Scorpions Share High-Octane New Single ‘Peacemaker’
With 50 years, millions of album sales and several era-defining rock anthems under their belt, Scorpions could easily choose to coast on their legacy. But the German hard-rock quintet is still soldiering forward, and its high-octane new single titled "Peacemaker" comes from the band's upcoming 19th album, Rock Believer, out Feb. 25.
The new track is classic Scorpions, featuring a groovy, stomping refrain, red-hot guitar riffs by Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs and Klaus Meine's soaring vocals. "The first thing that came to my mind was the hook line,” Meine said in a statement. "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.”
You can hear the song below.
Rock Believer marks the first Scorpions studio album since 2015's Return to Forever. It's also their first to feature former Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee, who joined the group in 2016 following the death of Lemmy Kilmister and subsequent dissolution of his band.
Scorpions recorded the bulk of the album at Peppermint Park Studios in their native Hanover, Germany, and coproduced it with engineer Hans-Martin Buff. They had originally planned to tap Los Angeles-based producer Greg Fidelman (Metallica, Black Sabbath, Slayer), but the coronavirus pandemic thwarted their plans. "I did a lot of basic tracks and the preproduction vocals in my own place before I came here to Peppermint Park, where we recorded the album finally," Meine tells UCR.
"But to have the band in one room together and to play together and to feel it together, I think that makes such a difference. Especially with a drummer in the band like Mikkey Dee."
Scorpions will support the release of Rock Believer with a 2022 world tour, which begins on March 26 with a nine-show residency at Las Vegas' Zappos Theater before heading to Europe. Mammoth WVH will join them on select dates.