SCORPIONS Guitarist RUDOLF SCHENKER: 'Why I Made It'

In a new interview with Rolling Stone Brasil, SCORPIONS guitarist Rudolf Schenker spoke about the driving motivation behind his decision to form the band sixty years ago in Hanover, Germany. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "First of all, nothing is easy. So for me, I have an important point, but I found out later why I made it. It's because I was setting the goal very high. I set it so high that other people thought I'm stupid and I'm crazy, whatever their thought [was]. [With] the postwar generation, like Klaus [Meine, SCORPIONS singer] and me are, I said, it would be great to go out in the world and show the people, here is a new generation. They're not coming with tanks and making war. The new generation is coming and making music."

Schenker's latest comments echo those he made more than three years ago when he told Headliner Chicago that it was important for him to challenge the world's perception of Germany when SCORPIONS first formed.

"We weren't born in England or America, where rock and roll was really born. [Instead, we] learned from our idols," Rudolf said at the time. "[When we first formed] we said to ourselves, 'In Germany, we want to go and make bridges with our music, show that from Germany they're not coming with tanks and making war; they're coming with guitars, playing love, peace and rock and roll.'"

Also in 2022, Schenker told Metal Hammer magazine that he was still inspired by the idea of making new music, even in his 70s. "Of course," he said. "I'm from the 50s, so I saw THE BEATLES and THE ROLLING STONES when they first started changing things. I was there and said, 'Yes, I want to do this. I believe in rock.' People would say, 'Why do you do these things? Music?! Wake up! What will you do when you're 30 or 40?' but I'm still here making music and they're all not living or looking like they're 90."

Regarding how he has managed to keep SCORPIONS going for so long, Rudolf told Classic Rock: "From the very beginning, I wanted the right chemistry. It's very important that you have friendship in the band. When I founded the band, I said, 'Look, we don't have a boss here. We are a democracy.' This was a very important point. Keep the band as close as possible."

SCORPIONS' latest album, "Rock Believer", was released in 2022. The LP was recorded primarily at Peppermint Park Studios in Hannover, Germany and was mixed at the legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin, Germany with engineer Michael Ilbert, who has earned multiple Grammy nominations for his mix work with producer Max Martin on albums by Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.

SCORPIONS originally intended to record "Rock Believer" in Los Angeles with producer Greg Fidelman, whose previous credits include SLIPKNOT and METALLICA. However, because of the pandemic, some of the initial work was done with Greg remotely, after which SCORPIONS opted to helm the recordings themselves with the help of their engineer Hans-Martin Buff.

SCORPIONS' latest LP marked their first release since 2017's "Born To Touch Your Feelings - Best Of Rock Ballads", which was an anthology of new and classic material.

SCORPIONS' previous full-length collection of new recordings was "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.