KLAUS MEINE Is Using Coronavirus Downtime To Work On New SCORPIONS Album

SCORPIONS frontman Klaus Meine spoke to fan site Scorpions News about the band's upcoming studio album. Tentatively due in 2021, the disc will mark the German hard rock legends' first release since 2017's "Born To Touch Your Feelings - Best Of Rock Ballads", which was an anthology of SCORPIONS' new and classic material.

Asked if it has been a challenge recording his own vocal tracks during the songwriting process for the new SCORPIONS LP due to the coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the globe, Meine said: "It's a lot of fun. I really enjoy it. I've been recording sessions myself before, but this time it's different because we can't be in one room together. There's no interactions, really, and working with a producer or working with an engineer, where you go, 'I need my voice a little more up. I need a little more high end on the vocals' — or whatever it is. And so it's very different this time.

"And yeah, it's true — I have a lot of respect for those [studio] guys, dealing with all the technical side of making an album. But it's great. I enjoy myself, and with a little help from my friends, I get things done. At the end of the day, I can check a vocal track and go, 'Oh, that's not too bad. But maybe tomorrow I'll do it again. I can do it better.'"

According to Meine, SCORPIONS have "a lot of material" written for the upcoming album, which will consist of 'all new songs." He said: "At the end of the day, whenever we have a chance to go to Los Angeles and join with [producer] Greg Fidelman to really go into production — whether he comes over here [to Germany] or we go to L.A., it depends on the whole corona situation. I mean, since this lockdown is so bad for all of us and for the whole world. So, we're here and Greg's in L.A., and we are in touch on Skype and FaceTime and all that, and try to make the best out of it and try to move on with the songs. But, of course, we all can't wait for the day when we all can be together, with the whole band in the studio, working with Greg and Hans-Martin [Buff], the engineer… I'm looking forward to that — to go back to normal life and hopefully we all can go back to our work and go back to our daily, our normal life. That's what's the most important thing for all of us right now."

He continued: "The whole world is going through very difficult times, and it's very scary and frightening. We are in a very privileged situation that at least we can be at home and can work in our own studios to keep things going. After the tour we did in Australia and Southeast Asia, we had a chance to go back in the studio and keep working on new songs — write new songs, write new lyrics. It's a wonderful thing, especially in these days when we are all in a lockdown and we have no chance to go nowhere, really — we cannot travel, we cannot move. But at least we can be creative. We can take a deep dive in our own creative work. And hopefully something good comes out of it."

Meine also talked about the role of a producer on SCORPIONS albums and how important it is for the band to work with new people on various recording projects.

"It's very important, especially working with a new producer on this record," he said. "Even though we really enjoyed working with our Swedish friends [producers Mikael 'Nord' Andersson and Martin Hansen] for a couple of years, at some point, it's always good to make a change and to go through a new chapter in a book. It's like a challenge. It's like you're leaving your comfort zone, and it's sometimes a good thing — it's good for your creativity and it's good for the overall performance, to really deliver at the end of the day. Not trying to sneak around and trying the easy way — no, it's not the easy way. But I'm not saying it was ever easy before. [Laughs] It's never easy to make a new album… It's a totally different vibe and a different approach."

SCORPIONS' last full-length collection of new recordings was 2015's "Return To Forever", partially comprising songs the band had in the vault from the '80s. It was the final recorded appearance of SCORPIONS' longtime drummer James Kottak, who was dismissed from the band in September 2016. He has since been replaced by Mikkey Dee, formerly of MOTÖRHEAD.

Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, SCORPIONS were scheduled to take over the Las Vegas Strip in July with their exclusive headlining residency show at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

The band previously played a Las Vegas mini-residency in May 2016, consisting of five shows at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.