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RAGE
Afterlifelines

Steamhammer (2024)
Rating: 8.5/10

So impressed was I by the last Rage full-length, Resurrection Day (2021), I almost held a house party for one in honour of the potent longevity of this German clan that’s been rattling off supreme metal since 1986. No real shock then that with studio album number 25 Rage delivers another monstrous truck load of flaming steel.

Rage shares a unique quality with the likes of Accept, Judas Priest and previously Motörhead in that you pretty much know what is coming and yet once it hits you cannot resist the power. Peter “Peavey” Wagner and company just go for the throat like a metallic jaguar taking down prey as scorching riffs and solos combine with heated percussion and stormy bass lines, the result being a metallic concept cauldron of fury that runs for almost 90 minutes!

The record is basically split into two halves, the first being Afterlife and the second Lifelines, both of which boast that classic Rage sound that merges power metal with speedier blasts. There is little room for subtlety here as Rage relentlessly batter the listener, and yes, at first, Afterlifelines is overwhelming and I really had to separate each track, breaking them down individually as searing solos marry with pounding drums and surging riffs. However, this album is an incredible construction to mark the 40th anniversary of what is still very much an underrated act.

Of the multitude of songs most, as expected, are ferociously heavy give or take tracks like ‘Justice Will Be Mine’ which is one of the weakest cuts on offer with its contemporary power metal ethos. ‘Root Of Our Evil’ is another track that is less favourable due to its symphonic elements, but I can forgive such occasional blips due to the tides of fierce excursions such as the excellent ‘Mortal’, the riff heavy ‘Life Among The Ruins’, the exuberant ‘Cold Desire’ with its potent chorus, and the forceful ‘End Of Illusions’. Several songs are lengthy too, one of the best being ballad ‘Dying To Live’. Another example of variation comes with the folky ‘In The End’ which rounds this gargantuan opus off.

There is so much ambition here, just testament to the band’s longevity and continued commitment to creation. Just spin the track ‘Lifelines’, that showcases the talents of Peavey (vocals and bass), Jean Bormann (guitar) and Vassilios “Lucky” Maniatopoulos (drums), to understand the extraordinary nature of this band. Afterlifelines is a double concept album that demands you pay attention even with its fiery assaults. Rage demands respect and you would be a fool not to give it.

Neil Arnold

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