Taken by Force

Taken by Force is the fifth studio album by German band Scorpions, released by RCA Records in 1977. It was the band's first album to feature drummer Herman Rarebell and their last studio album to feature guitarist Uli Jon Roth. Roth left in 1978, following the end of the album's tour, and was replaced by Michael Schenker, then by Matthias Jabs.

The lyrics to "We'll Burn the Sky" were initially a poem by Monika Dannemann, the last girlfriend of Jimi Hendrix, and are a tribute to the late guitarist.

"The Sails of Charon" was lauded by Megadeth front man Dave Mustaine: "When I think of the Scorpions, the very first song that always comes to mind is the one that paved the way for me with lead guitar playing, and just the incredible shred factor done with a classical violinist approach on electric guitar by Uli Jon Roth. And that song is the one, the only, 'Sails of Charon'. For any guitar player that was going to the Guitar Institute of Technology, it was almost an unwritten rule that you had to learn the solo for 'Sails of Charon' to be worth your salt." Mustaine also acclaimed 'Steamrock Fever' ("Just full-on plodding metal") and 'He's a Woman – She's a Man' ("I just loved the guitar playing on this… these inexcusable (sic) outbursts of shredding guitar."