Now celebrating their 50th anniversary—in case you didn’t feel old already—The Scorpions have unveiled their 18th studio release, Return to Forever, on Sony Legacy (and apart from the title, any resemblance to the Chick Corea-Al DiMeola band of the same name is entirely coincidental). The collection, consisting of songs written between the early 1980s and 2014, was conceived as a thank you to fans after the band’s farewell tour. The Scorps changed their minds, however, and started to write new music while recording. Led by the twin guitar attack of Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs and the stratospheric lead vocals of Klaus Meine, the Scorpions deliver a 12-song hard-rock opus (with seven bonus tracks on U.S. release) that’s more than worthy of their hard-charging legacy. The production, handled by longtime collaborators Mikael Nord Andersson and Martin Hansen, focuses on rock radio hooks and harmonies, but there’s still that signature Scorpions sting. “We Built This House” is the lead track; the Scorps have already kicked off their 16-city U.S. tour. Did you really think these metal giants would hang it up after a mere half-century? — J.J. Garcia