Scorpions Calling It Quits

After more than 40 years, German metal-meisters the Scorpions are calling it quits.

The Scorpions, which Rudolf Schenker formed in Hanover, Germany, in 1965, posted a message on their Website today announcing the end of the band following their upcoming world tour:

“We are extremely grateful for the fact that we still have the same passion for music we’ve always had since the beginning. This is why, especially now, we agree we have reached the end of the road.”

The Scorpions are wrapping up their eighteenth and final studio album, Sting In the Tail, which is due out March 19. Their farewell tour kicks off in Moscow on the 15th. Tour dates and streaming snippets from a couple of new songs are on the band’s MySpace.

I wrote not long ago about my history as a Scorpions fan, so I won’t bore you again with details. Suffice to say they deserve their place near the top of the metal pantheon.

For today’s music, I’m going to reach all the way back to the Scorpions debut album, 1972’s Lonesome Crow. This version of “I’m Going Mad” is an alternate take from a German re-release of that disk. Although the Scorps seem to be headed in a Black Sabbath direction, you can hear traces of what would later become their signature sound.

I’m Going Mad (alt version).mp3
It All Depends.mp3

Labels: current events, metal, outtakes

posted by aikin @ 10:57 AM