Rage – Strings To A Web (2010)

This legendary German Heavy/Power Metal trio is back with yet another solid album. This band is currently celebrating their 25th year anniversary and what better way to do it with a super Heavy Metal release. Featuring Peter "Peavy" Wagner as the only founding member, the band has featured guitar virtuoso Victor Smolski since 1999 and recently (20070 added drummer Andre Hilgers. All of these musicians have heaps of experience in making solid music over the years.

The main appeal of a band such as Rage is the ability to write epic choruses and you can’t get any better than them for this task. Keeping a very traditional Heavy Metal sound this band can change the course of a song from just ‘good’ to plain epic with their perfectly crafted choruses. While some of them might sound a bit too soft, there is nothing soft about the overall power this band displays in “Strings To A Web”.

While some might argue that Rage is past their prime, we have to say that with “Strings To A Web” they sound as good as ever for us. Their music composition abilities are unparalleled and have been constantly improving with experience. Songs like “Empty Hollow” will show you the full epicness of the bands sound, but their ability to write catchy and powerful ballads (like “Through Ages”) gives them an edge of many Heavy Metal bands.

An interesting thing about this release is that there are some progressive elements here in there, particularly on the guitar work. We actually quite enjoyed this ‘fresh’ aspect to a Heavy Metal band, since Rage does not go full-on Progressive/Power Metal, but they maintain a nice distance in their Heavy Metal music.

Singer “Peavy” is a good as always providing a very diverse performance changing from ballad mode into full-on Heavy Metal singing seamlessly and effortless. Some of the keyboards sound a bit too Queen for us, but they are present only when needed and provide a good atmosphere to the sections they are used on. The drumming is top notch and keeps the pace of the music steady, no complaints in this department.

In general, “Strings To A Web” is a very solid release that will surely entertain legions of Heavy Metal fans. The band is still knocking strong and doing what they do best. As an extra incentive to buy, the American version of this release contains an extra DVD with live footage from the band’s Wacken 2009 performance with special guests.

Release: June 22nd, 2010 (USA)

Country: Germany