The Scorpions' fifth studio album, Taken by Force, was released on this day in 1977. It was the first album to feature drummer Herman Rarebell and the last with Uli Jon Roth who finally departed the band in 1979.

Watch "We'll Burn The Sky", live from The Sun Plaza Hall in Tokyo, Japan in 1979:

Scorpions guitarist Matthias Jabs was a guest on New Zealand’s The Metal Bar and he confirmed the band is working on a new album and are planning a July 2020 residency in Las Vegas.

Jabs says, "We've been writing some material before we went on tour, before we went on tour this summer.  It's always difficult to come up with stuff on tour. You get the inspiration, but to actually put it down, that's a different story, when you travel every day. So we have songs, about ten, I guess, but we will have to do some more writing once this tour is over, and then prepare for the rehearsals and recordings right after our shows in New Zealand and a couple in Asia. So we will be back in early March. And we know that we work with the producer Greg Fidelman, who is known for doing Metallica and Slipknot and others, and he's a great guy. And he came to visit in our studio in Hannover, Germany already. So the plan is to record until the first of July, where we have a residency in Las Vegas for a whole month. And then, during that time, we can either do the final touch-ups or mix. And then the album should come out in the fall of 2020. And then, of course, we go on the road again."

Get ready for the biggest hard rock tour of 2020. Scorpions and Whitesnake are coming for their first ever double headline tour of Australia and New Zealand. Feel the bite of Whitesnake and the sting of the Scorpions.

"We’re gonna rock you like a hurricane,“ promises Scorpions vocalist, Klaus Meine.

Dates:

February
19 - Rod Laver Arena - Melbourne, Australia
22 - Qudos Bank Arena - Sydney, Australia
24 - Entertainment Centre - Brisbane, Australia
27 - Spark Arena - Auckland, New Zealand