Scorpions Album: “Humanity: Hour 1”

I had no idea Scorpions had a new album. One day, listening to the radio I heard "Humanity" and that was it, I was hooked.

The rest of the songs are just as good, the whole album is emotionally charged and full of energy.

I ended up buying three copies, one for myself and the other two as presents.

I love the way the CD starts, the way it ends and everything in between.

If you ever liked Scorpions, you will like this album.

It's true, rock fans - Scorpions have created THE rock album of the year and one of the best in their long history. From the opening riff of Hour 1, it's clear that Germany's greatest rock band has come to rock you like only they can. The group has teamed with songwriter/producer par excellence Desmond Child in a calculated effort to update their sound, while retaining all of the classic Scorpions sting. The record has a loose concept forewarning of a future where man will be pitted against intelligent robots of his own making. Granted, it's not a new theme by any stretch, but it's the songs that really matter and the band delivers in spades with several of the heaviest tracks they've ever recorded and some very fine ballads that stand up to anything in their catalog. This record also sees a marked increase in the amazing lead guitar work of Mathias Jabs, one of the great metal players of the last 20 (almost 30!) years. He shreds up a storm on tracks like "We Were Born To Fly" and the super-heavy "We Will Rise Again". Singer Klaus Meine has also delivered perhaps his most incredible performance to date. At 59, it's apparent that this vocalist of vocalists is still improving, making his well-documented vocal problems (nodes, total voice loss, two surgeries, therapy, etc.) of the early 80s a distant memory. While Meine can still wail with the best, he also employs the lower register of his range to great effect, as evident on "Love Is War". Throughout the disc, his harmonies are more spellbindingly gorgeous than ever, provoking chills on "The Future Never Dies" and "Love Will Keep Us Alive". The writing chores seem to have been split evenly between the three principals, Rudolf Schenker, Meine and Jabs with help from Child and the versatile Marti Frederiksen (who collaborated with particularly fine results with Jonny Lang on Lang's "Long Time Coming" disc from 2003). This is Jabs' largest contribution to the writing of a Scorpions record since he replaced the legendary Uli Roth in 1979. If you include the Limited Edition bonus track, "Cold", Jabs boasts 5 credits to Schenker and Meine's 4 each. The amazing thing is that every track is uniquely a Scorpions song in every way, with just the right balance of classic and modern. No doubt this CD will do well in Europe, where the band is still big, especially in Russia and surrounding countries, where they're the near-equivalent of The Beatles in their prime of popularity in the West. Album closer, "Humanity" has world-wide smash written all over it and it won't be surprising to see it repeat the global success of "Wind of Change" in 1990. This is a band who has found their stride yet again with a lyrically and musically mature record packed with all of the hallmarks that have made Scorpions one of the biggest selling rock acts in the world. If you like real guitar-driven rock music with substance and more hooks than a tackle shop, BUY THIS CD!!!

True to their name, the Scorpions never fail to amaze us with their unique blend of "heavy rock." The song writing ability of Meine/Schenker, five brilliant musicians and one of the very well-known producers combine to make Humanity Hour 1 a delightful listening experience. "Hour 1" begins with Kottak's drums (ala Megadeth's TRUST) before the rest of the band joins in. "Humanity" "Game of life" "We were born to fly" represent a good blend of melodies and powerful riffs...my favorite being "The Cross" cuz of its infectious rhythm and guitar work!

As Klaus Meine sang in Lovedrive "I'd like to show why scorpions got a sting..." they sure do! Happy listening folks :-)

I haven't had this much fun listening to a rock album in a LONG TIME. "Humanity Hour 1" ROCKS and is by far The Scorps best album EVER!!! Teaming up with song writer Desmond Child, who pushed the scorpions to greatness. My favorite Tracks are "Hour 1"- This song blew me away the first time I heard it!

"The game of live" a killer rock song with lyrics that will get stuck in your head for days. "the Cross" is another great rock track, featuring Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins. If Radio refuses to play any new tracks off this album than I have given up on radio, because this album is classic. If you are a scorpions fan, do not miss out on this album, IT IS AWESOME!

Easily the Scorpions best album since CRAZY WORLD, HUMANITY HOUR 1 is a triumph of soul-searching hard rock. A concept album loosely constructed around a vision of the future in which humans and androids battle for control of the Earth, HUMANITY HOUR 1 is a total departure from the band's most recent releases (EYE II EYE, UNBREAKABLE) and far more powerful because of it. As a concept album, the album doesn't necessarily tell a coherent story, and the individual songs generally don't rely on the concept for their artistic merit, but the thematic backdrop of man fighting for survival against his own creations does provide a strong focus for the Scorpions to delve into the human psyche and explore the mortal realm of love, desire, disillusionment, and the cost of survival in a world gone mad. I was a little dubious about the influence of Desmond Child on the album, but the band makes it work and the result is a cd no other heavy metal group in the world could've pulled off. As for the individual tracks themselves...

1. "Hour 1": A dark and stormy introduction to the chaos. 4 1/2 stars

2. "The Game of Life": Scorps have always been good at rockers designed to challenge and inspire their fans to rise to new heights, but this one's darker than most. 5 stars

3. "We Were Born to Fly": The power of love to take us out of even the darkest storm. 4 stars

4. "The Future Never Dies": For good or bad, there's always another day. 3 1/2 stars

5. "You're Lovin' Me to Death": More of a traditional rocker's love song. 3 stars

6. "321": This one's for the head-banger's out there...an underlying desperation makes this hard-rocker more than it seems...would probably play best in an arena where it could rock the house. 4 1/2 stars

7. "Love Will Keep Us Alive": Possibly the weakest song on the album, though still not bad. 3 Stars

8. "We Will Rise Again": An instant Scorpions classic. Captures the sturm & angst of souls caught up in forbidden love with power and operatic majesty. 5+ stars

9. "Your Last Song": Bittersweet ode to good love gone bad. 3 1/2 stars

10. "Love is War": A once star-crossed man learns the rules of love the hard way, and he'll never be the same. 4 stars

11. "The Cross": The Bible says we must all take up our cross, and for the betrayed young man in this song that cross is love itself. A song of righteous despair, and like "We Will Rise Again" one of the best Scropions have ever done. 5+ stars

12. "Humanity": The final coda to the cd's overall vision, at once an existential nightmare and a heartfelt plea for every man to stand up for the humanity in himself. 5 stars

Unfortunately, Scorpions have fallen so far out of the mainstream consciousness in American rock that it's unlikely HUMANITY HOUR 1 will be appreciated by any outside the band's loyal fanbase. Most of these tracks probably won't get much playing time in the States, though hopefully in Europe they'll get more exposure. The album is undeniably heavy on ballads--at which Scorpions have always excelled--and straightforward heavy metal rockers may not find what they're looking for here, except in "321" which is something of a throwback to "Rock You Like a Hurricane". But however many copies it sells, HUMANITY HOUR 1 is a hard rock masterpiece, and longtime Scorpions fans--members of that "Family of Spiders"--will embrace this album for the classic that it is. Highest Possible Recommendation.