HomeMusicReview: A Tribute To The Scorpions Various Artists “A Tribute To The Scorpions” (Nuclear Blast / Century Media)What makes this compilation so cool is that most every band on this disc is from Europe. And rightly so since it was from German soil that the Scorpions unleashed their brand of rockin metal. Helloween opens this with Hes a Woman, Shes a Man and I still cant get over that fat fuck in pink spandex who used to sing for them. Beavis and Butthead used to make fun of them and rightfully so. Sinergy offer a weak version of Rock You Like A Hurricane, but dont worry, SOD closes the disk with their 19-second version. They must have known it kicked the shit out of Sinergy’s version, and it being one of their biggest hits, it had to be done justice. Sort of. Paradox is band Im not familiar with, but they offer a huge version of Dynamite that Im ashamed to say I like better than the original. Sonata Arctica brings a string section to Still Loving You before turning it into a power metal version with dramatic solos and double-timed breaks. Stratovarius dont disappoint with one of my favs, Blackout, and they really dont stray from the songs original ideal either, but the guitars are crunchier and more defined so it rocks. Steel Prophet brings in that screamy waaaaaaaa metal for Top Of The Bill. Jim Bruer does a good metal scream like this on Saturday Night Live. Prolopower gives us a German sung Damfpflockfuhrer, so for American ears, think Rammstein meets the scorpions without any of the aforementioned industrial edge. Tankard hits a great thrashy rock version of Coming Home. Very cool. The instrumental by Disbelief of Coast to Coast is the power of good metal, produced thickly and rocked hard. Theres a couple that I just dont recognize from the catalog, but overall, between the all the Scorpions songs I like, and the choice of such Euro metal flavor, this is a tribute worth collecting.
