ALL THINGS ROCK N' METAL

 It's been two years since The Scorpions' previous effort "Animal Magnetism" which by the way is an underrated gem in their catalog thanks to such tracks as "Make it Real" and the anthemic "The Zoo". But the reason why it look longer for The German quintet to comeback with a new record was singer Klaus Meine underwent surgery for his vocal chords and was uncertain if he was going to recover or if he was going to record new material. He lost his voice while writing songs for what would become "Blackout" There were demos of material that were recorded with singer Don Dokken who at the time was the frontman of his own band that nobody has ever heard of yet (except for those in the European market). However none of the recordings are featured,as Klaus managed to regain his vocal strength following surgery while Don Dokken is credited with backing vocals. Unlike previous Scorpions album covers this one did not cause controversy as past albums ...

 Ten years prior AC/DC released "Back in Black" the album turned out to be the best selling hard rock/heavy metal album of all time. A year later came "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" it was their first #1 record in the U.S. and went four times platinum and then the rest of the 80's happened with a pair of unsuccessful albums 1983's "Flick of the Switch" and 1985's "Fly on the Wall" "Flick of the Switch" would be Phil Rudd's last album until he returned for 1995's "Ballbreaker" he would be replaced by Simon Wright for "Fly on the Wall" and 1988's "Blow Up Your Video" which became more successful than "Flick of the Switch" and "Fly on the Wall"  Following the success of "Blow Up your Video" AC/DC's World Tour in support had to be cut short due to Rhythm Guitarist Malcolm Young took time off from the group to check himself into rehab in hopes ...

 When the Scorpions released "Lovedrive" in 1979 the record is or was considered by which critic you ask to be the pinnacle of their long and storied career and they have been around since the mid 1960's. But here's the backstory behind the formation of The Scorpions. Formed in Hanover,Germany in 1965 by Rudolf Schenker,but it really didn't come fully together until 1970 when Rudolf's younger brother Michael joined as well as a singer by the name of Klaus Meine. The Scorpions released their first record "Lonesome Crow" in 1972,then Michael Schenker left the group so Rudolf turned to Michael's friend Uli  Roth to join Schenker,Meine,Bassist Francis Buchholz,Drummer Jurgen Rosenthal and a keyboard player named Aichim Kirschning and that lead to their second record 1974's "Fly to the Rainbow" which was more successful than "Lonesome Crow" soon their third and fourth albums "In Trance" and "Virgin Killer" w...

 It's been a while since I did an Album Review so today I would like to get back to it by reviewing AC/DC's 1980 release "Back in Black" AC/DC got together in 1973 (50 years ago) they released three studio albums in Australia only ("High Voltage" "TNT" and "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap") they didn't break the international market until 1977 following the release of "Let There Be Rock" and by 1979 they were set for more commercial success which they achieved with 1979's "Highway to Hell" Producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange a producer I've covered on a previous album review (Def Leppard's "Pyromania") he assisted in making the band's sound more catchy and accessible. "Highway to Hell" became AC/DC's first gold record in America. Peaking at #17 on the Billboard 200 while reaching #8 in the U.K. At the start of 1980 the band wrapped up the final leg of their tour and then ...