Crossing into the new millenium, the Scorpions could be considered dinosaurs - but judging from the album Unbreakable, that would be a ill-concieved claim. In fact, in Unbreakable, the decades old act sound rejuvenated with a new aggression vision. From the outset, with the opening track "New Generation", the Scorpions realize they are existing in a new era and the message of the song is passing on the torch for the future. Though while their message seems genuine, the fact can't be denied that the Scorpions can still rock, and rock hard, well into the 21st century. In fact, all of their 21st century albums are all quite strong - especially 2007's Humanity Hour I. Unbreakable not only looked to pass the torch, but certainly ushered in a new era of Scorpions music.

     For the most part, it is a fairly strong album but isn't without its flaws. While the entire album is listenable, there aren't a particularly vast collection of truly memorable tracks. Considering the strength of the aforementioned opening track, and the other truly strong highlights - "Love 'Em or Leave 'Em", "Deep And Dark", "Through My Eyes", and the exquisite "Maybe I Maybe You", the rest of the record is sort of average. Like I said, it is passable, but not very gripping - which is acceptable, not exceptional.

     The direction of this album is a lot more focused than the Scorpions' uneven Eye II Eye released in 1999. While they were clearly trying something new - which was successful to a solid degree, Unbreakable features more clarity and cohesion. As a whole it is better, and some of its track highlights are some of the bands best work. The half-piano, half-rocker ballad "Maybe I Maybe You" is one of their best songs they've ever created and is a truly beautiful, thought provoking song - in fact, it gave me goosebumps! Only so many songs can provoke such an emotionally charged physical response such as that!

     The musicianship on this album sounds very strong too. Klaus Meine, well into a 40 year career as a lead vocalist, has a voice that has remained untouched and unscathed by age. The band itself sounds just as tight as I had expected they would - as they always do.

     Unbreakable is a fairly heavy album by Scorpions standards, and that is a good thing. They are once again exuding how they can flex their musical muscle, even within the borders of rock and roll. They've done so much, so many different things within rock throughout all of their albums, it's quite an accomplishment on a musical front. While Unbreakable isn't perfect, it still indeed does deserve a listen. I do recommend it. It features some of their best work. The Scorpions, even well into their 4th decade in the business, still remain, like the title of this album, unbreakable.

TRACK HIGHLIGHTS:

"Maybe I Maybe You"

"New Generation"

"Love 'Em Or Leave 'Em"

"Deep And Dark"

"Through My Eyes"

-Kurt L.

_______________________________________________________