search
more stories
 

One From The Grave: In Trance

print   email   RSS
 May 27 2008 at 06:07:21 AM



This is what Dieter Dierks did for the Scorpions. Sometimes a band needs a ringleader, a man comfortable enough with his masculinity to don a three-foot fuchsia stovepipe hat and equally embarrassing Technicolor clothes; his job is always woefully understood: it’s the Barnum & Bailey bullshit that Ted Templeman worked voodoo-like into a palpable science with the sinewy beast that was early ‘80s Van Fucking Halen. Get out there; ramble into the ring. Press flesh and smack backs. Twirl the moustache into twin curlicues of fertile, brown horn.

The preceding two LPs were forgettable: able fundamentals, mildly respectable and not without brief brilliance. Taken in tandem they’re nothing more than clumsy foreplay for what’s likely the Scorps’ finest hour. Klaus Miene’s and Ulrich Roth’s alternating swoon: thrust and throb was always a dimension away from the airwave Visigoths of the age, and a most fucking fortunate contrast to the perpetually dubious “bluesy” rumblings of the Page/Plant bruised banana dildo tucked slyly away into silver flake peg leg pants. The shtick might as well have been twisted into a ruddy neon crown: Good Gawdamned German bier; truckloads of testosterone; ludicrous phallic bullshit with expensive guitars: the Scorps had the shit in spades, even if the whole rock crit intelligentsia thought they were borrowing time counting cards from their first amp queef while the electronic buzzards wheeled overhead.

But Miene found his voice. He brandished the fucker. He held it by the balls and squeezed hard.

Miene sometimes sounds like he’s turned to water. Like his tongue and tonsils have just splashed right out of his mouth as his face takes the wide stance and drops a deep, long piss. Miene sorta wails; sometimes his voice struts thick-assed into places he shouldn’t be; but no motherfucker could tell him otherwise. His words rise and climb with the smoke; stories and shit are beaten out of coats like a week’s worth of weed smoke. The impressions are grand and clichéd; their manifestations—flickering scented candles and baby-oiled yahbows—are minor and major victories, mostly depending on whom you klatch with.

Indeed, Uli Roth holds up his end of the bargain, acting the rudder and at times as wiley as the wind, lines and runs slick as pricks in groupie fists. There’s some looking glass shit here, too: Tipton/Downing might as well be painted in dayglo green on these tea leaves; “Top of the Bill” holds the colors high. Lots of crashed surf riff, silly squelched runs; forward motion taken to the mat by Miene’s over-the-top theatrics. “I'm in a trance / Hey, baby tell me can't you hear me calling / I'm in a trance / I take too much in the Saturday night / Hey, hey, hey baby tell me can't you hear me calling / I'm in a trance…”

[Stewart Voegtlin]

Scorpions
In Trance
RCA
1975
type: reviews    keywords: heavy metal, one from the grave,   

Comments (5)

  • 108 comments
    jniff
    1:00 PM on Jun 16, 2008 // reply »
    Glad to re-discover your great blog. You dropped off my radar after Stylus ceased.

    Anyways, glad to see this album given props, but I'd have to respectfully disagree with you on the first two albums - which are hands-down, my favorites by the Scorps. To me, 'Fly to the Rainbow' is pure brilliance from start to stop. 'Lonesome Crow' sounds like a kraut-rock band digested Black Sabbath's first LP and spit it back out with their own added subtle flavors. 'In Trance' is my favorite of the Roth-era albums that Dierks produced, though. Unfortunately, elements of stadium rock began to gradually creep into the following albums.
  • 378 comments
    Stew V.
    12:56 PM on Jun 17, 2008 // reply »
    Hey, Jniff: I'm down with the first two platters; I just don't rock them as much as IN TRANCE, which really amps up the ROCK and tunes down such unsavory things as this krautrock you speak of. You're right about what followed: a buncha sadtrombone shit. Thanks for reading...
  • 108 comments
    jniff
    11:52 AM on Jun 19, 2008 // reply »
    Fair enough. Your thoughts are in line with most of the folks I know who appreciate old Scorps. In fact of the few folks I personally know who like their classic outings, only one shares my belief that the first two were their best.

    At least we agree: 1) that 'In Trance' rocks, 2) Uli can shred with taste, and 3) that the latter stuff doesn't hold a candle to what they did with Roth in the band.

    Damn if it wouldn't have been cool to have attended of the Tokyo Tapes concert.

    Don't know if you're a fan or not, but it would be cool to see a write-up on some Dio-era Rainbow or pre- 'Magician's Birthday'-era Uriah Heep - two other bands that don't get the respect they deserve.
  • 378 comments
    Stew V.
    11:57 AM on Jun 19, 2008 // reply »
    You bet. And, jniff, you reading my mail? Dio-era Rainbow and "Magician's Birthday"-era UH are two of my most fay-vor-it things. Bump bom bump bom bump bom Bump bom Bump bom Bump. They'll surely return, FROM THE GRAVE... Ahhh-ha-hah-hah-hah-hah!
  • 108 comments
    jniff
    5:35 PM on Jun 20, 2008 // reply »
    Stew- regarding Rainbow and UH, I figured someone who'd give props to classic Scorps and with refined musical tastes such as yours would probably appreciate the masters.
 

Leave Feedback


Name


Email
Email will not be displayed. Gravatars? The LeftHandPath.com uses Gravatars which are the pictures that you see next to each comment. If you haven't already, register your email address and picture with Gravatar.com

Website
( Optional )

Feedback

Post your feedback, HTML will not be rendered, only plain text.


Subscribe
Receive emails when others submit comments

 

Leave this field empty

 
TWITTER RSS FEEDS
categories
138 1970s 33 ac/dc ajna ambient amon another bad idea apocalypse art asia ass cheeks atl atlanta is burning away azagthoth baby warrior drama bazillion points beer ben vierling black metal black metal sublet black sabbath blasphemy blood blue cheer bon scott bone sickness bones books booze boredom brooklyn bros bukkake bullet belts canada canadian mexican food cargo chains chips & beer chips n beer chuck schuldiner cliches codpiece comics conan cooking corpse paint cowbell cross-chatter crust cry babies cycles d&d d.c. danzig david vincent death death metal deceased dei carnifex demo demos denim desecrate devil devilock dffd metal dicks dio dirty south disgruntled dodgy doom dragons dread drinkin drone drugs drunk again dvd ec comics elvis emotions eschatology euronymous's dildo fake fangoria farts feelings fetish film films filth fire florida death metal folk foodster free publicity fulci georgia german germans germans glen benton goats gore grind groupies gygax halloween hard rock hardcore headbanging heat heathen metal heavy heavy metal hell awaits hollywood homeless looking dudes make good music horror horror punk hotlanta ink interview jazz jerseys judas priest kali kenneth anger kill posers king cobra king diamond kiss label profile latin leather lemmy lhp001 lhp002 lhp003 lhp005 lhp006 lhp007 lhp008 lhp009 lhp010 lhp011 lhp012 lhp013 lhp014 lhp015 lhp016 lhp017 lhp018 lhp019 lhp020 lhp021 lhp022 lhp023 lhp024 lhp025 lhp026 lhp027 lhp028 lhp029 lhp030 lhp031 lhp032 lhp033 lhp034 lhp035 lhp036 lhp037 lhp038 lhp039 lhp040 lhp041 lhp042 lhp043 lhp044 lhp046 lhp047 lhp048 lost lucifer lulz magick manilla road marcus garvey master mephistopheles mercyful fate metal metal chef meth mgd misfits morbus chron motorhead mutilation nature nazi gaga necronomicon new york no shit noise norway not black metal not good nwobhm nyc oakleys obama 08 oh death one from the grave pain penbangers pentagram philthy pony girl power metal power trio primer problematic production pulp punk pussy putrid real men listen to thin lizzy rednecks repka reunion riffs motherfucker riot ritual robert e howard rock rush salad days samhain satan savage sword scorpions seagrave shit show report sin nanna skanks slayer sleaze sleeveless slim pickens sludge sluts soulless space cadet speed speed metal spikes spooky fingers steel stranger in a strange land studs summer summoning swamp sweatpants sweden swords tanya roberts teethofskull texas thirsty and miserable thrash thrash metal tits tldr tna tombstones tour dates tremelo tuesday you tube vanguard vans varg vhs vinyl vomit weird woods year end blah year-end list you tube tuesday youth zines zinka zombies