Unity
Unity. Like few other bands in this world, Rage are living proof that the cold war between the superpowers is truly over. On a musical as well as on an individual level, Rage unite three musicians that hail from three different world powers and cultural backgrounds (one of them stemming from Europe, one from Russia and one from America). On their current album, these three accomplished instrumentalists combine their long-term experience, producing impressive first-rate metal fireworks. The band return to the limelight as a tight unit on their current studio production, due out on May 13, 2002. And what is more: Unity is an impressive document of the high technical level that Peavy Wagner (vocals, bass), Victor Smolski (guitars, keyboards) and Mike Terrana (drums) have achieved, while embedding their virtuoso instrumental abilities cleverly into a homogeneous corset of songs. Rage combine exceptional solo qualities with straightforward metal arrangements that seamlessly continue the group's long tradition, sounding new and forward-looking at the same time. A track like the classically oriented ‘Dies Irae' would also have suited their Lingua Mortis phase, while compositions like ‘Seven Deadly Sins' or ‘Insanity' continue in the tradition of Missing Link or Trapped without ever copying the band's own past. In Unity, Peavy, Victor & Mike have delivered a fast and typical Rage album that still has a lot of surprises and musical highlights in store. "Compared to Welcome To The Other Side, Unity has turned out a little harder," Peavy points out. "Yet the vocals with their catchy melodies are still at the centre of our tracks. After all, this combination has always been one of the most important trademarks of our music."