I salute you, Scorpions. You did indeed Rock me Like A Hurricane, and whenever you get around to wrapping up the two or three year tour that follows this album, you’ll be sorely, sorely missed. It’s been emotional.

Sting in the Tail is available to buy or download at Play.com

Genre : Power Metal

Article by Phil Sim