Band:
"Peavy" Wagner - vocals, bass
Victor Smolski - guitars
André Hilgers - drums
Discography:
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)
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)
Full Moon in St Petersburg (2007)
Guests
Thomas Hackmann (V)
Jen Majura (V)
Info
Producerad av Rage & Charly Czajkowski
Mixad av Charlie Bauerfield
Links:
rage-on.de
myspace
nuclearblast
Rage of today can be said to be a great blend of the bands long history that dates back to 1985 when the first album was released, then under the name of Avenger, the name change came in 1986. One man has been around for the entire time, Peter ”Peavy” Wagner who despite the name has no connection to the well-known composer with the same surname. Rage has been through several phases during the long career like the first speedy Phase, the Heavy one during the early 90s, the symphonic, the Rage of today mixes this periods or phases together perfectly.
Carved in Stone is so far the best mix of these phases and results in a varied album that is if not the best, then one of the best albums by Rage to date. Sure there are Trapped, Soundchaser or The Missing Ling, Unity or Ghost and then some, but they seem quite one dimensional in comparison with Carved in Stone. They seem one dimensional because they are very genre specific to the phase in which the band was at the given time. Carved in stone has many dimensions and songs to back it up.
Everything Rage has been doing to this date is falling into place here on Carved in Stone, the melodies are there, the raw power is there and the skills and the vocals, everything is there for you to hear. Well, it is hard not to give away millions of superlatives when listening to this album.
In this album we are also given the privilege to hear ”Peavy’s” rage or hatred towards mankind, how the hope for humanity is dead in our own unintelligence. This is really something to treasure, we all know that it is that way, that man is done for and is getting just dumber for every year that passes and that we get to know in the lyrics of this album.
Already from the opening heavy yet melodic title track you are sold even though you may think they cannot improve from that, but it just goes on and on and on all the way to the end, Lord of the Flies is a really skilled and beautifully arranged melodic song that makes the perfect ending for this record.
You remain interested from the first to the final tone and you never get the chance to relax or allow songs to sail out into the borderland between your conscious and unconscious mind which is a rather common occurrence when you industrially listen to and review albums. That may be a frustrating experience many times but not so here, or in the beginning of this year, I mean take the amazing albums from Ayreon, Avantasia and now Rage it promises real greatness for the continuation of 2008. Still there is the question of how this will be topped, but with one or two more albums this year of this caliber and 2008 is a year to remember when it comes to great music.
Another annoying thing with industrially listening to loads of albums is the long ones that demand so much more time, this is something Rage doesn’t bother with. Carved in Stone clocks in for less than 50 minutes which on most parts is a perfect length and you rather feel the want for more rather than the opposite. It is always something good when you feel you want to hear more, then it is a successful album, the ones you keep waiting for to end is way to many now since the CD was introduced. Albums are always best kept well below the hour, somewhere between 40 and 50 minutes is the ultimate which is where Rage has settled when it comes to running time.
So superlative following superlative, I think you get the point, so why are you still sitting around here and reading this, you already know what it is and how good it is, now why are you still reading? Run down to the record store and buy you sample today.
For metalhead and popper alike, this is not just an excellent record to own, no record collection is complete without Carved in Stone.