Monsters And Critics has issued the following report from Jim Villanueva:

Great beer aside, the SCORPIONS are perhaps Germany’s greatest contribution to rock and roll. For over four decades, the band’s signature twin-guitar attack, arena roof-raising drums, and the hurricane-force vocals of frontman Klaus Meine, have thrilled audiences worldwide.

But now, the final curtain, the last bow draws near, as the group readies the release of its swan song album, Sting In The Tail (due in stores and online March 23rd), and farewell worldwide tour.

Looking back on 40 years of fun (sex, drugs, and rock and roll) and fundamental changes (the fall of the Berlin wall), Meine reflects, “In the lyrics and in the music, we always tried to reflect what we saw, what we experienced as people, as musicians.”

All those experiences are encapsulated in the 11 songs found on Sting In The Tail, a fitting final chapter for a band of bad boys running wild that have seen their share of big city nights.

Sting In the Tail opens with the riff-driven rocker 'Raised On Rock', a track that seemingly brings the band full circle with its in-your-face opening guitar and first line, “I was born in a hurricane,” both referencing 'Rock You Like a Hurricane', one of the group’s classic hits.

Coincidence? Meine says yes, no, well maybe so. “I would say yeah, maybe, a little coincidence and a little like trying to find a way with this new album to go back and find those parts that makes the Scorpions the Scorpions. And this song ‘Raised On Rock’ is about the philosophy of the band. Rock music was always, has, still is, and always will be the soundtrack of our lives. So, this is a great song to kick off the record.”

Read the full report at this location.

Sting In The Tail, will be released in Europe on March 19th, in North America on March 23rd and in Japan at the end of March. Audio samples from the entire album can be heard at this location.

The first single from Sting In The Tail is available from Amazon - click the link below to purchase 'Raised On Rock':

Sting In The Tail tracklist is as follows:

'Raised On Rock'

'Sting In The Tail'

'Slave Me'

'The Good Die Young'

'No Limit'

'Rock Zone'

'Lorelei'

'Turn You On'

'Let's Rock'

'SLY'

'Spirit Of Rock'

'The Best Is Yet To Come'

Sting In The Tail was recorded at a studio in Hannover, Germany with Swedish producers Mikael "Nord" Andersson and Martin Hansen (the team behind THE RASMUS' Dead Letters CD).

A Sting In The Tail EPK (electronic press kit) has been released and can be viewed below:

Get Your Sting And Blackout Farewell Tour 2010 dates:

March

15 - Prague, Czech Republic - O2 arena
18 - Moscow, Russia - Ice Palace

April

10 - Mons, Belgium - Lotto Mons Expo

May

7 - Leipzig, Germany - Arena
8 - Munich, Germany - Olympiahalle
12 - Frankfurt, Germany - Festhalle
14 - Stuttgart, Germany - Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
15 - Prague, Czech Republic - tba
19 - Paris, France - L' Olympia
21 - Liévin, France - Stade Couvert Régional
22 - Straßburg, France - Zénith
29 - Berlin, Germany - O2 World
30 - Zwickau, Germany - Stadthalle

June

1 - Hannover, Germany - TUI Arena
5 - Ioannia, Greece - Zosimadon National Stadium
7 - Thessaloniki, Greece - tba
9 - Patras, Greece - Pampeloponissiako Stadium
12 - Recklinghausen, Germany - Stadtgarten am Festspielhaus
19 - Columbia, MD - Merryweather Post Pavilion

September

7 - México, D. F. (Mexico City), México - Palacio De Los Deportes
14 - Santiago de Chile, Chile - Movistar Arena