Rage - 21 |
Published February 29 2012
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House Wins |
| Genre | Heavy Metal |
Peter "Peavy" Wagner
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Vocals
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| Tracks | 11 |
Victor Smolski
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Guitar
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| Running time | 58 Min. |
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Guitar
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| Label | Nuclear Blast |
Peter "Peavy" Wagner
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Bass
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| Release | 24 February 2012 |
André Hilgers
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Drums
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| Country | Germany |
Victor Smolski
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Keyboard
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| Producer | Charlie Bauerfeind/Victor Smolski | ||
| Similar artists | --- | ||
After yet another return to Lingua Mortis on parts of the last album Strings To A Web, Rage is now back full force to their traditional heavy metal with thrash and progressive elements again. A music style which have been their choice ever since guitar virtuoso Victor Smolski joined the ranks over a decade ago. With twenty albums in their catalogue they have now created another chapter with a not so inventive title, I must say. An album co-produced by perfectionist Charlie Bauerfeind suits above mentioned guitarist well, as almost nothing slips through their hands and ears.
Many songs on 21 are written in a way suitable for brilliant guitar play. Main man Peavy Wagner now works mainly as a co-writer, as Mr. Smolski is credited for most of the songs and it's just a bliss listening to the blistering guitar. When listening to the album for the very first time, I felt like this was going to be an album just like anyone, but the more I listen to it, the better it gets. It's not particularly complex though which usually is the reason for this matter, and most of it sounds somewhat similar to the last five albums.
A pair of songs sticks out. Forever Dead; a pretty speedy song with semi-growling Peavy-wise, a catchy chorus and a fantastic solo. Destiny; a track that describes Rage's music in one word. If I would play a song to somebody who never heard this band before, this is what I would play to get their attention. We of course also gets heavier songs and songs with darker lyrics and this is one hundred percent Rage in every single song.
This is indeed a great album and I'm still surprised that Rage haven't been able to gain more fans through the years, as they deliver on almost every single release. Some bands aren't destined to break through big time, I guess. In a perfect world, they totally would.
See
also review of: Seasons
Of The Black , Carved
In Stone , Speak
Of The Dead , Soundchaser
, Unity , From
The Cradle To The Grave
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Performance
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Originality
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Production
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Vocals
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Songwriting
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9 |
7 |
8 |
6 |
8 |
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Summary
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8 chalices of 10 - Tobbe |
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Related links: www.rage-on.de |
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