SCORPIONS

Veteran German hard rockers SCORPIONS have announced the addition of Polish bassist Pawel Maciwoda (SECTION 31, URBANATOR) to the group's ranks.

“As you may know, on January 12th we will appear on the TV show '20 years of RTL',” the band write on their web site. “It is not only the first performance of the new year, but also the first time, after many good years of working with Ralph Rieckermann, that we introduce a new bass player. We have, during the months of recording the new album, got to know Pawel Maciwoda as a musician and friend and we look forward to working together in the future. While Ralph, in the last couple of years, is involved more in the film music side in his adopted home of Los Angeles, we still maintain a friendly and close relationship and wish him the very best of luck for his career. Our new album will be released in spring 2004 as planned. We are looking forward to seeing you all on our upcoming world tour.”

As previously reported, SCORPIONS completed the recordings for the forthcoming CD at Peppermint Park Studio in Hannover and are scheduled to begin mixing the effort later this month. The as-yet-untitled album is expected to feature a return to the band's classic hard rock sound following a foray into a more dance-inspired direction on their last studio release, 1999's “Eye II Eye”.

January 11. 2004