Rage formed in 1984 under the name, Avenger. After releasing their debut album Prayers of Steel and their Depraved to Black EP in 1985, the band changed their name to Rage because there was another band in England that also carried the moniker. Originally the new name was to be Furious Rage but it was eventually shortened to Rage. The first album released under the new name was Reign of Fear in 1986.
Rage's albums came out in regular, continuous intervals, and the band began touring with the likes of Running Wild, U.D.O., Motörhead and Saxon in the early 1990s. Their 1992 album Trapped marked their international breakthrough, a short highlight being Rage's tour in Japan. Their success was repeated again in 1993 with the release of The Missing Link. After change in their lineup, Rage went on to record Lingua Mortis, the first classical album by a German metal act, in 1996. Their material was performed live for the first time in late summer 1996 in Kufstein, Austria. Subsequently, Rage, and the orchestra used, embarked on a celebrated Christmas tour and played several European festivals.
Their thirteenth album XIII saw the light of day in March 1998. The next album Ghosts was followed by a major line-up change, featuring Peavy Wagner, Victor Smolski and Mike Terrana. The trio performed at Wacken Open Air in August 1999, revealing their newest album Welcome to the Other Side. The following releases Unity and Soundchaser were met with enthusiastic response from critics and fans alike. Rage toured with Primal Fear in 2002 and Helloween in 2003 and proved to be successful outings. Rage recently celebrated their 20th anniversary with both a live CD and DVD entitled From the Cradle to the Stage, documenting new and old material and showing their strongest material.
On December 6, 2006 the split with drummer Mike Terrana was officially announced, due to personal and musical differences. On January 1, 2007 it was announced that their new drummer would be André Hilgers. In 2007 the band toured in Europe with a show featuring one symphonic orchestra from Minsk, Belarus under the name "Lingua Mortis Orchestra", and the concert in that August at Wacken Open Air at 100,000 fans was recorded for a DVD to be included as bonus to their New Album called Carved in Stone and released on February 22, 2008.
The band will play at Bundesvision Song Contest 2009 (BUVISOCO) on 13 February 2009, the Festival is hosted by Stefan Raab (TV Total).
Members:
Peter "Peavy" Wagner (Vocals, Bass) (1983-Present)
Victor Smolski (Guitars, Keyboards) (1999-Present)
Andre Hilgers (Drums) (2007-Present)
Former Members:
Guitarists:
Alex Meyerratken (Guitars) (1983-1985)
Thomas Grüning (Guitars) (1985-1986)
Rufy Graf (Guitars) (1986-1987)
Jochen Schröder (Guitars) (1983-1987)
Manni Schmidt (Guitars) (1987-1993)
Spiros Efthimiadis (Guitars) (1993-1999)
Sven Fischer (Guitars) (1993-1999)
Drummers:
Jörg Michael (Drums) (1983-1987)
Chris(tos) Efthimiadis (Drums) (1987-1999)
Mike Terrana (Drums) (1999-2006)
Keyboarders
Christian Wolff (Keyboards) (1995-1999) (Unofficial 5th Bandmember)
Discography:
Prayers of Steel (1985) (Als Avanger)
Reign of Fear (1986)
Execution Guaranteed (1987)
Perfect Man (1988)
Secrets in a Weird World (1989)
Reflections of a Shadow (1990)
Trapped! (1992)
Refuge (1993)
X-Years in Rage (1994) (Neuaufnahmen von unferöffentlichten Songs)
Black in Mind (1995)
Lingua Mortis (1996) (with Symphonic Orchester Praque)
End of All Days (1996)
XIII (1998) (with Lingua Mortis Orchestra)
Ghosts (1999) (With Lingua Mortis Orchestra)
Welcome to the Other Side (2001)
Unity (2002)
Soundchaser (2003)
Speak of the Dead (2006) (with Belarus Symphonic Orchestra)
Carved in Stone (2008)
This Forum needs a Rage Thread. My favourite Band that got me really into Metal!
"Paint the Devil on the Wall" a close second.
the trick worked with Kai Hansen the first few times but not this time.
