German heavy metal icons the Scorpions hit the 50-year mark in 2015, being initially conceived all the way back in 1965 by a 16-year-old Rudolf Schenker as a beat band very much in line with the trends of the time, and slowly evolving into a hard rock force to contend with by the end of the '70s. Multi-platinum-selling singles and omnipresent commercial success peaked out for the Scorpions sometime in the early '80s, but they kept the flame alive for a dedicated army of followers for decades to come. Return to Forever is the band's 18th album of new studio material, following 2010's Sting in the Tail. While many of the group's '90s and 2000s efforts experimented with stylistic divergences or convoluted concept record themes, Sting in the Tail was a declarative return to the radio metal roots of the band's most popular work from the '80s. Return to Forever follows suit very much, with the 12 new songs here embodying the same over the top celebration and hedonistic revelry of a much younger Scorpions. At times the throwbacks are a little transparent. The gated reverse-reverb thump of the floor tom that propelled the band's 1984 über-hit "Rock You Like a Hurricane" shows up again on t…