Matthias Jabs

In the year 2000, he was awarded the city of Hanover plaque and the Cross of Merit on Ribbon (Verdienstkreuz am Bande) of the Lower Saxony Order of Merit.

Jabs' playing style was a large part of Lovedrive' s fresher, newer, heavier sound. This "Van Halen-like" sound would become the band's signature as it would propel them into superstardom in the 1980s.

After the completion and release of the album the band decided to retain Michael in the band, forcing Jabs to leave. However, in April 1979, after only a few weeks on the tour, Michael quit. Jabs was immediately brought in to permanently replace him.

Jabs was discovered by Scorpions' bassist Francis Buchholz, who had tutored him in mathematics to earn extra money while still in school. Buchholz subsequently recommended the band give him an audition after lead guitarist Uli Roth quit the band in 1978. Before joining the Scorpions, Jabs played for the bands Lady, Fargo and Deadlock.

For Taken by Force, RCA Records made a determined effort to promote the album in stores and on the radio. The album's single, "Steamrock Fever", was added to some of RCA's radio promotional records, but Roth was not happy with the commercial direction the band was taking. Although he performed on the band's Japanese tour, he departed to form his own band, Electric Sun, prior to the release of the follow-up live album Tokyo Tapes. Tokyo Tapes was released in the US and Europe six months after its Japanese release. By that time in mid 1978, after auditioning around 140 guitarists, Scorpions recruited Matthias Jabs to replace Roth.

Matthias Jabs (born October 25, 1955) is a German guitarist and songwriter. He is best known for being the lead guitarist in the hard rock band Scorpions. He has played on all but the first five Scorpions studio albums starting with Lovedrive (1979) to Return to Forever (2015). He has a music store, MJ Guitars, in Munich, Germany.