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Blackout
Cover art by Gottfried Helnwein
Studio album by Scorpions
Released	8 March 1982 (1982-03-08)
Studio	Villa San Pecaïre (Saint Jacques, Grasse, France) with Dierks Recording Mobile Dierks Studios (Stommeln, West Germany)
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal
Length	36:44
Label	Harvest/EMI
Producer	Dieter Dierks
Scorpions chronology
Animal Magnetism (1980) Blackout (1982) Love at First Sting (1984)
Singles from Blackout
"Now!" Released: March 1982 (Japan) "No One Like You" Released: March 1982 "Can't Live Without You" Released: July 1982 (UK)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	10/10
Forces Parallèles
Rolling Stone

Blackout is the eighth studio album by the German rock band Scorpions. It was released in 1982 by Harvest and EMI Records.

In the US, the album was certified gold on 24 June 1982 and platinum on 8 March 1984 by RIAA. Rolling Stone ranked Blackout as 73rd on their list of "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time" in 2017.

Background

After losing his voice during the writing of the album, lead singer Klaus Meine had to undergo surgery on his vocal cords and was uncertain as to whether or not he would be able to record. Demos of the material were recorded with singer Don Dokken from Dokken, a then-unknown band from Los Angeles. However, none of those recordings are featured on the album and Dokken is only credited with backing vocals.

In Kerrang! issue 12, guitarist Rudolf Schenker said that he could not choose between his guitar solos on "China White" so the US and European releases differed in this detail.

A self-portrait of artist Gottfried Helnwein is featured on the cover of the album. Schenker portrays this character in the "No One Like You" music video.

Track listing

All music composed by Rudolf Schenker except where noted

Personnel

Scorpions

• Klaus Meine – lead vocals
• Rudolf Schenker – rhythm guitars, 6 & 12-string acoustic guitars, lead guitars on tracks 4, 8, 9, backing vocals
• Matthias Jabs – lead guitars, rhythm guitars on tracks 4, 8, 9, 6 & 12-string acoustic guitars, backing vocals
• Francis Buchholz – bass, backing vocals
• Herman Rarebell – drums, backing vocals

Others

• Don Dokken – backing vocals

Production

• Dieter Dierks – producer, engineer
• Gerd Rautenbach – mixing
• Bob Ludwig and Howie Weinberg – mastering at Masterdisk, New York

Charts

Certifications

References

1. "New Releases" (PDF). FMQB. 26 February 1982. p. 27. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
2. Weber, Barry. "Scorpions Blackout review". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
3. Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 319. ISBN 978-1894959315.
4. Gaguet, Guillaume. "Scorpion Blackout review". Forces Parallèles. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
5. Considine, J.D. (24 June 1982). "Album Reviews: Scorpions - Blackout". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
6. "RIAA Searchable Database: search for Scorpions". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
7. "Rolling Stone Share Their Choices For 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time'". ThePRP. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
8. ^ Jeffrey Easton. "Metal Exiles interview with Klaus Meine". metalexiles.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
9. "Scorpions Frontman on Losing His Voice: 'I Thought My Career Was Over'". Noisecreep. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
10. ^ Dokken, Don (n.d.). "Dokken". Artist Magazine (Interview). Interviewed by Joy Williams. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
11. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6482". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
12. "Dutchcharts.nl – Scorpions – Blackout" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
13. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
14. "Offiziellecharts.de – Scorpions – Blackout" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
15. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
16. "Swedishcharts.com – Scorpions – Blackout". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
17. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
18. "Scorpions Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
19. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
20. "Canadian album certifications – Scorpions – Blackout". Music Canada.
21. "French album certifications – Scorpions – Blackout" (in French). InfoDisc. Select SCORPIONS and click OK. 
22. ^ "Scorpions Blackout Mexican Promo award disc(292099)". Retrieved 20 December 2020.
23. "American album certifications – Scorpions – Blackout". Recording Industry Association of America.

• 1982 albums
• Scorpions (band) albums
• Harvest Records albums
• Mercury Records albums
• Albums produced by Dieter Dierks
• Glam metal albums