Legendary guitarist Uli Jon Roth has brought his "Pictures of Destiny" North American tour to California, celebrating the 50th anniversaries of two landmark SCORPIONS albums — "In Trance" (1975) and "Virgin Killer" (1976). On April 9, he performed a three-hour extravaganza at the Pittsburg California Theatre, accompanied by a full band and a string quartet totalling ten musicians.
Roth was one of the founding guitarists of SCORPIONS and appeared on the band's first five studio albums before departing in 1978 to pursue his own musical vision with Electric Sun. His neoclassical approach — blending blues influence with the techniques of violin players and classical composers — earned him a reputation as one of the most innovative guitarists of his generation. Many credit him as a key pioneer of the neoclassical metal style later expanded upon by Yngwie Malmsteen and others.
The California concert featured orchestral arrangements, multimedia projections, and material from SCORPIONS' classic era alongside compositions from Roth's upcoming album "Requiem For An Angel," which explores his more symphonic ambitions. His previous revisitations of the SCORPIONS catalog — "Scorpions Revisited" and "Tokyo Tapes Revisited" — have already introduced his formative years to a new generation of listeners.
The tour is part of a broader artistic statement by Roth, now in his seventies, who continues to push creative boundaries. Half a century after records like "In Trance" redefined what heavy rock could sound like, the music retains its power — and Roth his mastery. Few guitarists of any era can claim a legacy so deeply woven into the fabric of heavy music history.