I am the first to admit that I was not a huge fan of Scorpions’ last two releases, Sting In The Tail and Return To Forever. I felt they were pretty generic, and kind of paint by numbers. I absolutely loved Unbreakable and Humanity: Hour I, I still listen to tracks off of both. They were heavier, and reminded me of a mix of Scorpions of old, with a flair for the new. They had something I could sink my teeth into.

So going into Rock Believer, I had my fingers crossed. Since Mikkey Dee was working with them on the album, I hoped that his influence would help right the ship. Scorpions have had many members over the years, very influential players while in the band, but they’ve never had someone like Mikkey join the band. His reputation speaks for itself, Motorhead, King Diamond, and Don Dokken to name a few of the luminaries he’s played with.

I received the promo a few weeks back, and I’ve been playing it quite a bit over the course of the last few weeks. This, in my honest opinion, is the strongest album since 1988’s Savage Amusement. Are they reinventing the wheel or doing anything different? No, but it’s a flat-out entertaining hard rock album. There is one ballad, and it’s there for a reason, not just because they’re looking for the next radio hit. 

As much as the previous two albums tried to sound like Love At First Sting and Blackout, Rock Believer has tracks that feel as if they could have come from previous eras of the band. Instead of trying to sound like “Still Loving You” or “Winds Of Change”, you have songs that sound like “China White”, or “Hit Between The Eyes”. Lesser-known classics, that kick major ass. It’s one really good song after another.

This album is end-of-year list material for me. It was from the moment I first heard it. If you’re a fan of Scorpions, you need to check this album out. If you’re a hard rock fan that’s looking for something new to check out, do yourself a favor and give Rock Believer a spin.