Customer Reviews

Blackout

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

i was a junior in high school when this was originally was released on vinyl. i had already been weened on Animal Magnetism and Lovedrive by then, but was pleasibly surprised by this bad boy. what a breath of fresh air! if you were a hard core rocker, then you had Metallica and Motorhead to cut your teeth to, but for those of us who still liked the late '70's early '80's hard rock, ala Y&T, Dio, Ozzy, Judas Priest, AC/DC and others, then this was a diamond in the rough. i was blown away when i first heard this. it didn't seem like the same Scorpions i was used to. it seemed heavier, more alive, than those previous releases. this was a release you could sink your teeth into. a head banger. something the Scorps really hadn't fully accomplished until then. not only did they tear it up, but they slowed it down as well. "china white" is an all time classic, with the likes of the raucas "arizona" and thrashers "dynamite", "now" and of course the famed "blackout" and "no one like you". this is a cd any rocker must have in his/her collection. whether you're a thrash fan, a death metal head, or just a plain ol' rocker, you'll do well to have this in your collection. peace.

Here we come with our blitzkrieg tanks ready to crush you with red hot crunchy metal.
The Scorpions say hello to my monster with this molten pot of wicked metal.
Matthias Jabs is the savage samurai on lead guitar as he slices and dices with one demonic solo after another.
Just listen to him rip on "No one like you" and "Can't live without you".
Matthias give us melodic speed demon licks hot enough to melt your brain.
"Blackout" just flat out kicks butt and is one of the best metal albums of the 80's.
These guys dish out catchy fist poundin' anthems like the top ten hit "No one like you" then turn around and give us the soul stirring ballad "When the smoke is going down".
This is not only crunchy metal...it's classic rock music.
"Dynamite" is full throttle 20 cups of coffee mind bending head banging metal with demon frenzied solos and vocal wails from Klaus Meine.
"China White" is pure stalking menace with grinding guitars that just drill your brain and a hypnotic vibe that doesn't let go.
"You give me all i need" is a power ballad minus the cheese.
The Scorps take a beautiful melody and make it swoon with heart and soul but they never get wimpy or sappy like Bon jovi.
"You give me all i need" is just pure ballad mastery.
This album is just one bad mutha that i've been jamming out to since i was 14 years old and it still rocks me like a hurricane
17 years later.
Accept no substitutions....The Scorpions "Blackout" is real pure METAL!
O.f.

This album FINALLY got the Scorps noticed and played on the radio. Now go back and get Animal Magnetism, Lovedrive and their original compilation (from In Trance, Virgin Killers, Fly to the Rainbow, etc). That stuff never got radio-play and is not the pop most people are familiar with.

BLACKOUT from the Scorpions is one of my all-time favorite music CD'S! This one along with Preist's SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE (both 1982 releases!)is what perfect albums sound like, if such things really exist.You have to know how to blend the right amount of power,crunch,melody,emotion and musicianship (as well as some commercial aspects,O.K.?) which these two LP's have done masterfuly.Klaus sings his heart out on this record, i really thing this is his most heartfelt performance! YOU GIVE ME ALL I NEED sends chills down my spine! BLACKOUT sounds as if Meine is losing his mind! and NOW! reminds me of a ADD diagnosed 10 year old kid on a sugar binge! Then the teutonic bulldozer that is ARIZONA will crush you. There is so much good music here, i promise you won't regreat it. While there will be arguments as to weather it is the BEST Scorpions album, it is definatly their most diverse album IMHO.

THE BAND: Rudolf Schenker (guitars), Klause Meine (vocals), Matthias Jabs (guitars), Francis Buchholz (bass), Herman Rarebell (drums & percussion).

THE DISC: (1982) 9 songs clocking in at approximately 37 minutes. Digitally remastered and reissued in 1997. Included with the disc is a 3-page foldout containing song credits and lyrics, one band picture, and thank you's. All music written by Rudolf Schenker. All lyrics written by Meine and Rarebell. Label - Mercury/Polygram.

COMMENTS: As far as I'm concerned (like so many reviewers here as well), this is the Scorpions at their peak. This is the band's break-through album. The Scorpions' enjoyed mild success in their native Germany with hits from earlier albums from the 1970's ("The Zoo", "Loving You Sunday Morning", "Holiday", etc), but the album "Blackout" made them global superstars. The song "No One Like You" was their first worldwide smash hit - and with good reason. It still sounds fresh decades later. Some awesome deep album cuts like the rocking "Dynamite", "Now!" and "Blackout"; as well as the slower songs like "When The Smoke Is Going Down" or "You Give Me What I Need". The Scorpion's next album "Love At First Sting" (1984) might have sold more records, but it was because of it's predecessor "Blackout". Note - check out any of their compilations or 'live' albums, and "Blackout" is the best represented on each. Though "Blackout" is short at only 9 songs and just under 37 minutes - there is absolutely no filler here. "Blackout" is the band's heaviest and most solid album ever produced. The 24-bit digitally remastered disc has crisp sound production. Classic disc.

This is the Scorpions' Off the Wall. When Michael Jackson hit his peak with Thriller, it was interesting to go back and hear the previous album. When the Scorpions hit their peak with Love at First Sting, you could go back and hear this, the album in which they were clearly trying to figure out how to reach the largest possible audience.

On Blackout, even the missteps are pretty good. You Give Me All I Need and No One Like You are prototype power ballads with a little too much power. That makes them more interesting than anything on Love at First Sting. And songs like Blackout and Now! are a lot of fun --- garage versions of Rock You Like a Hurricane.

It helps that this album sounds so good remastered. It's really tight, but too old to be as slick as anything produced today. And they didn't throw in any extra tracks; I just want the original album, sounding good but without weak bonus tracks.

All things takin' into consideration. BLACKOUT is by far one of the greatist lps to come out of the 80's! Most Americans first heard of SCORPIONS in '78.TOKYO TAPES was so great we just fell in love with URICH ROTH. The only other guitar player at the time like him was maybe,FRANK MARINO. We bought everything we could find from SCORPIONS. BUT! as soon as we found them URICH was gone? In steps MATTHIAS JABS! LOVEDRIVE&ANIMAL MAGNETISM were pretty good but BLACKOUT just blew the cover off the boiler room! SCORPIONS are SUPERSTARS NOW! If you only get to have one. This is it! Production is perfection to the highest limit. There are no weak songs here,Folks! The good news is LOVE AT FIRST STING is only better! What happend after that? Who knows? Is it better to burn out? Or fade away? 10 STARS FOR BLACKOUT! Makes a great gift! Don't forget! At the time the critics wanted us to listen to Missing persons&Duran,Duran,:-( BUT! We wanted OZZY,IRON MAIDEN,JUDAS PRIEST,DIO.ETC.ETC.ETC."WE WILL NOT BE RESTRAIND OF PERSONAL DESIRES! "

The stand out here is 'China White' has a killer heavy bass, drum intro that'll have you day dreaming of the big 80's. Lot of cool guitar riffing fills the song out.

Arizona is also a blast.

Even Blackout is generally considered a commercial compromise by the band there are some fantastic moments.

Add to your 80's collection and enjoy.

First of all this record is by far the most energic album by the Scorpions, it's really a hell of a fast album. The title track is a heavy metal classic that everyone should own, "No One Like You" which was the Scorps biggest hit at the time is a perfect combination of harmonic verses and a powerful ,and cool, chorus. "Dynamite", it's exactly what it's name sugests a dynamite, near the end there's a epic "China White" , sort of similar to some of their 70's work, where the explores the concept of a corrupted world; it's a long song with good solos and an haunting rhythm.
Last it's the power ballad "When The Smoke Is Going Down", which is about the feeling of playing a live show, melacholic but an amazing work of art with an incredible voice work by Klaus Meine, for me it's the best ballad they've ever written.

Final Note: if you want STINGS, Blackout is the perfect choice to start; this album makes me wonder how can a band make such MasterPiece and then makes thoses CRAPS Pure Instinct and Eye II Eye albums. BLACKOUT is a MUST HAVE for every 80's Metal fans

The album has some frantic hard rocking tunes like "Blackout", "Now" and "Dynamite"; some melodic rockers in the shape of "Can't live without you", and softer tracks like "No one like you" and "You give me all I need". You also get a good typical Scorpions ballad in "When the smoke goes down" (a formula the band used several times later). All in all, this is a good rock album and it's not as commercialized or polished as the following "Love at first sting". This reminds of a time long gone by and it's a pleasure re-living the past, when heavy metal was king on the mountain.