SCORPIONS — Taken By Force (review)

SCORPIONS — Taken By Force album cover Album · 1977 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
The Spotlight Kid
The moment you hear that jackhammer you know Scorpions are back with another killer metal attack. The Riffs are rock solid, Herman's drumming is great and of course scorpions unmatched sense of melody is on display throughout as well. That cheering crowd sound in the background of "Steamrock Fever" sums up how I feel when I hear that kickin' opening track and actually it's how I feel when I hear any of the Uli Jon Roth era albums. Uli's guitar playing is nothing short of explosive and add's the depth, darkness, edge and magic to everything. The Band is super tight too, playing with laser precision but also unending feel and groove. Klaus is the man. The guy is one of the great singers of his time.

Each song on this album has its own special character. Songs like "Steamrock Fever" and "Sails of Charon" are just all out rockers but then you also get the more reflective track of We'll Burn The Sky, written about Jimi Hendrix with Uli's girlfriend who also happened to be Hendrix's girlfriend at the time of his death. An Epic and beautiful track that Uli still plays regularly in his live sets. Then you get the funny rocker "He's a woman - She's a Man" with the lyrics provided by Herman. Again another mood shift. But unlike many bands who change direction as much as these guys do here it never feels forced or jarring, on the contrary it's seamless and just makes the album all the more interesting and fantastic.

I find it hard to pick favorites from the Uli era but "In Trance" was my first love and I think I like the songs a touch more, but the heaviness, sharpness and shred attack by Uli on this album make it another favorite and one I would highly recommend.
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siLLy puPPy wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Scorps were great until the late 80s then went down in quality.
UMUR wrote:
more than 2 years ago
That´s what happens when you forget what a great heavy metal band you once were and are content to release one sappy ballad dominated album after another. You don´t have to get soft just because you get old...
Unitron wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Love this album, one of my favorite 70's metal albums. Nice to see some more Scorpions reivews, they've become pretty underrated these days despite being Germany's biggest metal band. Welcome to the site!

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