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Rage
Classic German PowerMetal band.
Speak Of The Dead (2006)
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| Reviewer: lach (96) |
Rage's 16th album (yes, sixteenth!) is their second attempt at recording with an orchestra. Their first one is titled "Lingua Mortis" and was released about 7 years ago, which I haven't heard yet. Guitarist Victor Smolski's father is (apprently) a well regarded classical composer, who must have given young Victor a few lessons or two on how to arrange. And arrange he does! The band and orchestra sound fantastic together, and melt together like one unit. The music has been written with the orchestra in mind, but it still sticks to the heavy metal bent that Victor is obviously so ou-fait with. This album completely kicks butt. It's arranged so that the first 8 songs are one piece with the orchestra, and the second half of the album contains your more normal 3 piece heavy tracks. A few of the orchestral sections like sound bits from the Matrix (very cool), and lots of times they just join in with another very cool Smolski riff. Opening track "Prelude Of Souls" is a great instrumental in 5/4, something which I'm sure the orchestra have no problems dealing with :) Track 15 "Speak Of The Dead" has some nice lyrics: "Don't believe in Military, leaving nothing but destruction. No trust in presidents, they don't speak of the dead". Too true. When was the last time you heard Bush mention how many people (Americans or Iraqis) have died? Never from memory. Track 12 "Kill Your Gods" has some rather stupid anti-religion lyrics: To these old men in their robes, they are politicians for the sake of their power, it's for the money and the power. I'm not sure what planet Peavey has been living on, but I can assure you that every single minister that I know does not have any money, nor any power. Trust me on this one, becoming a minister is not a high paying or powerful job :) A lot of reviews that I've read don't seem to 'get' this album and seem to think that the fans probably won't like it. These are the same people who haven't heard any of Rage's previous 16 (yes, 16) albums and assume that their fans must be a bunch of metal idiots. Nothing could be further from the truth and this album will be ranking high on the scale. However, the rest of the tracks without the orchestra are not very memorable. They're alright, but nothing special. Still worth checking out the CD. |
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Soundchaser (2003)
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| Reviewer: lach (96) |
What an amazing album! It ranks up there with one of the greatest metal albums ever. Yes, it is that good. Thrash/power metal at its finest. Brilliant production, fantastic riffs, monster drumming, great vocals, great solo's... this CD has it all. The drumming is fantastic and thunderous, the solo's are great (a lot like Steve Vai) - but his riffs are pure metal! What's also so enjoyable is Peavy's vocals. They are different! (Remember that word, Roadrunner?). Fitting magnificently, every track really makes the best use of his vocals. Peavy is one great song writer - from track 1-11, every track is a killer. What makes this album such a classic is that every song flows together brilliantly. It's almost as if they sat down and said, "Hey, let's write a killer of an opening track. Great, 'War of the Worlds', that'll do. Ok, let's write a slightly faster second track that's better than the first track. Now let's write another song that follows on really well from the second that's a bit better. Ok, for the next song, let's just go straight into an awesome chorus". Ok, you get the idea. My only gripe with this album are it's linear notes and the terrible engrish! Considering that band actually have a native speaker of english as a member, surely he could have done the translations?? |
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From The Cradle To The Stage (2004)
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| Reviewer: lach (96) |
Ok, it's a great DVD, but any DVD is going to be great if you go back and RE-DUB THE ENTIRE VOCAL AND GUITAR TRACK. Not impressed. Maybe you can get away with that sh*t in Europe but I feel ripped off. Never is there one bum note on the vocals, never one mistake on the guitar. The edits are too quick so that you can't really notice - but it's definitely a fake. Check out the difference in sound between when Peavy is talking and when he's singing! It's a joke. The guitars sound too real, and don't quite sync. Just watch carefully. The bonus disc is good with a great documentary (why I really bought it) and all of their old video clips are included - some are a scream. |
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Unity (2002)
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| Reviewer: lach (96) |
Yes, I'm reviewing their albums in reverse order, because that's the way I've been introduced to their music. So, the album before Soundchaser? Yep, it's damn good. There's a couple of Rage classics on this album, check out "Down", "Dies Irae" (there's a great studio version with a different mix of this on their DVD) and the instrumental "Unity". Great songs, great playing, great riffs. Currently I love "World Of Pain" and "All I want". |
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Welcome To The Other Side (2001)
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| Reviewer: lach (96) |
First album featuring current lineup, and it's a monster! What I love about this album is that the guitar isn't doubled. (Soundchaser and Unity the rhythm guitar is doubled, which is more standard for metal). The opening track is great, but then it goes into the monster thrash of "The Mirror in your Eyes" - Metallica should have listened to this album before they did St Anger, this is how it was meant to sound! I am still in the process of digesting this album because there's a total of 14 songs on it - but rest assured, everything is great on this album. "Straight to hell" is a great track that has an unofficial accompanying video clip (check their website). But really, this album is as good as what we have come to expect from Rage. Great riffs and songs as always, you won't be disappointed. |
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