SCORPIONS: "Face The Heat" (Mercury)

Scorpions have always been essentially a live act, and, whilst they've never come up with a disastrous studio album (Scorps are way too professional for such an horrendous prospect), the Germanic gladiators have never quite done their songwriting strength deaf, dumb and blind justice. And, predictably enough, this elpee is no trendsetter.

A handful of your basic sturm und drang rockers, a few power ballads, and a concept rave-up add up to a traditional Scorpions album - tight, impeccably produced and catchy as hell - but not very adventurous. Interestingly enough, veteran vocalist Klaus Meine, unleashing his customary raging torrents of tonsil-thrashing abuse, has got some excellent back-up with him. Herman Rarebell and Ralph Rieckermann hammer out rhythms with the rock muscles of the fitter amongst us in mind and twin guitarists Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs lurch from one brain-boiling riff to another, throwing in countless solos to stake their claims as guitar heroes.

The Eurometal foot stompers, 'someone To Touch' and 'Nightmare Avenue' are exactly what you might expect, replete with genuine harmonies and good sense of melody while 'Under The Same Sun' is a trademark tearjerker. And let's not forget the album's winner 'No Pain No Cain', which says it all really. Great singing from Meine here and the tune is so typical of Scorpions - after a metallic introduction, it starts as tense near-ballad, bubbles up, and explodes into beefy guitar riffs that simmer back down for a pensive spell before getting violent again.

'Taxman Woman; is an interesting diatribe on the persistence of the tax collector in chasing back monies from penurious musos (!) but contains a puerile barb which is surely a tongue-in-cheek observation - "If it wasn't for you I would be rich but instead I'm a poor son of a bitch."

One final positive factor. Though this album cover probably won't cause the kind of controversy that previous illustrations have inspired they apparently turned down a few that were really outrageous - its message will still deliver the kind of sting Scorpions are known for.

With the exception of the talkbox in 'Alien Nation' and, to a lesser extent, the closer-to-thrash-than normal 'Unholy Alliance', there isn't anything on Face The Heat that the Teutonic rockers haven't done before. Which isn't to say the album is bad - only predictable.

• Johnny Lyons