According to Rudolf Schenker’s interview with Metal Hammer a year ago, Scorpions survived the grunge era of the ’90s by performing in places where they were still welcomed. But, the end of that decade also saw the band facing criticism for one of its albums.
1999 marked a shift in Scorpions’ style when they released ‘Eye II Eye.’ Going for a more pop-influenced sound, this album received mixed reactions, especially from their traditional fanbase.
That’s why frontman Klaus Meine referred to this record while talking about Scorpions’ ‘bad albums’ during a 2015 chat with My Global Mind. Reflecting on the music trends of the late nineties, the singer shared:
“I think in the late nineties, which was a decade which was so much dominated by alternative and grunge music and all that music revolution that took place. For all the bands that had come from a successful career out of the eighties and being classic rock bands, it was a time where you had to fight to survive as a classic rock band. I think that the second half of the nineties and towards the end of the nineties, where we recorded ‘Eye to Eye’ was, an album where we experimented a lot. “
He also explained the album’s effect on the band:
“It was not very well received by our fans, but maybe it was the best mistake that we ever did. We found out how important it is to go back to the Scorpions DNA. A few years later, when we came back with ‘Unbreakable,’ I think we were right on track. Classic and Hard Rock came back in a big way.”
Scorpions came up with ‘Eye II Eye’ at a time when they didn’t know what to do as the music scene of the era changed. Guitarist Matthias Jabs revealed this in an interview with AZCentral.com in 2017 and even referred to the record as a ‘good mistake’ like his bandmate.
According to him, ‘Eye II Eye’ was the band’s effort to adapt to the ’90s music:
“You can tell by listening to the music. I mean, not completely. There was an influence from the outside that was not within the Scorpions DNA, if I can call it that. It wasn’t really us. It was us, plus all the crap and turmoil going on. Nobody really knew. Nobody had a direction. But everybody was trying to talk to us. [Laughs]”
Despite its mixed reception, the 1999 album achieved some chart success, reaching number 6 in Germany and number 24 in Hungary. Still, following the fan feedback, Scorpions went back to their original sound with the next album ‘Moment of Glory’ in the following year.
The fifteenth studio album reached third place in Germany’s Offizielle Top 100 and topped Portugal’s AFP charts in 2000. It also went gold in Canada and Germany, while it became Platinum in Portugal.
