SCORPIONS — In Trance (review)

Album · 1975 · Hard Rock

4.5/5 · 2011-08-15
Certif1ed

In the beginning, back in 1975...

The other sort of heavy metal was well and truly born. Rather than a hard rock album with a couple of metallish songs, "In Trance" is the very first bona fide METAL album.

Far from being traditional, this sets the ground rules for how the passionate fans of the genre hear the music; It's diamond-hard, noticeably blues-avoiding, technically peerless in its genre, and razor sharp.

Let's go on... the riffs totally kill, the vocals are powerful and screamy, yet in total control and richly melodic, the drums and bass pound, and the solos are light years away from that infernal noodling bluff that you get on most hard rock albums.

Of note, for those who've been living under a rock, are Uli Jon Roth's breathtaking solos, like Jimi Hendrix reincarnated and having gone to college for some intense guitar lessons - then having forgotten it all to simply provide liquid metal solos that flow like mercury, yet cut like a laser.

To top it all, the great music also coagulates into great songs with an edge of radio-friendliness.

This is a far cry from the Krauty-space rock of the first album, despite the loss of Rudolph Schenker's tech wizard of a brother. This is an acknowledgement of the metal god power The Scorpions found in songs like the prophetic "Speedy's Coming".

"Dark Lady" sets the scene for metal's development, with it's aggressive, snarling intro and Sabbath-esque gallop, this, combined with Meine's trademark screams is where it's at.

People often cite Thin Lizzy and Wishbone Ash as the forerunners of the twin guitar attack, but nowhere is it more evident and prevalent than in this song. The trilling decending motifs scream Iron Maiden at you in no uncertain terms, and the trem work is Slayer all over. The tech riffs suggest Megadeth - gods, the list of dues to pay goes on and on.

Try to find something more intense outside of Queen's "Stone Cold Crazy" from before 1975, and tell me what it is!

The title track follows, the template for all metal ballads. Feel those ice-cold fingers running up and down your spine, and hold that lighter up high. Stone Cold, Ice-Cold, Metallic classic, with harmonic minor runs a-plenty.

The instrumental sections are so achingly melodic, with twin lead bliss, that you positively die of that "something beautiful lost" feeling. You have been warned... these are melodies of timeless beauty enriched with harmonic perfection and sonic wondrousness.

The twin guitar work continues to kill, and Roth shows off his Hendrix chops in "Life's Like a River". File under "Betcha Can't Play This" unless your name is Andy James. Meine demonstrates the full dramatic potential of his stunning voice - and there are some rather redundant while well exectued bass lines, but all in all, a great attempt to make this song progressive in the awesome arrangement.

"Top of The Bill" follows, a mid-paced but intense metal killer, with some nice double bass-drum work, molten guitar lines, and curious vocal overdubs - in places paying homage to Queen. The guitar at 2:10 is pure evil - Slayer through and through, and there's that harmonic pull-off, whammy bar thing that I've always associates d with Zakk Wylde.

Maybe there's a surfeit of metal ballads on this album - maybe not. What's certain is that there's no let up of intensity or quality of songwriting and performance.

"Living and Dying" hangs around a tritonic motif, with eerie keys provinding a deathly backdrop to snarling bass growling guitars, and Meine suspension power.

"Robot Man" is another stand out metal track, which tends to get included on Scorpions compilations - so I'd guess it's well known. Here the power lies in potentia, with Schenker's whammy bar insanity providing the perfect foil to Roth's technical pyrotechnics.

The intro to "Evening Wind" slays, paving the way for a kind of atmospheric, twisted balladic number, ever threatening, portentous and moody. Meine is not so convincing on this one, and neither are the rather bluesey instrumental sections - but I'm digging the fullsome bass growls and rich production - and it does get better towards the end when it all comes together for some haunting chanting.

"Sun In My Hand" is a tough chugger, modelled on Cream/Hendrix style slow blues. Roth's vocals are far less convincing than his phenomenal off-the-wall guitar playing.

"Longing For Fire" is a rather experimental instrumental, with some tasteful soloing, but that's about all that can be said for it, while "Night Lights" is yet another ballad, with some beautiful modal playing, if you're not fed up with slow/mid-paced songs by now.

From 1:58 is where the real interest lies - the duetting trilled descending runs are drop-dead gorgeous.

In summary, an album for those who like their metal technical, and think that metal only got technical in the mid 1980s - and an album for those who can't tell the difference between metal and hard rock from the 1970s! This defines it.

Half a star dropped for the over-indulgence in slow songs, which make this album feel unbalanced. Other than that, an immaculate display of everything that makes metal great.

Vorsprung Durch Technique, as they say...

more than 2 years ago
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Certif1ed wrote:

more than 2 years ago

All the albums with Uli Jon Roth are amazing in their own ways - and, of course, M. Schenker was awesome even as a spotty 17 year-old. Meine's vocals are amazing if you can ignore the actual words, and really, anything up to "Blackout" is well worth a punt. I don't know the later 1980s albums as I lost interest in the follow-up "Love at First Sting", which has nothing off-the-wall to offer at all. Even the debut kicks that album's ass...

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Great review Mark. I guess this is where I should start my Scorpions Journey. Those late 80s/ early 90s albums that my brother used to own, didn´t exactly make me interested in the band.