Album
Humanity: Hour I
Humanity: Hour I is the sixteenth studio album by the German hard rock band Scorpions, released on 14 May 2007 on RCA. It sits between Unbreakable (2004) and Sting in the Tail (2010) in their catalogue, and it is a concept record. The loose storyline, devised by Desmond Child and the futurist Liam Carl, imagines a civil war between humans and robots, with the only hope of survival lying in reclaiming our humanity.
Child co-produced the album with James Michael, and the pair also sing backing vocals. The title track was first played live in Brussels on 24 March 2007 and became the lead single. Look closely at the cover and you'll see the band's early-style lettering, last used 33 years earlier, with the familiar logo tucked onto the neck of the gynoid. The opening track, "Hour I", later served as the Minnesota Wild's NHL intro from 2007 to 2015.
Humanity: Hour I: tracklist, credits and charts
12 tracks · 49:05Tracklist
- 1Hour IChild, 5, Michael, Schenker3:26
- 2The Game of LifeAndersson, Child, Hansen, Meine4:04
- 3We Were Born to FlyBazilian, Frederiksen, Jabs4:00
- 4The Future Never DiesBazilian, Child, Irwin, Meine, Paige4:04
- 5You’re Lovin’ Me to DeathBazilian, Carlsson, Child, Schenker3:16
- 6321Child, Frederiksen, Paige, Schenker3:54
- 7Love Will Keep Us AliveBazilian, Child, Frederiksen, Meine4:32
- 8We Will Rise AgainChild, Jabs, Michael, Paige3:50
- 9Your Last SongBazilian, Child, Schenker3:44
- 10Love Is WarChild, Frederiksen, Jabs, Michael4:20
- 11The CrossChild, Frederiksen, Jabs, Michael4:30
- 12HumanityBazilian, Child, Frederiksen, Meine5:27
- Produced by
- Desmond Child, James Michael
- Executive producer
- Desmond Child
- Recorded at
- Little Big Guy Studios, Gentlemen's Club, Glenwood Place Studios, Track Record Studios, The Village and Record Plant, Los Angeles, California
- Recorded
- October 2006 – February 2007
- Mixed by
- Greg Collins
- Mixed at
- The Nook
- Engineered by
- Dino Herrmann, Jon Vella, Steve Churchyard, Jules Gondar, Matt Gruber, James Michael
- Labels
- RCA, RCA/Sony BMG, New Door/UME (North America)
- Length
- 49:05
Line-up
- Matthias Jabs · electric guitar
- John 5 · guitar · guest
- James Kottak · drums (drum set)
- Paweł Mąciwoda · bass guitar
- Rudolf Schenker · electric guitar
- Desmond Child · background vocals · guest
- Klaus Meine · lead vocals
- James Michael · background vocals · guest
- Jeanette Olsson · background vocals · guest
- Jason Paige · background vocals · guest
- Russ Irwin · piano · guest
- Eric Bazilian · guitar · guest
- Billy Corgan · vocals · guest
Singles
- “Humanity” · 2007
- “The Game of Life” · 2007
- “Love Will Keep Us Alive” · 2007
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 2007 | 63 |
| US Hard Rock · 2007 | 7 |
| German Albums · 2007 | 9 |
| French Albums · 2007 | 16 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2007 | 17 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2007 | 20 |
| Swiss Albums · 2007 | 27 |
| Finnish Albums · 2007 | 29 |
| Swedish Albums · 2007 | 36 |
| Austrian Albums · 2007 | 41 |
All 17 charts
| Italian Albums · 2007 | 44 |
| Czech Albums · 2007 | 47 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 2007 | 54 |
| Spanish Albums · 2007 | 59 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2007 | 79 |
| Dutch Albums · 2007 | 91 |
| Mexican Albums · 2007 | 94 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Russia · 2007 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
46.1
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
631
ListenBrainz listeners
24k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
593
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 14 May
Every year →
More from Scorpions
Full discography →
Lonesome Crow
1972
Fly to the Rainbow
1974
In Trance
1975
Virgin Killer
1976
Taken by Force
1977
Scorpions All Night Long 1978
All Night Long
1978
Tokyo Tapes
1978
Lovedrive
1979
Best of Scorpions
1979
Animal Magnetism
1980
Blackout
1982
Love at First Sting
1984
Best of Scorpions, Volume 2
1984
World Wide Live
1985
Believe in Love
1988
Rhythm of Love
1988
Big City Nights
1988
Savage Amusement
1988
Best of Rockers ’n’ Ballads
1989
Crazy World
1990
Still Loving You
1992
Extras
1993
Face the Heat
1993
Deadly Sting
1995
Live Bites
1995
Scorpions Still Loving You 2 1996
Still Loving You 2
1996
Live
1996
Pure Instinct
1996
The Real Sting
1998
Big City Nights
1998
Scorpions Eye to Eye 1999
Eye to Eye
1999
Scorpions Scorpions 1999
Scorpions
1999
Eye II Eye
1999
Moment of Glory
2000
Acoustica
2001
20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Scorpions
2001
Classic Bites
2002
Bad for Good: The Very Best of Scorpions
2002
Box of Scorpions
2004
Unbreakable
2004
The Platinum Collection
2005
Taken B-Side
2009
Sting in the Tail
2010
Comeblack
2011
MTV Unplugged in Athens
2013
La Selection Best Of
2014
Return to Forever
2015
Born to Touch Your Feelings: Best of Rock Ballads
2017
Rock Believer
2022
The best of 2007
All of 2007 →
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Radiohead · 2007
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Foo Fighters · 2007
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Era Vulgaris
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Year Zero
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Eat Me, Drink Me
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Zeitgeist
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![[untitled] by Korn, album cover](/img/4ee42fb0-056a-38bf-8a89-e4cf8e4a57ed/300)
[untitled]
Korn · 2007
Lost Highway
Bon Jovi · 2007
More on RCA
The label →
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David Bowie · 1971
Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps
David Bowie · 1980
“Heroes”
David Bowie · 1977
Rebel Rebel / Queen Bitch / Sorrow / Amsterdam
David Bowie · 1973
Low
David Bowie · 1977
There Is Nothing Left to Lose
Foo Fighters · 1999
Wasting Light
Foo Fighters · 2011
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
Foo Fighters · 2007
Diamond Dogs
David Bowie · 1974
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Tool · 2019
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 2007-05-14; musicbrainz + wikidata 2007-05-15 (1 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 15 May 2007 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 14 May 2007 | |
| Wikidata | 28 August 2007 | United States |
| Wikidata | 28 August 2007 | Canada |
| Wikidata | 15 May 2007 | Europe |
| US release | 28 August 2007 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 25 May 2007 | earliest UK or European date |
8 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | DE | RCA | 828767141916 | other |
| 2007 | CA | New Door Records | 602517448063 | other |
| 2007 | RU | Sony BMG Music Entertainment | 886970884723 | other |
| 15 May 2007 | XW | BMG Rights Management | 00888880928122 | original |
| 25 May 2007 | XE | Sony BMG Music Entertainment | 828767141923 | other |
| 28 May 2007 | XE | Sony BMG Music Entertainment | 886970879828 | other |
| 20 June 2007 | JP | BMG | 4988017647707 | other |
| 28 August 2007 | US | New Door Records | 602517448063 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |