The three-piece band
Rage is back! With Soundchaser the band continues the style from the excellent Unity and perfects it here. This is some of the best Heavy Metal I have heard in a very long time. I remember thinking the same when I first listened to Masterplan's fantastic debut earlier this year, and this is the same exciting sensation, that I'm listening to something really special. The music has a fantastic feel to it. It feels fresh and inspired and also both fun and serious at the same time. Basically it is just hugely enjoyable.
Victor Smolski smokes on the guitar through the whole album. His playing is very inventive and sometimes he gives me visions of Mattias "IA" Eklundh from
Freak Kitchen. Not that I'm comparing the two, I just mean that they are both completely genius and surprising in their playing. You won't find a boring solo on this album, just unique and mindblowing guitar playing from start to end.
Peavy Wagner handles both bass and vocals in a superior way. While listening to the album more times than I can count his vocals develop like a fine wine. After so many listens they suddenly take on an emotional edge that I didn't notice before. Much like the hard vocals of Jon Oliva (Savatage) they have a sincere softness to them when you listen closely. A very pleasant surprise.
The human drum machine beast, Mike Terrana is a master at work. He is consistent and puts on an incredible amount of power and groove into the songs while adding lots of detail to the sound.
It feels like each of these three musicians have a huge amount of self-confidence as they each put their own distinct mark on the album, and combined this works out in a fantastic way without becoming self-indulgent at any time. They work together and utilize each other is the most excellent way. A powerful wall of sound combined with a unique sense of melody and memorable songs will blow you away and make you play the album over and over. The production is clear and powerful just as it should be. The band is extremely tight and the music has a fantastic drive that puts them several levels above most other bands playing a similar style.
This is a concept album about the "beast" on the cover, the Soundchaser. I won't go into the concept as I only have the promotion CD and no lyrics. Though, I find the synopsis in the promo cover a little far out. Hopefully it is explained better in the actual booklet. Well, this is about the music, so here we go...
Starting of with the short intro
Orgy of Destruction (This album is more like an Orgy of Metal), it isn't long before
War of worlds opens the ball with the one word that pretty much describes the entire album; No, I'm not giving that away! This is one song I'm hoping to hear live one day. It has a ton of energy, a catchy chorus and an impressive guitar solo reminding me again of the improvisational playing of a certain
Freak Kitchen guitarist. What a completely brilliant start to the album!
With
Great old ones things get even better. This is one track that has stuck in my mind since I first heard it. Again a very catchy sing-a-long chorus and the way Smolski handles the guitar in this part is superb and very fitting. A great intense middle part followed by another impressive guitar solo is the icing on the cake.
The title track slows the tempo down a little, but only a little. It is a heavy beast where Peavy exploits his voice in a great way. During the chorus keyboard is used to give the song a great atmosphere and also to add an extra bit of melody. Another highlight.
The album continues to weave its magic through tracks such as the high velocity
Defenders of the ancient life, the atmospheric and heavy
Flesh and blood which is ruled by some fantastic guitarwork, and the melodic, straight ahead and in your face
See you in heaven or hell.
Secrets in a weird world adds another element to the record with its heavy use of piano. This is done in a great way, especially during the chorus and it helps lift the music to a higher ground.
The metal onslaught continues with
Human Metal, which has a hard and driving chorus that took a few listens to get really under my skin. But now it's another favorite. Mike Terrana's drumming is really excellent here.
My personal highlight of
Wake the nightmares is definitely the very melodic guitar solo. Containing both slow acoustic moments as well as heavy powerful passages, this is a very diverse and interesting song. It continues seamlessly into
Death is on its way which opens with a classic riff. What an astounding amount of power that riff has. Classic is also a word that defines this song. It is huge, epic and a chilling conclusion to a masterful album. After an atmospheric and emotional passage with acoustic guitar the song slowly builds tension through increasingly dramatic and vituoso guitar playing, intense and emotional singing and one outstanding melodic passage after another. When the opening riff finally kicks in again in the ending part of the song, the release is one of almost orgasmic proportions. Yes, this is good!
And so ends this magnificent piece of Heavy Metal.
Rage have succeeded in marrying melody, heaviness, power, speed and emotion in a perfect union. The songs flow together like a river of molten metal, taking you far away to some distant place where
Rage must indeed be the rulers of all that is good and true.
Ok, I'll try to calm down now...
Soundchaser has a very special charm that has made me fall completely in love with it. Don't miss what is bound to be one of this years best releases.
Written by
Steen Friday, October 3, 2003
Show all reviews by SteenRatingsSteen: 9/10Members: 8/10 - Average of 1 ratings.
Member ratings
 | Tommy
Rating: 8/10
This one hits like a forceful hammer, an extremely powerful record and also one of Rage's ... · Read more · |
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