On March 29, 1982, Scorpions released their eighth studio album, “Blackout”. During the recording, vocalist Klaus Meine suffered a temporary loss of his voice, which raised doubts about his ability to finish the project and led to his departure from the band.
However, his bandmates convinced him to undergo risky vocal cord surgery. Recovery lasted about six months, during which the band worked on demo recordings with the young Don Dokken on lead vocals.
In an interview, Dokken confessed that he would turn down an offer to join Scorpions, as he was a big fan of the band and found it difficult to perform Meine's songs.
On a musical level, Rudolf Schenker was unable to decide on the best guitar solo for “China White”, which led to different versions of the album existing in the US and European markets.
The cover of “Blackout” is a self-portrait of the artist Gottfried Helnwein, and Schenker played this character on several occasions.
In 1984, the album achieved success in the United States and Canada, being certified platinum.
In 2015, a deluxe edition of the album was released, which included demos, a concert and a documentary.
“Blackout” is ranked 62nd on Classic Rock's list of the 100 best rock albums.