SCORPIONS — Blackout

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SCORPIONS - Blackout cover
4.02 | 57 ratings | 4 reviews
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Album · 1982

Filed under Heavy Metal
By SCORPIONS

Tracklist

1. Blackout (3:49)
2. Can't Live Without You (3:46)
3. No One Like You (3:57)
4. You Give Me All I Need (3:38)
5. Now! (2:35)
6. Dynamite (4:12)
7. Arizona (3:55)
8. China White (6:58)
9. When The Smoke Is Going Down (3:51)

Total Time 36:45

Line-up/Musicians

- Klaus Meine / lead vocals
- Matthias Jabs / lead guitar, backing vocals
- Rudolf Schenker / rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Francis Buchholz / bass, backing vocals
- Herman Rarebell / drums, percussion, backing vocals

About this release

10 April
Harvest, EMI, Mercury

Thanks to stephen, Pekka, Lynx33, 666sharon666, Unitron for the updates

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SCORPIONS BLACKOUT reviews

Specialists/collaborators reviews

siLLy puPPy
Hannover, Germany based SCORPIONS has had a few distinct phases in its multi-decade career beginning with its rather uncertain Krautrock meets hard rock beginnings on the debut “Lonesome Crow.” The Uli Roth years developed the band’s distinct mix of catchy pop hooks infused with heavy bluesy rock and early heavy metal but the crystalline lineup didn’t come to fruition until guitarist Matthias Jabs joined the band thus cementing the distinct brash bravado that would propel SCORPIONS to the top of the heavy metal heap where they experienced international success all throughout the 80s.

While albums like “Lovedrive” and “Animal Magnetism” got this particular lineup warmed up and even became the band’s first gold records, it was the 1982 release of the band’s eighth album BLACKOUT that coincided with the mainstream success of heavy metal that SCORPIONS became one of the biggest bands in the entire genre. Part of this sudden ascent to international stardom resulted from MTV shuffling videos 24 / 7. The addictive hooks of “No One Like You,” one of the band’s most famous singles coupled with the bad boy bravado antics at Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay on the video which was enough to drive a metal crazed public bonkers!

This was a do or die era for the SCORPIONS perched to ascend to greater stardom or totally fall as lead singer Klaus Meine had to undergo surgery on his vocal cords and the uncertainty of the outcome haunted the band’s very existence however Don Dokken was picked as a replacement singer if for any reason Meine was unable to continue his duties as vox box in chief. Luckily not only did Meine come through the experience with no complications but his voice actually smoothed out a bit taking some of the grit off which began the era of the more pop crossover SCORPIONS.

BLACKOUT established a much more accessible sound after the more experimental “Animal Magnetism” fortified with infectious pop hooks and the sizzling twin guitar attack of Matthias Jabs and Rudolf Schenker. With drummer Herman Rarebell and bassist Francis Buchholz, this was also the band’s most famous and successful lineup. The band was extremely popular live with its energetic performances. The album with its nine tracks starts out with the distinct high-octane title track and doesn’t let up until the closing “When The Smoke Is Going Down” with the by then established signature ballad in the form of “You Give Me All I Need.” Don Dokken who recorded the demo songs for the album was kept as a backup singer on some of the tracks.

While most of the tracks are full steam ahead with fast tempos and Meine’s vocal gymnastics hitting ridiculously high octaves, the closing “China White” and “When The Smoke Is Going Down” slow things down a bit, the latter of which is another excellent ballad that showcases Meine’s uncanny multi-octave vocal abilities. While it was uncertain whether or not BLACKOUT would ever even come to be due to Meine’s vocal woes after countless delays, as things turned out it was just the beginning of the SCORPIONS most successful phase of its career that would last the entire 80s.

Personally BLACKOUT isn’t my favorite pick for best SCORPIONS album as i much prefer “Animal Magnetism” which came before and even “Love At First Sting” which came after but as far as quality heavy rock / metal from the early 80s is concerned, BLACKOUT is excellent 80s metal with addictive melodies, outstanding musicianship and fiery delivered in every possible way. Although i find the cover artwork to be quite cheesy i can only assume that dude is screaming so loud to break glass so that he can warn us about the coming BLACKOUT. Get your survival gear now!
Warthur
The Scorpions' US breakthrough and commercial peak, Blackout finds the band no longer even trying to stay on the front line of metal when it comes to heaviness or wild abandon, instead embracing sheer singalong catchiness to retain the listener's interest. It more or less works, though whilst it has a great initial impact, it seems to lose a little something on repeated listens, especially compared to their classic 1970s peaks like In Trance or Lovedrive. It's good that it finally got the public to sit up and pay attention to the band for something other than their controversial album covers, but at the same time they'd done better.
Stephen
"Blackout" declared to the world that Scorpions still has the deadly sting to be the leading German heavy metal giant. Even though the band had to go through a rough process as Meine was suffering from a damaged vocal cord back then, the record was eventually finished and later successfully claimed platinum status with several memorable hits such as "Now!" and the legendary ballad, "When The Smoke Is Going Down".

Traditional heavy metal is the law of the game here. Scorpions still lift the genre high but this time, they tried to be more adaptive to the climate change as we can sense a slight commercial feel and some hard rock touch to songs like "Blackout", "Can't Live Without You", or "Arizona". Those are my fave tracks, along with the fast-paced "Now!" which like a reincarnation of Zeppelin's "Rock And Roll". Not to forgot the closer ballad which always chills me to the bone every time I hear the intro pick. "Smoke" is probably their trademark song, very easy to remember, yet after hundreds of play, that song is still sounded as good as ever.

I didn't hear any weak tunes here but to be honest, the real standouts are only a few. Several songs should have been better and "China White" is probably the worst of the bunch, though the song itself is pretty unique, not bad, and quite dark and mysterious. Overall, a classic album for the fans, an essential release!

Members reviews

progthrashheadbanger
I give this album four and a half stars because while the music is awesome, not all metalheads will find anything they consider 'metal' in here (ie, no blast beats or growled vocals). Those people are fools, and I pity them for being so close-minded about music, especially as rich a genre as metal. That Metal Show speaks highly of this band, and they don't get people like Dave Mustaine on for nothing.

The title track ,probably about some crazy, smashed night, features fast, furious, hellbent riffage and just kills from the outset. What follows is 37 minutes of sheer thrills that ebb and flow punk-rock like. Highlights include the rocker-ballad "No One Like You", the punky "Now!". The songs aren't that catchy, but catchy doesn't equal greatness.

Bottom line: If you've never heard these guys in their full glory and you're willing to hear something a little older than vintage Maiden, buy this.

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