SCORPIONS Guitarist Discusses Upcoming Album

Baconmusic's James Allman recently conducted an interview with legendary SCORPIONS lead guitarist Matthias Jabs. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Baconmusic: Can you start by talking me through the writing and recording process for the brand new album "Humanity Hour 1"?

Matthias: "Yes, we have recorded the new album in Los Angeles. Before we started the album, we invited producers to come over to Germany to see what they could do for us, and we weren't really pleased with what they had to offer. So we knew Desmond Child from since the 1980s and when we asked him if he would be interested in working on a new SCORPIONS album, he was more than pleased to oblige. So then we decided, what do we do? We have just done a back to the routes album with 'Unbreakable', we've done an acoustic album and an orchestra album, so what next? Then we thought, how about a concept album and one of the first tihngs Desmond said to us was, how about doing a conept album? So, here we have, 'Humanity Hour 1' and although it is a very loose concept, the songs are all about humanity itself and the humanity thing was Desmond's idea."

Baconmusic: Why did you decide to record the new album in Los Angeles?

Matthias: "Well we were happy to work in surroundings that were comfortable to the producer. We didn't want to give him an excuse if the record wasn't good enough! Plus L.A. is a happening place for music. In our hotel, there was Bon Jovi staying, Slash, Paul Stanley. Also, as a European yourself, I'm sure you can appreciate that in the European winter, it is nice to escape to somewhere like L.A. for a few months. This isn't the first time that we've come to L.A. to record, we did 'Crazy World' here which was our biggest selling album."

Baconmusic: Talking of the special shows this summer, you've been the lead guitarist in the band now for nearly 30 years. How do you personally feel about Uli Jon Roth returning for these guest appearances and when the old material will be played, will you be onstage alongside Uli Jon Roth or in the back with a beer?

Matthias: "Hey, of course not! I'll be on stage to show Uli what to do! (laughs) No, we will be playing the songs together and it feels great to have Uli on stage. I've known Uli for many years, growing up in the same area, we knew each other way before either of us knew anything about SCORPIONS. Last year, the shows in France and Wacken were put together quire quickly, but this time we plan on working more to make the show extra special. The main difference that Uli will make to the show is the increase in material from the 1970s. Many of our fans have been asking us to play these songs for years, so it will be a great show for those people."

Baconmusic: I see that Michael Schenker is also on the bill. What's the chances of him joining SCORPIONS for a couple of songs as he did at Wacken last year?

Matthias: "Well, I can't really comment on that. You know, he's not as reliable as Uli, and I know it's a horrible thing to say, but when he did it last year, it wasn't so great."

Baconmusic: Some of your UK fans were quite surprised that the last time you were here 2 years ago, you were the support band for JUDAS PRIEST. How did you feel about this tour at the time, and looking back, did you reflect on the tour as a success?

Matthias: "Yes it was certainly a success. We had great fun playing the UK and we thought we gave JUDAS PRIEST a good run for their money. Considering that we had not played the UK for a long time, we needed a way to be introduced back to our UK fans, and the tour meant that we could play to lots of British rock fans and it was a great way to put our name back on the UK map."

Read the entire interview at Baconmusic.