Scorpions have released the first in a three-part series of short documentaries — directed by Thomas Noehre — focusing on the making of the band’s 19th studio album, Rock Believer. You can watch the footage below.
The band said in a statement: “For our new album Rock Believer, we all came back together in the studio like in the old days and captured that journey on camera. Today we release the first part 1 of 3. Maybe you discover some unreleased music snippets from our new album in it.”
Last month, Scorpions released the official music video for their new single, “Peacemaker”. The track, which features music courtesy of guitarist Rudolf Schenker and bassist Pawel Maciwoda and lyrics by singer Klaus Meine, is taken from Rock Believer, due on February 25, 2022.
Asked in a new interview with Chile’s Radio Futuro what fans can expect to hear on Rock Believer, Meine said “Well, you can expect an album that is dedicated to all the rock believers in the world. And we’re very excited after all these years.
“We thought, when you think about all the touring we did the last 10 years, after the release of Return To Forever in 2015, the time was right to go back into the studio, to write new material, to write new songs and check out if the creativity is still working. The big aim was, the goal was to make a rock album — to make an album with lots of attitude, power and focus on the good old times and really enjoy the music and have some fun with the music. And that feels really good.”
Speaking about Scorpions Rock Believer album title, guitarist Rudolf Schenker said: “Look, we are around the world for 50 years or more. And when somebody can say he’s a rock believer, then this is us. And of course, we meet our rock believers in front of us, our audience.
“So many people said rock is dead. It’s not dead,” he continued. “It’s always coming back — sometimes, okay, more stronger [or] less strong — but in the end, it’s great to play around the world in over 80 countries we’ve played so far, and all rock believers. It was always great to share the music with them together and be in connection with them. I mean, that’s so amazing and so fantastic, that we are very happy to come out with a new album. And yeah, let’s see what’s happening.”
Asked if “Peacemaker” is representative of Rock Believer as a whole, Klaus said: “It is an uptempo rock song, and this album really rocks. There are some heavy songs on the album, like when you think about “China White” and “Animal Magnetism”, there’s a track on the record that is really in the best way of those songs.
“There are many uptempo songs and, believe it or not, there are even faster songs than “Peacemaker”. There’s also a very beautiful ballad on the album, and I’m sure there are fans out there especially love the Scorpions ballads, and they will enjoy this record as well very much. “Peacemaker” is the appetizer for what the album is all about. It rocks.”
Rock Believer was recorded primarily at Peppermint Park Studios in Hannover, Germany and was mixed at the legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin, Germany with engineer Michael Ilbert, who has earned multiple Grammy nominations for his mix work with producer Max Martin on albums by Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.
“The album was written and recorded in the Scorpions DNA with core Schenker/Meine compositions,” said Klaus. “We recorded the album as a band live in one room, like we did in the ’80s.”
