Rage (band)



"Don't you fear the winter, I will keep you safe and warm Don't you fear the winter, Nothing's gonna do you harm"

- Don't Fear the Winter

Rage is a Heavy/Speed/Power Metal band from Germany. Initially started out as Avenger in 1983, they released an album and EP under that name before changing it to Rage due to a British band Avenger. They have steadily released studio material and toured and they are very popular in Europe and Japan.

Not to be confused with the Australian music show of the same name, Rage Against the Machine or the upcoming video game.

Current line-up:
 * Peter "Peavy" Wagner - Vocals, Bass
 * Victor Smolski - Guitar, Keyboards
 * Andre Hilgers - Drums

Full-length releases:
 * Prayers of Steel (1984, as Avenger)
 * 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 Other Side (2001)
 * Unity (2002)
 * Soundchaser (2003)
 * Speak of the Dead (2006)
 * Carved in Stone (2008)
 * Strings to a Web (2010)
 * 21 (2012)

Extended plays:
 * Depraved to Black (1985, as Avenger)
 * Extended Power (1991)
 * Beyond the Wall (1992)
 * Refuge (1993)
 * The Missing Link (1993)
 * Higher Than the Sky (1997)
 * In Vain (1998)
 * Full Moon (2006)
 * Gib Dich Nie Auf (2009)


 * And I Must Scream: "Frozen Fire" from End of All Days is a song from point of view of cryogenically frozen man who is still conscious.
 * Atomic Hate: "Symbols of Our Fear" from Perfect Man.
 * Call Back: "Overture" on XIII uses same theme ("Opus 32 Nr. 3" by Sergej Prokofiew) as the intro of Secrets in a Weird World.
 * Career Killers: "Execution Guaranteed" from it's namesake album.
 * Chained by Fashion: Band's old logo.
 * Concept Album: Ghosts, based on death the afterlife, and Soundchaser, based on their mascot.
 * Corrupt Church: "Echoes of Evil" from Reign of Fear and "Sinister Thinking" from Perfect Man.
 * Cover Version: They have covered "Fast as a Shark", "The Trooper", "Jawbreaker", "Paranoid", "Paint it Black", "Tom Sawyer", "Yesterday", "Truth Hits Everybody" by The Police, "I Can't Control Myself" by The Troggs and "Beyond the Pale" by The Mission.
 * Dead Person Conversation: "Talk to Grandpa" from Secrets in a Weird World" and "Talking to the Dead" from End of All Days''.
 * Department of Redundancy Department: When they changed their name from Avenger, their first choice for a new name was Furious Rage.
 * Drinking Contest: "Bottlefield" from Extended Power, a remake of "Battlefield" from the first Avenger release.
 * Driven to Suicide: "Suicide" from Reign of Fear.
 * Epic Rocking: "Scaffold", "Execution Guaranteed", "Without a Trace", "Flowers That Fade in My Hand", "Enough is Enough", "Lost in the Ice", "No Sign of Life", "Blow in a Row", "In a Nameless Time", "Tomorrow's Yesterday", "Unity" and "Death is on It's Way (Falling from Grace Pt. 2)".
 * Evil Hand: "Hand of Glory" from Reign of Fear.
 * Filk Song: "She" from Secrets in a Weird World is based on Stephen King's Christine.
 * "The Pit and the Pendulum" from The Missing Link is based on short story by Edgar Allan Poe.
 * "Shadow Out of Time" from Black in Mind is based on short story by H.P. Lovecraft.
 * Flying Saucer: Handled in "Without a Trace", along with Atlantis and The Bermuda Triangle.
 * Good Name for A Rock Band: Both names are kinda self-explanatory.
 * Greatest Hits Album: They have two: The Best of the Noise Years (only released in Japan) and Best of Rage: All G.U.N. Years.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Andi Deris appears on backing vocals in Soundchaser.
 * In the Style Of: Lingua Mortis features symphonic compositions from Black in Mind.
 * Infomercial: "Supersonic Hydromatic" is a critique of these and consumerism.
 * Instrumentals: "Grapes of Wrath", "What's Up?", "Unity"
 * Intercourse with You: "Chaste Flesh" from Reign of Fear.
 * Limited Special Collectors' Ultimate Edition: Various albums have limited edition digipack releases. Limited edition of Black in Mind however, came with second disc which featured both Avenger releases. This is currently only appearance of those releases on CD.
 * Made of Explodium: "Ashes" from Extended Power, which is about spontaneous combustion.
 * Mascot: Soundchaser, a robotic creature.
 * Name's the Same: They dropped the name Avenger because there already was a NWOBHM band with that name.
 * Nightmare Dreams: "Reign of Fear" from it's namesake album.
 * Non-Appearing Title: Secrets in a Weird World. Some time later it appeared on Soundchaser.
 * The Nothing After Death: "Just Alone" from XIII.
 * Number of the Beast: Mentioned in "Beginning of the End", from Ghosts.
 * Old Shame: Their releases as Avenger, due to outrageous lyrics on some of the songs ("Battlefield" and "South Cross Union" being the worst offenders).
 * Power Trio: Currently.
 * Start My Own: Current guitarist Victor Smolski has released a couple of solo albums. So has their ex-drummer Mike Terrana.
 * Stern Chase: Execution Guaranteed's opening number "Down by Law" is about a man running away from law.
 * Title of the Dead: Speak of the Dead.
 * Title-Only Chorus: "Talk to Grandpa" from Secrets in Weird World.
 * Turned Against Their Masters: "Perfect Man" from it's namesake album. A plot point in Soundchaser.
 * Video Full of Film Clips: The video for "No Fear" uses clips from an underground movie Speak of the Dead.
 * Walking the Earth: "A Pilgrim's Path" from Perect Man.
 * What You Are in the Dark: "Animal Instinct" from Perfect Man.
 * The X of Y