Hermann Erbel (born 18 November 1949), known professionally as Herman Rarebell, is a German musician, best known as the drummer for the hard rock band

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

from 1977 to 1996, during which time he played on eight studio albums. Aside from playing drums, Rarebell wrote or co-wrote several songs for the group such as "Another Piece of Meat", "Falling in Love" and "Passion Rules the Game". He wrote the lyrics for some of the band's most well known songs such as " Rock You Like a Hurricane", "Blackout", "Make It Real", "Arizona", "Bad Boys Running Wild" and "Tease Me Please Me". Herman Rarebell received his education in the subjects drums and piano at the Musikhochschule Saarbrücken. Rarebell played drums from 1965 with the band The Mastermen, from 1968 with The Fuggs Blues and RS Rindfleisch, with whom he released one single and performed in the clubs of the US military throughout Germany. In 1972–73, he played on three albums by the

Krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...

band Missus Beastly, with a lineup consisting of three RS Rindfleisch members with a new singer and two additional musicians. The following year, he joined the band

Onyx Onyx is a typically black-and-white banded variety of agate, a silicate mineral. The bands can also be monochromatic with alternating light and dark bands. ''Sardonyx'' is a variety with red to brown bands alternated with black or white bands. ...

after the name change to Vineyard. During his time in Scorpions, Rarebell released two solo albums ''Nip in the Bud'' (1981) and ''Herman Ze German'' (1986).

Setup

Rarebell has been a long-time user of Ludwig drums and

Paiste Paiste (English pronunciation: , ) is a Switzerland, Swiss musical instrument manufacturing company. It is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. is an Estonian language, Estonian and Finnish language, ...

cymbals, which he used for his entire duration with Scorpions, though he would occasionally alter the amount of drums and cymbals he would have on his setup.

Discography

;Missus Beastly *1972 – ''Volksmusik'' *1973 – ''Spinatwachtel'' *1973 – Weramean · Missus Beastly (split) – ''Super Rock Made in Germany'' / ''Im Garten des Schweigens'' ;Scorpions * 1977 – '' Taken by Force'' * 1978 – '' Tokyo Tapes'' * 1979 – '' Lovedrive'' * 1980 – ''

Animal Magnetism Animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism, is a theory invented by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century. It posits the existence of an invisible natural force (''Lebensmagnetismus'') possessed by all living things, including humans ...

'' * 1982 – '' Blackout'' * 1984 – '' Love at First Sting'' * 1985 – '' World Wide Live'' * 1988 – '' Savage Amusement'' * 1990 – '' Crazy World'' * 1993 – '' Face the Heat'' * 1995 – '' Live Bites'' ;Solo: * 1981 – ''Nip in the Bud'' * 1986 – ''Herman Ze German'' * 1986 – Herman Ze German and Friends: "Wipe Out" b/w "Pancake" (Single) * 2005 – ''Drum Legends'' (Rarebell/ Pete York/ Charly Antolini) * 2007 – ''I'm Back!'' (released in Germany, not distributed in the US) * 2008 – ''My Life as a Scorpion'' * 2008 – ''Herman's Collection'' (Best of solos) * 2010 – ''Herman Ze German'' + ''My Life as a Scorpion'' (Box set) * 2010 – HZG: "Top of the Rock" (Single) * 2010 – ''Take It as It Comes'' (US version of ''I'm Back!'') * 2013 – ''Acoustic Fever'' * 2020 – Thomas Tomsen: "No Return to Earth" ;Michael Schenker's Temple of Rock * 2011 – '' Temple of Rock'' * 2013 – ''Bridge the Gap'' * 2015 – ''Spirit in a Mission''

References

External links

Official website

HardRadio.com interview with Herman Rarebell

MetalExpressRadio.com interview with Herman Rarebell
* 1949 births Living people Scorpions (band) members German heavy metal drummers German rock drummers German male drummers German male musicians Michael Schenker Group members Glam metal musicians German male songwriters Musicians from Saarland People from Saarlouis (district) Rock songwriters {{Germany-musician-stub