Scorpions - Face the Heat (1993)

Revisiting this album today and asked a friend what he thought of it. He stated that it was a "weak and watered down attempt to sound like the LA pop bands".

So I checked out a web site that stated the album was, "the Scorpions in a heavier direction which was the trend at the time; (their) most crunchy guitar riffing..."

To me this album is neither of the two. It's definitely not their most crunchy guitar riffing. Anyone who says this must only be familiar with the band's ballads. The Uli years definitely had some heavy riffing and even those late 70's and early 80's albums were heavier than this album. At the same time, I don't hear it as a weak album either.

What do you all think of this album?

BEWAAAARE OF THE ALIENN NAT-ION... 

This album is sick. One of my top 3 Scorps albums. Sounds nothing like an LA pop band (did he even listen to the album??) It's more hard than heavy, I would say.

I think people's opinions probably differ so much depending on when you got into this band. I mean, the Scorpions have a huge catalog of music. However, many U.S. fans didn't really start getting into them until "Blackout" or "Love At First Sting". So many fans from my neck of the woods are completely unaware of over a decade of music this band recorded before their hit singles.

If someone didn't get into the Scorps until Savage Amusement or Crazy World, then I could understand how they would say this album is "a heavier direction".

Great album. Heavier? Maybe... just a solid good album.

ultmetal wrote:

I think people's opinions probably differ so much depending on when you got into this band. I mean, the Scorpions have a huge catalog of music. However, many U.S. fans didn't really start getting into them until "Blackout" or "Love At First Sting". So many fans from my neck of the woods are completely unaware of over a decade of music this band recorded before their hit singles.

If someone didn't get into the Scorps until Savage Amusement or Crazy World, then I could understand how they would say this album is "a heavier direction".

TBH, I'm not very familiar with their more commercial period (except for this one). Those singles never clicked with me so I never bothered with the albums (except for Wind of Change. That's one helluva ballad).

I can see where the L.A. metal tag comes from with songs like 'Someone to Touch', but to me it seems to me the band was going for a heavier sound incorporated with the more commerical sound of the big 80's.

I have never heard anything off this but "Under The Same Sun". It's an okay song I guess but it never made me wanna rush out and get the cd.

It's OK but not an essential Scorps disc. I always thought of it as "Crazy World Part II." As in, "Hey, we sold a whole bunch of our last record, so let's do another one that sounds just like it."

I'm in the middle of a Scorpions cd listening marathon right now. Up next.... Face The Heat. Good Album   

Blackout was the first Scorpions record I ever owned, and still the most recent one that I like.

Love this album, "Alien Nation" is one of the best songs the band ever did.

I don't think this album sounds much like Crazy World.

I love opening bass line of Alien Nation       

It's OK, not great.... better than what would come next, but not as good as what came before it. They seemed like they were on autopilot at this point. Scorps were at their prime from In Trance through Love At First Sting....... I like Crazy World (and think it's better than Savage Amusement), but even that isn't as good as the earlier stuff.

I agree on Crazy World. It is a very good disc and better than Savage Amusement. I don't think I've heard anything past Crazy World until Unbreakable so I'm going to have to check into those newer discs (but I think I'll stay away from Face II Face or whatever it's called).

Face II Face was...unique.

007 wrote:

I agree on Crazy World. It is a very good disc and better than Savage Amusement. I don't think I've heard anything past Crazy World until Unbreakable so I'm going to have to check into those newer discs (but I think I'll stay away from Face II Face or whatever it's called).

 Face II Face is on my don't ever buy list. What were they on when they recorded that one?  

bass63 wrote:

007 wrote:

I agree on Crazy World. It is a very good disc and better than Savage Amusement. I don't think I've heard anything past Crazy World until Unbreakable so I'm going to have to check into those newer discs (but I think I'll stay away from Face II Face or whatever it's called).

 Face II Face is on my don't ever buy list. What were they on when they recorded that one?  

It's a German thing, I believe.

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(but I think I'll stay away from Face II Face or whatever it's called).

I believe that would be "Eye II Eye," not "Face II Face."

Face the Heat is a good album, I like it. There was a lot of talk about this being an "LA sound" and "heavy", and I can agree somewhat. Considering the time period, I think it was good and still holds up today.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Quote :

(but I think I'll stay away from Face II Face or whatever it's called).

I believe that would be "Eye II Eye," not "Face II Face."

        

Well that shows how much I like it!

Eye II Eye isn't a standard Scorpions release. It is different, that is for sure. Don't really know why, but I like it. I wonder if this album would have faired better (at least for the band) if they released it under a different name so as to not anger long time fans.

I kinda liked Eye II Eye, I thought it was an interesting experiment(certainly better then St. Anger at least) but I can fully understand why so many people hate it.

Axxis has a song called Face to Face.

corplhicks wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

Quote :

(but I think I'll stay away from Face II Face or whatever it's called).

I believe that would be "Eye II Eye," not "Face II Face."

        

Well that shows how much I like it!

 Me too!      

Vexer6 wrote:

I kinda liked Eye II Eye, I thought it was an interesting experiment(certainly better then St. Anger at least) but I can fully understand why so many people hate it.

I'd rather be forced to listen to St. Anger all day long non-stop than have to listen to Eye II Eye.

Quote :

1999 was a very strange year. The entire world was worried about Y2K when the computers of the world would all self destruct and cause major devastation across the globe. Obviously people were so concerned with this possible disaster that they totally missed the happenings in Germany. 1999 was the year that aliens landed in Germany and abducted The Scorpions, replacing them with some techno, dance, pop, rock band. This simply has to be the case as their 1999 release "Eye II Eye" isn’t even remotely heavy metal. It’s not even hard rock. It’s barely even rock and roll. What the heck is this?

The first two tracks are funk based pop. There are a few small glimmers of light that give you the clue that this might be the Scorpions. The ballad "Obsession" sounds vaguely like that band, that is until the techno beat kicks in mid-way through the song,. There is a melodic guitar solo hidden within this track that sounds a bit like Brian May, though this really doesn’t help the song at all. After this track, just about every other song is a sticky sweet pop ballad, including the title track. "Mind Like a Tree" sounds like it could have rocked hard, but is instead hidden behind a terrible digital guitar tone and a pop sheen. Is there even a real drummer on this album? Somehow I doubt it. Oh the travesty! Even the cover art looks like something from a Devo or Kraftwerk album. How did the world not see that our German heroes of heavy metal and hard rock were taken from us? Geez, not even Def Leppard sunk this low. Well, ok, maybe they did, but this is The Scorpions! Remember, Virgin Killer, Polar Nights, In Trance, The Sails of Charon, The Zoo, Rock You Like A Hurricane? Remember the metal? Uli Jon Roth come rescue this sinking ship! This is the album that is best forgotten about.