Rage (band)

Rage
From left to right: Victor Smolski, Peavy Wagner, and André Hilgers, after a 2008 performance in Milan, Italy
Background information
Also known as	Avenger
Origin	Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Genres	Heavy metal, speed metal, power metal, progressive metal, thrash metal
Years active	1984-present
Labels	Noise, Nuclear Blast, SPV
Associated acts	Kipelov, Stratovarius, Savage Circus, Silent Force, Masterplan, Sub7even, Axel Rudi Pell, Mind Odyssey
Website	www.rage-on.de
Members
Peavy Wagner Victor Smolski André Hilgers
Past members
See: Former members section

Rage are a German heavy metal band, formed in 1984. They were part of the German heavy/speed/power metal scene to emerge in the early to mid 1980s, along with bands such as Helloween, Running Wild and Blind Guardian.

Background

Rage formed in 1984 under the name, Avenger. After releasing their debut album Prayers of Steel and their Depraved to Black EP in 1985, the band changed their name to Rage because there was another band in England that also carried the moniker. Originally the new name was to be Furious Rage but it was eventually shortened to Rage. The first album released under the new name was Reign of Fear in 1986.

Rage's albums came out in regular, continuous intervals, and the band began touring with Running Wild, U.D.O., Motörhead and Saxon in the early 1990s.

Their 1992 album Trapped! marked their international breakthrough, a short highlight being Rage's tour in Japan. Their success was repeated again in 1993 with the release of The Missing Link. After change in their lineup, Rage went on to record Lingua Mortis, the first classical album by a German metal act, in 1996. Their material was performed live for the first time in late summer 1996 in Kufstein, Austria. Subsequently, Rage, and the orchestra used, embarked on a celebrated Christmas tour and played several European festivals.

Their thirteenth album XIII was released in March 1998. The next album Ghosts was followed by a major line-up change, featuring Peavy Wagner, Victor Smolski and Mike Terrana.

The trio performed at Wacken Open Air in August 1999, revealing their newest album Welcome to the Other Side. The following releases Unity and Soundchaser were met with enthusiastic response from critics and fans alike. Rage toured with Primal Fear in 2002 and Helloween in 2003.

Rage recently celebrated their 25th anniversary with the release of the EP "Gib Dich Nie Auf / Never Give Up".

In 2006, Terrana left Rage voluntarily after a disagreement.^[1] On 1 January 2007, it was announced that their new drummer would be André Hilgers, formerly the drummer of Axxis.

In 2007, the band toured in Europe with a show featuring one symphonic orchestra from Minsk, Belarus under the name "Lingua Mortis Orchestra", and the concert in that August at Wacken Open Air at 80,000 fans was recorded for a DVD to be included as bonus to their new album called Carved in Stone, which was released on 22 February 2008.^[2]

The band played at Bundesvision Song Contest 2009 (BUVISOCO) on 13 February 2009, the Festival was hosted by Stefan Raab (TV Total).^[3] Rage became more famous through their participation in the show, as well as by being placed third.

Rage expect to enter the studio in October 2011 to begin recording their next album for an early 2012 release.^[4]

Members

Current members

• Peter "Peavy" Wagner – vocals, bass (1984–present)
• Victor Smolski – guitar (1999–present)
• André Hilgers – drums (2007–present)

Former members

• Alf Meyerratken – guitar (1985)
• Thomas Grüning – guitar (1985–1986)
• Jochen Schröder – guitar (1985–1987)
• Jörg Michael – drums (1985–1987)
• Rudi Graf – guitar (1987)
• Manni Schmidt – guitar (1988–1994)
• Chris Efthimiadis – drums (1988–1999)
• Ulli Cohler - keyboards (1990)
• Spiros Efthimiadis – guitar (1994–1999)
• Sven Fischer – guitar (1994–1999)
• Christian Wolff - keyboards (1996–1999)
• Mike Terrana – drums (1999–2006)

Discography

As Avenger

• Prayers of Steel (1985)
• Depraved to Black (EP, 1985)

Albums as Rage

• Reign of Fear (1986)
• Execution Guaranteed (1987)
• Perfect Man (1988)
• Secrets in a Weird World (1989)
• Reflections of a Shadow (1990)
• Trapped! (1992)
• The Missing Link (1993)
• 10 Years in Rage (1994)
• Black in Mind (1995)
• Lingua Mortis (1996)
• End of All Days (1996)
• XIII (1998)
• Ghosts (1999)
• Welcome to the Other Side (2001)
• Unity (2002)
• Soundchaser (2003)
• Speak of the Dead (2006)
• Carved in Stone (2008)
• Strings to a Web (2010)

EPs

• Extended Power (1991)
• Beyond the Wall (1992)
• Refuge (Japan) (1993)
• Higher than the Sky (Japan) (1996)
• Live from the Vault (Japan) (1997)
• Gib Dich Nie Auf / Never Give Up (2009)

Live albums

• Power of Metal (1994)
• From the Cradle to the Stage (2004)
• Full Moon in St. Petersburg (2007)

Videos

• The Video Link (1994)
• From the Cradle to the Stage (2004)
• Full Moon in St. Petersburg (2007)

References

1. ^ "Victor Smolski from Rage – Exclusive Interview with The Backdoor | The Backdoor". Backdoormag.com. http://backdoormag.com/victor-smolski-from-rage-exclusive-interview-with-backdoor.html. Retrieved 2011-10-22. 
2. ^ Christian Behrens. "Rage-on.de". Rage-on.de. http://www.rage-on.de/content/de/band/band.html. Retrieved 2011-10-22. 
3. ^ "Metal-online.com". Metal-online.com. 2008-12-19. http://www.metal-online.com/de/2008/12/19/rage-beim-bundesvision-song-contest/. Retrieved 2011-10-22. 
4. ^ "RAGE To Enter Studio In October". Roadrunnerrecords.com. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=162946. Retrieved 2011-10-22. 

External links

• Official website
• Rage on Myspace
• Nuclear Blast - official website