Scorpions

Scorpions are a German rock band formed in 1965 in Hanover by Rudolf Schenker. Since the band's inception, its musical style has ranged from hard rock to heavy metal. The lineup from 1978–92 was the most successful incarnation of the group, and included Klaus Meine (vocals), Rudolf Schenker (rhythm guitar), Matthias Jabs (lead guitar), Francis Buchholz (bass guitar), and Herman Rarebell (drums). The band's only constant member has been Schenker, although Meine has been the lead singer for all of the band's studio albums, and Jabs has been a consistent member since 1979…

Though it appears to be a best-of album, Wind of Change: The Collection mainly focuses on the German rockers' output from the early '90s, entirely skipping over iconic rockers like "Rock You Like a Hurricane" to provide a pretty narrow look at the band's prolific career. Fans of the band should also note that this compilation is a repackaging of 2002's Classic Bites, with the only difference being the packaging.

It's quite difficult to find a young person who knows about the Scorpions. Even when their careers were peaking in the '80s, they were never widely recognized, existing always as more of an underground band. The lack of hit singles produced by the group is by no means a judgment of its talent, however, as Deadly Sting: The Mercury Years proves. Some may find the fact that Mercury made the compilation a double-disc set surprising – again due to the band's small following – but the album is far better than the single-disc collection Best of Rockers 'n' Ballads. Following chronologically from 1979 to 1993 (thus covering the years in which the band enjoyed its most success), Deadly Sting rips through the favorites "Loving You Sunday Morning," "The Zoo," "Blackout," "No One Like You," "Big City Nights," "Still Loving You," "Rock You Like a Hurricane," "Rhythm of Love," "Wind of Change," and "Don't Believe Her," finally concluding with two unreleased recordings from 1995.

On their studio first outing in three years, Germany's seemingly eternal Scorpions keep the sound a perfect balance between nu metal guitar crunch and '80s heavy metal melodies. Humanity Hour, Vol. 1 is a worthy if not utterly successful musical follow-up to 2004's Unbreakable – a record that saw the band coming back to its strengths after a long bout of wandering about in the creative desert. Humanity Hour, Vol. 1 is a collaboration between the band and co-producers James Michael and Desmond Child…

One does an aural double take upon hearing the opening bars of “Raised on Rock,” the first track from the Scorpions Sting in the Tail. Rudolph Schenker's opening power chord riff and guitar tone sound like something from 1976’s Virgin Killer, or 1979’s Lovedrive…

Comeblack is a compilation of songs recorded by German hard rock band Scorpions; and is intended as a comeback album, following their farewell tour. Released after the successful 2010's Sting in the Tail, half of the album features re-recorded versions of their own classic songs and the other half cover versions of 1960s and early 1970s popular rock songs. It was announced on 3 October 2011, with a planned global release date of 4 November and a US release on 24 January 2012. Comeblack was also released for streaming online by AOL Music on 23 January 2012. The album was released by Sony Music Entertainment and available in both CD and vinyl formats.