Rage (band)
Encyclopedia
Rage are a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 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
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...

, Running Wild
Running Wild (band)
Running Wild is a German heavy metal band, formed in 1976 in Hamburg. They were part of the German heavy/speed/power metal scene to emerge in the early to mid 1980s. The band has carved its niche in the metal world as the first "pirate metal" band, a theme which took off with the release of Under...

 and Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in the mid-1980s in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres...

.

Background

Rage formed in 1984 under the name, Avenger. After releasing their debut album Prayers of Steel
Prayers of Steel
Prayers of Steel is the name of the only full-length album released by the German heavy metal band Avenger in 1985, before they changed their name to Rage. The only other release that followed under the name Avenger was the EP Depraved to Black...

and their Depraved to Black
Depraved to Black
Depraved to Black is an EP released by German heavy metal band Avenger in 1985.-Track listing:#"Down to the Bone" - 4:37#"Depraved to Black" - 5:01#"Prayers of Steel" - 4:56#"Faster Than Hell" - 2:47-Credits:...

EP in 1985, the band changed their name to Rage because there was another band in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 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
Reign of Fear
Reign of Fear is the debut full-length album by the German heavy metal band Rage. It was released in 1986. The album was remastered by Noise/Sanctuary in 2002 with slightly altered cover art, and five bonus tracks.-Track listing:...

in 1986.

Rage's albums came out in regular, continuous intervals, and the band began touring with Running Wild
Running Wild (band)
Running Wild is a German heavy metal band, formed in 1976 in Hamburg. They were part of the German heavy/speed/power metal scene to emerge in the early to mid 1980s. The band has carved its niche in the metal world as the first "pirate metal" band, a theme which took off with the release of Under...

, U.D.O.
U.D.O.
U.D.O. is a German heavy metal band founded by lead singer Udo Dirkschneider in 1987.-1987–1992:After Udo Dirkschneider left Accept in 1987, a large fan community followed him to U.D.O....

, Motörhead and Saxon
Saxon (band)
Saxon are an English heavy metal band, formed in 1976 in Barnsley, Yorkshire. As front-runners of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, they had 8 UK Top 40 albums in the 1980s including 4 UK Top 10 albums. Saxon also had numerous singles in the Top 20 singles chart...

 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
The Missing Link (Rage Album)
The Missing Link is the seventh full-length album released by the heavy metal band Rage in 1993. The album was remastered by Noise/Sanctuary in 2002 with five bonus tracks...

. 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
Kufstein
Kufstein is a city in Tyrol, Austria, located along the river Inn, in the lower Inn valley, near the border with Bavaria, Germany, and is the site of a post World War II French sector United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration Displaced Persons camp.Kufstein is the second largest city...

, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. 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
Peavy Wagner
Peter "Peavy" Wagner is a German heavy metal musician. He is best known for being singer and bassist of the band Rage.- Biography :...

, Victor Smolski
Victor Smolski
Victor Dmitrievich Smolski is a Belarusian musician, composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is a constant member of the German heavy metal band Rage.-Biography:...

 and Mike Terrana
Mike Terrana
Mike Terrana is an American hard rock and heavy metal drummer. His first professional work was in 1984 with the MCA band Hanover Fist from Toronto, after which he recorded and toured with other bands, playing many styles of music in Western New York state...

.

The trio performed at Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...

 in August 1999, revealing their newest album Welcome to the Other Side. The following releases Unity and Soundchaser
Soundchaser
Soundchaser is the sixteenth studio album by the German heavy metal band Rage, released in 2003 by SPV/Steamhammer.This is a concept album featuring a science fiction/horror story about the Soundchaser, Rage's mascot...

were met with enthusiastic response from critics and fans alike. Rage toured with Primal Fear
Primal Fear (band)
Primal Fear is a German power metal and speed metal band formed in 1997 by Ralf Scheepers and Mat Sinner . Sinner & Scheepers formed the band after Ralf was not hired as Rob Halford's replacement in Judas Priest...

 in 2002 and Helloween
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...

 in 2003.

Rage recently celebrated their 25th anniversary
Anniversary
An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...

 with the release of the EP "Gib Dich Nie Auf / Never Give Up".

In 2006, Terrana left Rage voluntarily after a disagreement. On 1 January 2007, it was announced that their new drummer would be André Hilgers, formerly the drummer of Axxis
Axxis
Axxis is a German power metal band that was founded in 1988. Their debut album, "Kingdom of the Night", became the best-selling debut album ever by a hard rock band in Germany in 1989.-Biography:...

.

In 2007, the band toured in Europe with a show featuring one symphonic orchestra from Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...

, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

 under the name "Lingua Mortis Orchestra", and the concert in that August at Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...

 at 80,000 fans was recorded for a DVD to be included as bonus to their new album called Carved in Stone
Carved in Stone (Rage album)
Carved in Stone is the 18th studio album by the German heavy metal band Rage. The album includes a bonus DVD with their full show at Wacken Open Air in August 2007 plus the videos for the songs "Lord of the Flies" and "Open My Grave".- Track listing :All...

, which was released on 22 February 2008.

The band played at Bundesvision Song Contest
Bundesvision Song Contest
The Bundesvision Song Contest is an annual competition created by German TV entertainer Stefan Raab in 2005. For each of the 16 states of Germany a song is chosen by regional radio stations. The songs are performed on live television in order to find the most popular song in the competition...

 2009 (BUVISOCO) on 13 February 2009, the Festival was hosted by Stefan Raab
Stefan Raab
Stefan Konrad Raab is a German entertainer, television host, comedian and musician. Raab began his television career hosting the comedy show Vivasion in 1993 and has been hosting the late-night comedy show TV total since 1999. He became well-known in 1994 after composing a hit single spoofing...

 (TV Total
TV total
TV total is a German late-night television comedy talk show that has run since 8 March 1999 on ProSieben, and is currently aired at around 23:15 from Monday to Thursday....

). Rage became more famous through their participation in the show, as well as by being placed third.

Rage entered the studio in October 2011 to begin recording their next album for an early 2012 release.

Current members

  • Peter "Peavy" Wagner
    Peavy Wagner
    Peter "Peavy" Wagner is a German heavy metal musician. He is best known for being singer and bassist of the band Rage.- Biography :...

     – vocals
    Singing
    Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

    , bass
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

     (1984–present)
  • Victor Smolski
    Victor Smolski
    Victor Dmitrievich Smolski is a Belarusian musician, composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is a constant member of the German heavy metal band Rage.-Biography:...

     – guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

     (1999–present)
  • André Hilgers – drums
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

     (2007–present)

Former members

  • Alf Meyerratken – guitar (1985)
  • Thomas Grüning – guitar (1985–1986)
  • Jochen Schröder – guitar (1985–1987)
  • Jörg Michael
    Jörg Michael
    Jörg Michael is a German drummer. He is well-known for his time in the Finnish power metal band Stratovarius and several other bands....

     – drums (1985–1987)
  • Rudi Graf – guitar (1987)
  • Manni Schmidt
    Manni Schmidt
    Manfred "Manni" Schmidt is a heavy metal guitarist and songwriter, best-known for having been a member of Grave Digger and Rage.-History:...

     – 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
    Mike Terrana
    Mike Terrana is an American hard rock and heavy metal drummer. His first professional work was in 1984 with the MCA band Hanover Fist from Toronto, after which he recorded and toured with other bands, playing many styles of music in Western New York state...

     – drums (1999–2006)

Albums as Rage

  • Reign of Fear
    Reign of Fear
    Reign of Fear is the debut full-length album by the German heavy metal band Rage. It was released in 1986. The album was remastered by Noise/Sanctuary in 2002 with slightly altered cover art, and five bonus tracks.-Track listing:...

    (1986)
  • Execution Guaranteed
    Execution Guaranteed
    Execution Guaranteed is the second full-length album released by the heavy metal band Rage in 1987. The album was remastered by Noise/Sanctuary in 2002 with slightly altered cover art, and six bonus tracks...

    (1987)
  • Perfect Man
    Perfect Man (Rage album)
    Perfect Man is the third full-length album released by the heavy metal band Rage in 1988. The album was remastered by Noise/Sanctuary in 2002 with slightly altered cover art, and five bonus tracks.-Track listing:...

    (1988)
  • Secrets in a Weird World
    Secrets in a Weird World
    Secrets in a Weird World is the fourth full-length album by the German heavy metal band Rage. It was released in 1989. The album was remastered by Noise/Sanctuary in 2002 with slightly altered cover art, and five bonus tracks.-Track listing:...

    (1989)
  • Reflections of a Shadow
    Reflections of a Shadow
    Reflections of a Shadow is the fifth full-length album by the German heavy metal band Rage. It was released in 1990. The album was remastered by Noise/Sanctuary in 2002 with slightly altered cover art, and five bonus tracks, largely taken from the EP Extended Power.-Track listing:# "Introduction " ...

    (1990)
  • Trapped! (1992)
  • The Missing Link
    The Missing Link (Rage Album)
    The Missing Link is the seventh full-length album released by the heavy metal band Rage in 1993. The album was remastered by Noise/Sanctuary in 2002 with five bonus tracks...

    (1993)
  • 10 Years in Rage
    10 Years in Rage
    10 Years in Rage is the eighth full-length album released by the German speed metal band Rage in 1994. It contains new material and previously unreleased tracks from the band's long career, as well the re-recording of "Prayers of Steel", from Avenger's first album and a medley of Rage's fan...

    (1994)
  • Black in Mind
    Black in Mind
    Black in Mind is the ninth studio album by the German heavy metal band Rage.-Track listing:# "Black in Mind" - 4:08# "The Crawling Chaos" - 4:46...

    (1995)
  • Lingua Mortis (1996)
  • End of All Days
    End of All Days
    End of All Days is the twelfth studio album by the German heavy metal band Rage.-Track listing:# "Under Control" - 4:07# "Higher Than the Sky" - 4:17...

    (1996)
  • XIII (1998)
  • Ghosts (1999)
  • Welcome to the Other Side (2001)
  • Unity (2002)
  • Soundchaser
    Soundchaser
    Soundchaser is the sixteenth studio album by the German heavy metal band Rage, released in 2003 by SPV/Steamhammer.This is a concept album featuring a science fiction/horror story about the Soundchaser, Rage's mascot...

    (2003)
  • Speak of the Dead
    Speak of the Dead
    Speak of the Dead is the seventeenth studio album by the German heavy metal band Rage, released in 2006 by Nuclear Blast. The album contains a mix of different heavy metal music genres, ranging from symphonic and progressive to fast and brutal thrash metal...

    (2006)
  • Carved in Stone
    Carved in Stone (Rage album)
    Carved in Stone is the 18th studio album by the German heavy metal band Rage. The album includes a bonus DVD with their full show at Wacken Open Air in August 2007 plus the videos for the songs "Lord of the Flies" and "Open My Grave".- Track listing :All...

    (2008)
  • Strings to a Web
    Strings To A Web
    Strings to a Web is the 19th studio album by the German heavy metal band Rage, released in Europe on February 5 2009 through Nuclear Blast Records...

    (2010)

EPs

  • Extended Power
    Extended Power
    Extended Power is an EP by the German heavy metal band Rage, released in 1991. It contains a new song, leftovers of the writing sessions for previous albums and the remake of the song "Battlefield" from the first Avenger album Prayers of Steel....

    (1991)
  • Beyond the Wall (1992)
  • Refuge (Japan
    Japan
    Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

    ) (1993)
  • Higher than the Sky (Japan
    Japan
    Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

    ) (1996)
  • Live from the Vault (Japan
    Japan
    Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

    ) (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)

External links

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