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RAGE Release 23rd Studio Album ‘Seasons Of The Black’
July 28th, 2017

Bochum, Germany-based metal band Rage issued 23rd full-length studio album Seasons Of The Black on July 28th, 2017 through Nuclear Blast Records.

“Our fans are getting Rage metal of the very first grade,” says frontman Peter “Peavy” Wagner. “We’ve been able to bring the band’s typical trademarks into 11 new songs, and we’re sticking to the course that we forged on the last album! This means hard and very catchy compositions that also sound thrash, aggressive and epic.”

Since the reorientation of 2015, the three band members have now fully adapted to each other and the lost harmony has been fully restored. “We are even better matched with each other,” reckons the frontman. “We offer new ideas to each other like we’ve never done something else before! It also happened that we created a whole new song within just two hours from start to finish, from scratch! Regarding the production we were also able to prevent some complications, which had been an element of the last album due to a lack of experience. This time, everything worked perfectly.”

Guitarist Marcos Rodriguez and drummer Vassilios “Lucky” Maniatopoulos have been long-time Rage fans from the very beginning. Their input also leaves its mark on their second album. “Marcos and Lucky well know the “classic” style-creating spirit of Rage so to speak, and on a personal level we all really like each other as well,” adds the vocalist. “This contributed to the possibility of continuing to develop and expanding the band’s spirit.”

The stylistic connection between the last album The Devil Strikes Again and Seasons Of The Black is also visually reflected in the artwork, once again created by graphic artist Karim König. “We developed the idea together,” confirms Peavy. “In this way we want to show that both albums belong together in their own way. I modelled the sonically inspired sculpture that dominates the cover on my own. As a basis, I used a very rare skull from my collection, which I poured myself and then re-modelled. Karim created the gloomy landscape with the Golgotha ​​Hill.”

The title song ‘Seasons Of The Black’ is the opener of the 11 track-album. “The song is very personal, it is about a failed life-long dream,” reveals the frontman. “Imagine being stamped to the ground and looking at the broken pieces of your existence. This sadly is a destiny that many people have to share. Most of the songs on the album include a very gloomy view of the world, so we thought Seasons Of The Black would be suitable for the entire album.”

Seasons Of The Black was recorded in February and March 2017 at Megafon Studios in Burscheid, Germany and at Soundchaser Studios in Zandhoven, Belgium. Production was handled by Rage, while Dan Swanö took care of mixing and mastering at Unisound Studios in Grefrath, Germany.

Cover artwork duties fell to Karim König.

The track listing is as follows:

01. ‘Season Of The Black’
02. ‘Serpents In Disguise’
03. ‘Blackened Karma’
04. ‘Time Will Tell’
05. ‘Septic Bite’
06. ‘Walk Among The Dead’
07. ‘All We Know Is Not’
08. ‘The Tragedy Of Man – Gaia’
09. ‘The Tragedy Of Man – Justify’
10. ‘The Tragedy Of Man – Bloodshed In Paradise’
11. ‘The Tragedy Of Man – Farewell’

Avenger Revisited (Digipak Bonus CD)

01. ‘Adoration’
02. ‘Southcross Union’
03. ‘Assorted By Satan’
04. ‘Faster Than Hell’
05. ‘Sword Made Of Steel’
06. ‘Down To The Bone’

The bonus tracks originate from the time when Rage were known as Avenger. “It was really nice to re-record the songs from my first years of being a musician!” comments Peavy. “I remember quite well how the songs were created. I always thought that it’s a pity that most of the people don’t know these songs, just because they were released with another band name. For me it was always clear that these songs are kind of timeless and when we played them together it was really awesome! Back then, we couldn’t realise our ideas as good as today. When you listen to the new recordings you will recognise how fantastic these songs really are!”

Rage’s line-up is as follows:

Peter “Peavy” Wagner (lead vocals and bass)
Marcos Rodriguez (guitar and backing vocals)
Vassilios “Lucky” Maniatopoulos (drums and backing vocals)

Music videos were filmed for the title track and the song ‘Blackened Karma’. Both clips can be viewed below.

Twenty-second studio record The Devil Strikes Again was released in June 2016 via Nuclear Blast Records.

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