Kev Rowland
In summer 2020 Rage frontman Peavy Wagner presented the group’s new line-up featuring two guitarists, announcing a return to the configuration that had recorded albums such as ‘Black In Mind’ and ‘End Of All Days’. He has brought in guitarists Stefan Weber (ex-Axxis) and Jean Bormann (Angel Inc, Rage & Ruins) to play alongside himself and drummer Vassilios “Lucky” Maniatopoulos, who has been with Rage since 2015. It does not seem to matter who is in the band though, as this is all about Peavy, as it has been since the formation of Avenger in 1983. That band released one album, ‘Prayers of Steel’, in 1985 before changing their name to Rage and Peavy still counts that as the debut Rage release, which makes this the 25th album (although he is also working in Refuge with ex-Rage members who have also released an album, he is one busy guy).
Rage have been through different styles over the years, but over the last 20 plus they have found their own version of highly melodic and commercial rock which is very heavy yet somehow is also radio friendly in a manner which is very much their own. They really mean this, and in Peavy they have a singer who may not be mentioned in the same breaths as the greats, but he has a wonderful style which is almost operatic, but with a real edge, and although he often sings mostly in lower registers he can also lift it up when he needs to. There are also some orchestral elements, something else which is strangely Rage, as they bring in Wagnerian elements and it is no surprise that Peavy created another side project, Lingua Mortis Orchestra, to further explore this side (and they released an album as well, does this guy never sleep?). This hits like a hammer, with the guitars providing some nice harmonies as well as crunching it down, Lucky keeps it blasting from the back, and then there is Peavy over the top of everything with his bass keeping it tight and his vocals always in control. He is like a master conductor bringing together musicians to fulfill his vision, and it does not matter who it is as Rage is Peavy and Peavy is Rage.
Yet another great album to add to the canon – they have long been one of my favourite German metal bands and this release re-emphasises why.