Unitron The peak of late 70's heavy metal, Taken By Force is an oft neglected album compared to the Scorps' 80's classics. I think they had a great run from the debut to Love at First Sting, but this has always been my favorite.

It's a blend of all that makes the band great, and turned up to eleven. I've Got to Be Free and Your Light have a great funky vibe that Uli Jon Roth had a real knack for and would explore further with his later band Electric Sun. We'll Burn the Sky and Born to Touch Your Feelings are two of the band's best ballads, with the end of the latter sounding like they took some influence from fellow German band Eloy.

My absolute favorite is the proto-thrash of He's a Woman, She's a Man, which is a beast with a drilling riff, some of Klaus Meine's most exuberant vocals, and such a hook that keeps it in the mind for days. If that's proto-thrash, The Sails of Charon is straight up neo-classical metal and one of the band's most legendary songs.

Paired with the classic Tokyo Tapes live album, this is German metal heaven.

Warthur How quickly times change. In 1975, Scorpions' In Trance had them stake a claim to be one of the heaviest bands out there; by 1977, though, a new breed of even heavier bands were emerging, with the likes of Judas Priest and Motorhead creeping out of the woodwork and taking the lead in the heaviness stakes.

Rather than going heavier, with Taken By Force Scorpions go catchier, with eight songs you can't help to nod along to. It's nowhere near pop metal, but it leans a bit more towards Scorpions' hard rock side and a bit less towards their heavy metal side than In Trance did.

The Spotlight Kid The moment you hear that jackhammer you know Scorpions are back with another killer metal attack. The Riffs are rock solid, Herman's drumming is great and of course scorpions unmatched sense of melody is on display throughout as well. That cheering crowd sound in the background of "Steamrock Fever" sums up how I feel when I hear that kickin' opening track and actually it's how I feel when I hear any of the Uli Jon Roth era albums. Uli's guitar playing is nothing short of explosive and add's the depth, darkness, edge and magic to everything. The Band is super tight too, playing with laser precision but also unending feel and groove. Klaus is the man. The guy is one of the great singers of his time.

Each song on this album has its own special character. Songs like "Steamrock Fever" and "Sails of Charon" are just all out rockers but then you also get the more reflective track of We'll Burn The Sky, written about Jimi Hendrix with Uli's girlfriend who also happened to be Hendrix's girlfriend at the time of his death. An Epic and beautiful track that Uli still plays regularly in his live sets. Then you get the funny rocker "He's a woman - She's a Man" with the lyrics provided by Herman. Again another mood shift. But unlike many bands who change direction as much as these guys do here it never feels forced or jarring, on the contrary it's seamless and just makes the album all the more interesting and fantastic.

I find it hard to pick favorites from the Uli era but "In Trance" was my first love and I think I like the songs a touch more, but the heaviness, sharpness and shred attack by Uli on this album make it another favorite and one I would highly recommend.