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REFUGE
Solitary Men

Frontiers (2018)
Rating: 7.5/10

Featuring the original line-up of veteran German metallers Rage, Solitary Men is the debut release from Refuge. Peavy Wagner (vocals and bass), Manni Schmidt (guitar) and Chris Efthimiadis (drums) will certainly be familiar names if you were a fan of Rage from 1988 to 1993, and so this 12-track piece of work was a much anticipated release – even if it has come four years after the band’s birth in 2014.

Of the cuts on offer, two are reworkings of Rage numbers, those being ‘Waterfalls’ and ‘Another Kind Of Madness’ which are injected with extra vim, but for me the major talking points should be the new material.

‘Summer’s Winter’ opens up the record and it’s an absolutely killer cut; from the frantic drumming to the dark, melodic yet galloping guitars and bass, Peavy and company remind us just why early Rage were so infectious and yet criminally underrated. This track brings together a very melodious sprint fused with a thrashy-cum-power metal barrage; ‘Summer’s Winter’ is good stuff with a catchy-as-hell chorus, and it’s a track that pretty much sums up the rest of the album.

‘The Man In The Ivory Tower’ begins with a flailing lead and a brooding chug; Peavy’s vocal has an almost cracked yet powerful style before the onslaught of the potent chorus. And yes, it is better than what modern Rage has offered, the members clearly displaying their chemistry and yet taking the original Rage sound further instead of aping the past.

‘From The Ashes’ features a devilish riff and thudding drum before embarking on a sudden Teutonic bolt. The track also offers some of Peavy’s angriest vocals, and yet Refuge bring so much mood in spite of the opus offering a rather polished production. In a sense though, the production showcases the individual instruments.

‘Mind Over Matter’ is probably the heaviest track on the opus; a menacing rattle unfolds with this one, but again the killer melody can only be admired as Peavy barks “This is a challenge I’ve never faced before” to a sturdy drum backbone. All the ingredients are there throughout, that rumbling guitar sound cavorting with thrash tendencies and a bass and percussion tag team that creates enormous claps of thunder, all as ‘We Owe A Life To Death’ comes with threatening aplomb on another fizzing riff and that pulverising drum nod.

This time around Peavy’s vocal becomes more of a snarl until that hooky chorus kicks in, and in a sense it’s almost typically German by design – clean and clinical with its execution as those thrash streaks are woven into those power metal gallops. All Refuge has done is create a classic Rage-styled assault; it’s nothing overtly fancy but always heavy and drenched in that dark, thrashy cloak, especially with a track such as ‘Bleeding From Inside’.

Naturally this will appeal to Rage fans, but hopefully will also attract the attention of a new audience too. The formula throughout is clear and consistent and enables this to become a solid and meaty debut.

Neil Arnold

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