German rock icons SCORPIONS are set to release their brand-new single “Peacemaker” today, November 4, to whet their fans’ appetite for their upcoming album Rock Believer, scheduled to be released on February 25, 2022 — an amuse-gueule of the rock music variety straight from the metal quintet’s brand-hot kitchen.
Mind you, “Peacemaker” has turned into much more than simply a lead single. It’s a showcase number that has SCORPIONS celebrate their legendary tried and tested DNA in a fresh, tough sonic guise, a musical foretaste of their new album that promises to forge an arc between yesterday and tomorrow.
Listen to “Peacemaker” here:
Does a band whose musical career will span 50 years from the release of their first phenomenal album success Lonesome Crow to the arrival of Rock Believer in February 2022 still have the bite, the toughness, and the brute force that it takes to create and record one or two dozen brand new tracks? Aren’t their 18 studio albums to date, their platinum and double-platinum awards, garnered around the globe, enough for these relentless musicians? Is there still enough gas in the tank to keep going? One of their songs provides the answer to these questions: “Let’s play it louder play it hard / Laid back and a little dark / Give me a dirty riff my friend / There’s gotta be more gas in the tank.”
And indeed, “Peacemaker” sounds like it’s been freshly reimported from the heyday of a legendary hard rock band. “The first thing that came to my mind,” remembers SCORPIONS singer Klaus Meine, who wrote the lyrics to the song (music courtesy of Rudolf Schenker and Pawel Maciwoda) and produced the band with the support of Hans-Martin Buff, “was the hook line. ‘Peacemaker, peacemaker / Bury the undertaker.’ I was just playing around with those words. At a time when so many people have died and are still dying of COVID, from devastating wars and other senseless crimes, it makes you feel that the undertaker must be working overtime. In a peaceful world after the pandemic, it will be time for the peacemaker to rule… that’s an image that really appeals to me,” says Meine.
SCORPIONS are one of the world’s most important rock bands of recent decades, having sold more than 120 million records to date, played over 5,000 concerts, and created a timeless classic in their legendary single “Wind of Change,” which dominated the international charts and still is the best-selling single worldwide by a German artist. Countless awards, a star on the Hollywood Rock Walk of Fame, and more, hits such as “Rock You Like a Hurricane” and “Still Loving You,” among others, followed. Their success to date impressively underlines the influence that the SCORPIONS continue to have on the rock music scene. Their latest album Rock Believer will be out on Universal’s Spinefarm label in the U.S.
Rock Believer, the credo of their new album, will also be the moniker of their upcoming tour. In March and April 2022, the band is set to perform at the Planet Hollywood Resorts & Casino in Las Vegas as part of its residency, followed by a European tour scheduled to kick off with a number of shows in Germany in June 2022 — with more concerts on a global level in the pipeline.