Fan-filmed video of Lita Ford’s January 17 performance at RokIsland Fest in Key West, Florida can be seen below.

Lita recently completed recording her long-awaited new solo album. The follow-up to 2012’s “Living Like A Runaway” was once again helmed by guitarist/producer Gary Hoey, who contributes some guitar playing to the disc, alongside the rest of Ford’s backing band, which continues to consist of guitarist Patrick Kennison, drummer Bobby Rock and bassist Marty O’Brien.

In January 2021, Lita told SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” that her new album contains “some of the best guitar playing” she has heard “in decades.” She added: “And I’m not blowing smoke up my own ass, but Gary and I just nailed it with the guitar playing on this record.

“I’m a huge fan of people like Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter from Alice Cooper’s ‘Welcome To My Nightmare’. I mean, there’s some really great duo guitar players — [JUDAS PRIEST’s] Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing… Those guitar players don’t exist anymore — they just don’t exist. If you wanna hear them, you have to go back in time a little bit and dig them up into your favorite library, favorite music catalog. But I think Gary and I really nailed it on this next record. It’s, like, oh my God. I’m crying — I’m just, like, crying listening to this stuff. It’s so badass.”

Ford’s last release was 2016’s “Time Capsule”, a collection of songs that were recorded by Lita in the past, but never before made available.

Six years ago, Lita released an autobiography, “Living Like A Runaway: A Memoir”, via Dey Street Books (formerly It Books), an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

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Heavys was created by a group of metalheads who felt metal music deserves a better set of headphones. With headquarters in New York City, engineering in Germany, design from Switzerland and speaker manufacturing from Denmark, Heavys is truly global.
Engineered by industry veteran Axel Grell, who led high-end audio at Sennheiser, Heavys introduces a number of interesting concepts into their headphones.

“While most headphones have one driver per side, Heavys has four,” says Jonathan Habshush, CEO and founder of Heavys. “Having four drivers allows each to focus on different frequencies. No need to try and accommodate for lows, mids and highs all together. Especially for the unique and complex sounds of heavy metal music.”

In addition to the four drivers on each side, Heavys introduces a psycho acoustic technology that broadcasts frequencies at specific volumes that will make you feel as though the music is louder, but without adding pressure to the ear.

“Our tech lets you listen to music very loud without causing high pressure levels in your ears. You can hear your music better, louder and safer,” says Grell.

Heavys is introducing another interesting concept — it is locating the tweeters in front of the ears instead of the side.

“Our ear canals are a magnificent piece of engineering created over thousands of years of evolution,” says Heavys. “We hear music best when it arrives directly in front of us. Heavys’ speaker location and acoustical setup generates a soundfield on the ear that stimulates a natural, front-oriented sound field like a live show.”

Heavys headphones are available on Kickstarter starting at early bird pricing of $149.

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Hear Canadian grinders Expression of Pain blast on in memory of fallen drummer Graham Green on their self-titled release.
The post Blast Worship: Expression of Pain appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

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Swedish death metal veterans HYPOCRISY will embark on the “Worship” tour this spring. The 28-date trek will kick off at Warsaw in Brooklyn, New York on April 29 and will make stops in Toronto, Los Angeles, and Austin before concluding in Baltimore at the Maryland Deathfest on May 29. Support on the trek will come from CARACH ANGREN, THE AGONIST and HIDEOUS DIVINITY.

HYPOCRISY leader Peter Tägtgren comments: “We’re happy to come back on tour in North America with the new album. New songs and old songs never played live before will be added to the setlist. And we’re happy to share the stage with CARACH ANGREN, THE AGONIST and HIDEOUS DIVINITY.”

General admission tickets for the tour go on sale this Friday, January 21 at 9 a.m. PST/ noon EST.

Confirmed dates for HYPOCRISY’s “Worship” tour 2022 with CARACH ANGREN, THE AGONIST and HIDEOUS DIVINITY are:

Apr. 29 – Warsaw – Brooklyn, NY
Apr. 30 – Middle East Downstairs – Boston, MA
May 01 – L’Astral – Montreal, QC, Canada
May 02 – Lees Palace – Toronto, ON, Canada
May 04 – The Forge – Joliet, IL
May 05 – The Cabooze – Minneapolis, MN
May 06 – Park Theatre – Winnipeg, MB, Canada
May 07 – The Exchange -Regina, SK, Canada
May 08 – Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB, Canada
May 10 – Red Room – Vancouver, BC, Canada
May 11 – Club Sur – Seattle, WA
May 12 – Bossanova Ballroom – Portland, OR
May 13 – Cornerstone – Berkeley, CA
May 14 – Brick By Brick – San Diego, CA
May 15 – 1720 – Los Angeles, CA
May 17 – Nile Theater – Mesa, AZ
May 18 – Rockhouse Bar & Grill – El Paso, TX
May 19 – Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM
May 20 – Come and Take It Live – Austin, TX
May 21 – Amplified Live – Dallas, TX
May 22 – White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX
May 24 – The Abbey – Orlando, FL
May 25 – Respectable Street – West Palm Beach, FL
May 26 – Furnace 41 – Jonesboro, GA
May 27 – The Blind Tiger – Greensboro. NC
May 28 – Enclave – Pittsburgh, PA
May 29 – Maryland Deathfest – Baltimore, MD

Last November, Tägtgren spoke out against vaccine mandates, saying “when they try to force it on you, I become the opposite.” The 51-year-old Tägtgren, who lives in a small Swedish village called Pärlby, discussed his views on vaccines in an interview with Tuonela Magazine. He said: “Unfortunately, I’m not a really optimistic guy when it comes to this COVID thing. I think there will be a couple of peaks again and [lockdowns] here and [lockdowns] there. Unfortunately, that’s how it is. I don’t know when it’s ever gonna pan out. I don’t know if it ever will pan out. But maybe we can be more immune to it so it’s not so deadly — so it doesn’t affect you so, so bad, if you get normal immunity to it.

“Everybody knows I’m really skeptical [about] the vaccine and stuff like that, especially when they try to force it on you,” he continued. “Because if you start forcing [it on people], then I become the opposite. But the good part with me [is that] I’m not social. I live in the woods, so, for me, I’m not out there breathing on people. The only time I go out is when I go to my studio or if I go to the local grocery store where there’s four people maximum every time I’m there shopping. So I’m not there to risk anything. And even people who do get the vaccine, they still spread the disease, so I don’t see the difference, unfortunately.”

“It scares me when they start going down in ages on kids [who are eligible for the vaccine] and pushing in things that they haven’t really tried,” he added. “And the only thing they’re trying is to get it approved in a very hurry, and that scares me as well. But this is how it is right now, and this is how we’re gonna have to take it. As long as I’m not out, I’m not gonna vaccinate myself. But I’m gonna have to because I’m gonna go on tour. So, yeah, that’s the way it is nowadays. So I stay away from people until I go on tour… In my village, there’s twenty people living, and our houses are very far from each other. So I see no problem not being vaccinated right now.”

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Steve Vai has postponed his planned tour of North America until the fall. The first U.S. leg of dates will now begin on Wednesday, September 28 in El Cajon, California and wrap the first week of December. The itinerary will now feature performances in 52 markets as opposed to the initial plan of staging 54 shows. All ticket and VIP purchases will be honored for the rescheduled date. Vai’s performance in Atlanta, Georgia will now take place at the Variety Playhouse instead of The Eastern and due to scheduling conflicts, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Billings, Montana shows will no longer be a part of the tour.

Approximately one year ago, Vai underwent shoulder surgery to repair an injury. That procedure was successful, enabling him to record the upcoming studio album release of “Inviolate” (Favored Nations / Mascot Label Group). In preparing for the tour, it became clear that a new injury emerged that requires another surgery, prohibiting the tour to be staged as previously announced.

Vai shares: “I’m gutted that we have to move this tour, but I also know it’s in the best interests for us and the fans that we do.”

The following appearances are confirmed:

Sep. 28 – El Cajon, CA @ The Magnolia
Sep. 30 – Riverside, CA @ Fox Performing Arts Center
Oct. 01 – Las Vegas, NV @ House Of Blues
Oct. 02 – Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theatre
Oct. 04 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Rockwell at The Complex
Oct. 05 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
Oct. 07 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Tower Theatre
Oct. 08 – Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues
Oct. 09 – San Antonio, TX @ The Aztec Theatre
Oct. 11 – Austin, TX @ Paramount Theatre
Oct. 12 – Houston, TX @ House Of Blues
Oct. 14 – Birmingham, AL @ Lyric Theatre
Oct. 15 – Macon, GA @ Hargray Capitol Theatre
Oct. 16 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Oct. 18 – Clearwater, FL @ Bilheimer Capitol Theatre
Oct. 19 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ The Parker
Oct. 20 – Orlando, FL @ The Plaza Live
Oct. 21 – Ponte Vedra Beach, FL @ Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
Oct. 22 – Charleston, SC @ Charleston Music Hall
Oct. 23 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte
Oct. 25 – Alexandria, VA @ The Birchmere
Oct. 26 – Harrisburg, PA @ [to be determined]
Oct. 27 – Port Chester, NY @ The Capitol Theatre
Oct. 28 – Glenside, PA @ Keswick Theatre
Oct. 29 – Red Bank, NJ @ Count Basie Theatre
Oct. 30 – Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
Nov. 01 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
Nov. 02 – Providence, RI @ The Strand
Nov. 03 – Boston, MA @ The Wilbur
Nov. 04 – Rochester, NY @ Kodak Center
Nov. 05 – Albany, NY @ The Egg
Nov. 07 – Greensburg, PA @ Palace Theatre
Nov. 08 – Warren, OH @ Packard Music Hall
Nov. 10 – Detroit, MI @ Masonic Cathedral Theatre
Nov. 11 – Morgantown, WV @ Metropolitan Theatre
Nov. 12 – Nashville, TN @ CMA Theatre
Nov. 13 – Louisville, KY @ Old Forester’s Paristown Hall
Nov. 14 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
Nov. 16 – Chicago, IL @ Copernicus Center
Nov. 18 – St. Paul, MN @ Fitzgerald Theater
Nov. 19 – Lincoln, NE @ Bourbon Theatre
Nov. 20 – Kansas City, MO @ The Uptown Theater
Nov. 21 – Sioux Falls, SD @ The District
Nov. 22 – Des Moines, IA @ Hoyt Sherman Place
Nov. 23 – Fargo, ND @ Fargo Theatre
Nov. 25 – Bozeman, MT @ The ELM
Nov. 26 – Missoula, MT @ The Wilma
Nov. 27 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
Nov. 28 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
Nov. 30 – Turlock, CA @ Turlock Community Theatre
Dec. 02 – Napa, CA @ Uptown Theatre Napa
Dec. 03 – Los Angeles, CA @ Theatre at Ace Hotel

Last February, Vai revealed that he had undergone shoulder and trigger finger surgeries, explaining that his shoulder had been “screwed up.”

During an appearance on Tyler Larson’s “Guitar Villains” podcast, Vai said that he sustained the finger injury by holding a tough chord for too long.

“I was doing this fun thing, and I had to put my thumb in this really weird position,” he said. “And I had to kind of hold this chord really for a long time — I was meditating on it. And I knew it was a hard position, and I just kept sitting there and playing it and playing and playing, and 20 minutes later, I’d kind of come out, and I [felt pain in my hand]. So I kind of sprained this, and then, all of a sudden, I developed trigger finger. My wife said, ‘Don’t show anybody,’ ’cause they did that operation and they cut in there, and the guy’s fooling around with everything in there, and it’s really bizarre. But it’s all fine — it’s something very simple that they can fix. But I won’t be able to play for a while.”

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WeTransfer, a leading provider of creative productivity tools, today announced its new global brand campaign, “Together We Make”. The campaign tells stories from creatives around the globe as they bring their ideas to life, with a little help from WeTransfer. It’s WeTransfer’s largest campaign to date, created in partnership with lead creative agency Preacher, production agency Partizan, and media agency Noble People.

The campaign explores the creative process through the eyes of an idea as it grows from concept to reality and ultimately comes to life in the real world. Throughout the journey, the campaign highlights features from WeTransfer’s latest product drop: portals and reviews. These new features help creatives navigate their clients through rounds of creative work — eliminating the long threads of messy feedback common in client services today.

Viewers will experience the creative and collaborative process behind designing and producing both an album cover and a fashion show. Explore how BABYMETAL, a popular Japanese pop-metal group, picks the mascot cover art for a limited-edition release through a seamless feedback experience. Then, step into rising British-Nigerian fashion designer Tolu Coker’s sketchbook and watch as a dress goes from concept to runway. The campaign will also include an online auction for a wearable NFT designed by Coker and world-class NFT artist Clara Bacou.

“There is a certain magic to seeing an idea, that started as a sketch in a notebook, grow into a fully realized creation. We’re a company built by creatives and for creatives, and this campaign shows how WeTransfer is growing its product offering to support the collaborative nature of modern creative work,” said Damian Bradfield, chief creative officer and co-founder of WeTransfer.

WeTransfer’s new campaign will also feature over 20 talented, prominent and up-and-coming creative professionals across paid and owned media channels. Featured creatives include illustrator Nicolette Schenck and ustwo games, the developers behind Monument Valley, one of the most successful games on the iOS platform.

WeTransfer is also working with leading media platform Vox to bring the features to life via a custom video series highlighting the behind-the-scenes process with a world-class creator. Twitch streamers will create custom content using WeTransfer products in real-time for a Twitch homepage takeover. Billboards featuring art from the campaign will also appear in creative hubs: New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami.

Zach Watkins, creative director at Preacher, the creative agency for WeTransfer, says: “Creatives know and trust WeTransfer as a file delivery service. And while that hasn’t changed, the product is evolving. Our new campaign aims to demo the new WeTransfer features, albeit in an unexpected way. Essentially, we bring to life a project, from the creative idea’s point of view. The idea witnesses its own creation as creatives and clients iterate, polish, and work together on the WeTransfer platform.”

Through its new brand campaign, WeTransfer is drawing on its heritage as a company that supports every part of the creative process. Since its inception, the company has built solutions and tools specifically tailored to the creative community and has been allocating 30% of its advertising space to support artists and social causes. In 2018 the company also launched WePresent, an editorial platform for unexpected stories about creatives around the world.

“Creatives today are working harder than ever to bring great ideas into the world. Remote work presents a brand new set of challenges for both clients and creators,” said Julia Shapiro, VP of marketing at WeTransfer. “But when we’re able to turn those ideas into reality, the feeling is that much sweeter. This campaign is meant to tap into that feeling.”

The campaign was produced in collaboration with creative agency Preacher, production agency Partizan, and media agency Noble People.

For more information, visit wetransfer.com/togetherwemake.

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The U.S. government requested and was granted permission to share sealed materials from the case involving ICED EARTH guitarist Jon Schaffer’s role in the U.S. Capitol riot case as discovery to the three main Oath Keepers cases.

Discovery is the legal term used to describe the different processes that require parties in a lawsuit to exchange information that each side possesses.

In their January 13 court filing related to Schaffer, government attorneys wrote: “The United States of America respectfully moves for entry by this Court of an order permitting the disclosure in discovery of materials protected by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e). The United States also requests permission to provide in discovery in United States, Thomas Caldwell, et. al., sealed materials related to the above-captioned case, pursuant to the previously entered protective order governing discovery. Finally, the United States requests that any order granting this motion be made applicable to co-defendants who may later be joined. The United States is authorized to represent to the Court that Defendant [Schaffer] does not oppose this motion or the entry of the attached order. Wherefore, the United States respectfully requests an order authorizing the disclosure in discovery of the materials described above.”

A day later, U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta granted the motion to disclose materials from the Schaffer case in the case against Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the right-wing Oath Keepers extremist group, and several of his deputies, who were charged with seditious conspiracy for their role in the U.S. Capitol Riot. That indictment, which was unsealed last week, alleges Rhodes and his co-defendants brought small arms to the Washington, D.C. area; engaged in combat training to prepare for the attack; and made plans to stage quick-reaction forces to support insurrectionists.

Last month, a lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. accusing 31 members of Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys — including Schaffer — of “conspiring to terrorize the District” on January 6, 2021, calling their actions “a coordinated act of domestic terrorism.” According to CNN, the lawsuit cites the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, a federal law created after the Civil War to protect civil rights and, as Racine noted, “to protect against vigilantes and insurrectionists.”

“I think the damages are substantial,” Racine told The Washington Post. “If it so happens that it bankrupts or puts these individuals and entities in financial peril, so be it.”

The 84-page complaint, which can be found at this location, describes Schaffer as “a founding, lifetime member of the Oath Keepers.” It goes on to say: “Schaffer was criminally charged and indicted for his role in perpetrating the January 6th Attack. In connection with a promise to cooperate with investigators and potentially testify in criminal cases related to the conspiracy to commit the January 6th Attack, Schaffer pleaded guilty to the entire Statement of Offense in the criminal action brought against him, which included two felony offenses: (1) trespass of the Capitol while armed with a deadly or dangerous weapon and (2) obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress. The Criminal Complaint filed against Schaffer—as well as Schaffer’s Plea Agreement and the accompanying Statement of Offense describing his conduct—are publicly available documents that are hereby incorporated into the Complaint by reference.”

“No one bore the brunt of this gutless attack more than the courageous law enforcement officers including the men and women of the DC Metropolitan Police Department who went into the fire and violence with one objective in mind: remove the violent mob and restore our country’s fragile democracy,” Racine said at a news conference.

“The defendants, as you know, were not tourists, nor were they acting patriotically,” he added. “They were vigilantes, members of a mob, insurrectionists who sought to crush our country’s freedoms.”

As part of his April 2021 plea deal, Jon entered into a cooperation agreement with the government.

Although Schaffer was initially charged with six crimes, including engaging in an act of physical violence and targeting police with bear spray, he pleaded guilty to only two charges: obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress; and trespassing on restricted grounds of the Capitol while armed with a deadly or dangerous weapon. The first charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, while the second carries up to a 10-year prison term.

In his plea agreement, Schaffer acknowledged that on January 6, 2021 he was in Washington to attend the “Stop The Steal” rally at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. to protest the results of the presidential election, which he believed were fraudulent. Schaffer wore a tactical vest and carried bear spray, a dangerous weapon and chemical irritant used to ward off bears. When the rally finished, Schaffer joined a large crowd that marched from the Ellipse to the Capitol, where a joint session of Congress, presided over by Vice President Michael Pence, was in session to certify the electoral college vote results. Shortly after 2:00 p.m., members of the mob forced entry into the Capitol building, disrupting the joint session and causing members of Congress and the Vice President to be evacuated from the House and Senate chambers.

In his plea agreement, Schaffer admitted that after arriving on Capitol grounds, he walked past barriers intended to restrict access to the public and to a set of locked doors on the Capitol’s west side. At approximately 2:40 p.m., Schaffer positioned himself at the front of a crowd that broke open a set of doors being guarded by four U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officers wearing riot gear. Schaffer admitted to being among the first individuals to push past the damaged doors and into the Capitol building, forcing officers to retreat. Schaffer and others advanced toward five or six backpedaling USCP officers while members of the mob swelled inside of the Capitol and overwhelmed the officers. The officers ultimately deployed a chemical irritant to disperse the mob. Schaffer was among the people who were sprayed in the face, after which he exited while holding his own bear spray in his hands.

As part of the plea deal, Schaffer agreed to cooperate with investigators and potentially testify in related criminal cases, according to CNN. In return for Schaffer’s assistance, the Justice Department might later urge the judge to show leniency during his sentencing.

Also as part of the agreement, the Justice Department has offered to sponsor Schaffer for the witness protection program.

The 53-year-old musician was the first Capitol riot defendant to reach a plea deal.

The Indiana chapter of the Oath Keepers distanced itself from Schaffer after his arrest, claiming he was not a member of the local group. But the national organization, which sells lifetime memberships for $1,200, has not commented on his alleged affiliation with the group.

At a November 2020 Donald Trump rally in Washington, D.C., Schaffer was videotaped walking behind a Florida couple, Kelly Meggs and Connie Meggs, who were accused of being among 10 members of the Oath Keepers to have played a leading role in the Capitol assault. According to federal authorities, Kelly and Connie Meggs plotted for weeks ahead of the attack, attended training sessions and recruited others. Kelly Meggs is the head of the Oath Keepers’ chapter in Florida.

Following the initial reports that Schaffer was involved in the riot, his ICED EARTH bandmates distanced themselves from his actions. Singer Stu Block and bassist Luke Appleton later posted separate statements on social media announcing their resignations. BLIND GUARDIAN frontman Hansi Kürsch also quit DEMONS & WIZARDS, his long-running project with Schaffer. The allegations also apparently affected Schaffer’s relationship with his longtime record label Century Media, which had released albums from both ICED EARTH and DEMONS & WIZARDS. As of mid-January, the Century Media artist roster page did not list either band.

new filings:
govt requested and was granted permission to share sealed materials from the Jon Schaffer case as discovery to the three main #OathKeepers cases (Stewart Rhodes et al./Crowl et al./Walden)https://t.co/uzy2lwDtcdhttps://t.co/53neBR94aChttps://t.co/DRk41N48mD https://t.co/FByUXRxwf1 pic.twitter.com/EZae9BTo6j

— benny bryant (@bennybryant17) January 18, 2022

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SCORPIONS have shared the official music video for their new single, “Rock Believer”. The single’s cover art was designed by Klaus Voormann and can be found below.

“Rock Believer” is the title track of SCORPIONS’ 19th studio album, which will be released on February 25.

Two months ago, SCORPIONS released the official music video for “Rock Believer”‘s first single, “Peacemaker”. The track features music courtesy of guitarist Rudolf Schenker and bassist Pawel Maciwoda and lyrics by singer Klaus Meine.

Asked in a recent 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 the “Rock Believer” album title, SCORPIONS guitarist Rudolf Schenker said: “Look, we are around the world since 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.”

Added Meine: “Over the years, we’ve heard people say lots of times that rock is dead. But there are still millions of rock believers out there all over the world that prove them wrong. Our fans are the best in the world. We’ll see you someday somewhere out there, because we’re rock believers, just like you.”

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’. [Laughs] 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.”

SCORPIONS’ new album will mark their first release since 2017’s “Born To Touch Your Feelings – Best Of Rock Ballads”, which was an anthology of new and classic material.

SCORPIONS originally intended to record the new album in Los Angeles with producer Greg Fidelman, whose previous credits include SLIPKNOT and METALLICA. However, because of the pandemic, some of the initial work was done with Greg remotely, after which SCORPIONS opted to helm the recordings themselves with the help of their engineer Hans-Martin Buff.

Meine previously told Talking Metal that the goal with using Fidelman to produce “Rock Believer” was to bring “the old vibe from albums like ‘Blackout’, ‘Love At First Sting’ or even ‘Lovedrive’. We try to focus on those albums and this attitude,” he said. “If we get there, who knows — it’s so many years later. But it’s the spirit and it’s the whole vibe around this album. This time, the focus is on the harder songs.”

According to Meine, SCORPIONS’ new LP features “no outside writers at all,” unlike 2015’s “Return To Forever”, which was largely co-written by the album’s producers, Mikael Nord Andersson and Martin Hansen.

“Rock Believer” track listing:

01. Gas In The Tank
02. Roots In My Boots
03. Knock ‘Em Dead
04. Rock Believer
05. Shining Of Your Soul
06. Seventh Sun
07. Hot And Cold
08. When I Lay My Bones To Rest
09. Peacemaker
10. Call Of The Wild
11. When You Know (Where You Come From)
12. Shoot For Your Heart
13. When Tomorrow Comes
14. Unleash The Beast
15. Crossing Borders

SCORPIONS will kick off their “Rock Believer” world tour in March in Las Vegas where the band will play nine shows as part of their residency at Planet Hollywood Hotel. Afterwards they will cross the Atlantic to Europe where they will play six concerts in France and six shows In Germany supported by Wolfgang Van Halen’s new band MAMMOTH WVH.

SCORPIONS’ last full-length collection of new recordings was the aforementioned “Return To Forever”, partially comprising songs the band had in the vault from the ’80s. It was the final recorded appearance of SCORPIONS’ longtime drummer James Kottak, who was dismissed from the band in September 2016. He has since been replaced by Mikkey Dee, formerly of MOTÖRHEAD.

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