Cheerz Rageheads!

Let me report from our studio, where we're intensively working at our new album "Carved In Stone" since considerable time. We've again barricaded ourself in the VPS studio together with our long-time soundengineer Charly Czajkowski, who will record our effusions for eternity. Later, our well tried sound mixer Charlie Bauerfeind will screw the whole stuff together. I can promise you, that this time, we'll come to the point directly, no experiments, only cool melodies and riffs, straight on the kisser. The recordings have started already, and the material for the most parts is ripe for decision, so I will tell you some words to the first 5 songs:

Carved In Stone

Music: Victor Smolski
Lyrics: Peavy Wagner

The titlesong starts with an hymnic intro, that will open our shows surely in the next time with this chorusmelodie, that refuses to leave your ear-windings. The song itself explodes after this to an uptempo triolic-groove, where Andre can heat up his fast feet on the double bassdrum.

The lyrics talk about all these politicians in their ivory towers, that waste all these young soldiers in their wars for money and power.

Drop Dead

Music: Victor Smolski
Lyrics: Peavy Wagner

Then, Drop Dead goes fast in the second lap. What a skullcrusher riff, that Victor has extracted from his braincells here, like in the first song. Memories to old Missing link times come up in me, this one goes right to the point, but never sounds dusty indeed.

In the words I sing about some (frustrated) thoughts of mine, about the momentary condition of mankind, please don't nail me on every single word.

Gentle Murders

Music: Victor Smolski
Lyrics: Peavy Wagner

Gentle Murders starts with a furious guitarintro, before we join in full speed. This song from Victor has lots of amazing grooves, riffs and harmonies. In the middle part its time to mosh intensivly.

The words talk about the circumstand, that you can do whatever you want if your only rich and powerful enough, like practised in most of the "legal-systems" in the world.

One Step Ahead

Music: Victor Smolski
Lyrics: Peavy Wagner

One Step Ahead is a fully fat midtempo groover with fantastic melodies, also composed by Victor. A neckbreaking riff leads into a dynamic verse, just to stomp everything down in the bridge and chorus.

The lyrics invite you to get rid of the "crooks" from religion to get free in mind.

Without You

Music: Peavy Wagner, Victor Smolski
Lyrics: Peavy Wagner

Without You starts like a ballad with fantastic harmonies, but then turns into a wall of guitars and riffs. That's a song from me, that Victor joined in with some fine ideas, so we breeded a song with absolute ear-catching melodies.

The words talk 'bout someone, who lived lifelong under a mask (pictural) and always denied his real self.

Long Hard Road

Music: Peavy Wagner, Victor Smolski
Lyrics: Peavy Wagner

This is a marvelous Metal-stomper of the old-rage-school, with breaking guitar riffs, cool chords and ear catching melodies. Although the main riff doesn't sound alike, it's a real finger breaker in Victor's style, same like the phantastic guitar solo.

The lyrics are a philosophical description of our physical existence from my perspective.

Open My Grave

Music: Victor Smolski
Lyrics: Peavy Wagner

Open My Grave starts with a riff in an arabic scale, that's played by the bass this time, and leads over into a superfat riffmonster, that's a real headbanger. The chorus straightens it up with a fantastic melody. The middle-part gets way calmer and the vocals come upfront.

The lyrics are about the curse of the pharao.

Lost In The Void

Music: Peavy Wagner, Victor Smolski
Lyrics: Peavy Wagner

Another neck-breaker with goosebum guarantee for every metal-fan. The thing pushes unstoppable forwards, and contains a fat hymnic chorus. In the solo, Victor breaks with Andres support the frontiers of the guitar, while shredding his axe into the ground. We've asked Yamaha to build him an instrument with automatic fretboard cooling...:-)

The lyrics describe the feeling of strangeness in a more and more confusing world.

Lord Of The Flies

Music: Peavy Wagner, Victor Smolski
Lyrics: Peavy Wagner

Lord Of The Flies is the musical exception of the album. It is very dark, nearly ballad-like, and has a full orchestration. It's in the tradition of songs like "Alive But Dead". The main theme comes along with orchestra and choir, while the verses are more intimous. The chorus then is very theatralic and stirring. The arrangement is really impressive, a real highlight.

The Lyrics are about William Goldings book from 1954, and its a very dark, nearly pessimistic description of our society. Evil is among us...

Mouth Of Greed

Music: Peavy Wagner
Lyrics: Peavy Wagner

In the end a typical RAGE song with my fingerprint. Mouth Of Greed builds up Rush-like with a calm verse, that leads into a thundering chorus. Andre can freak out on this one on his drums.

In the lyrics I write about awkward customers, that orientate their lifes to the images, that the main stream medias proclaim, they swallow everything that the industry feeds them with...

Of course we prepare some bonus stuff, but that's still in progress.

The album is set to be released for the middle of March next year...

Take care, yours PEAVY

Studiojob completed

Hi friends, Victor here. The studiojob for the new RAGE album "Carved In Stone" is completed now, and finally I can listen to all tracks of the new CD by my HiFi rack with quiet conscience, and I can say: it has exactly become what we figured out before: STRAIGHT ON THE KISSER! (maybe you have to stopp after 2 - 3 songs, getting a cold beer for a rest period...) From the beginning we decided, to compose the songs for this CD more straightly, concentrating on cool riffs and catchy melodies. Actually, with our new line-up it was easy to realize everything, as we pulled together with André perfectly! All the recordings with our co-producer, sound-engineer and almost 4th bandmember Charly Czajkowski, runs perfectly, as well as the final mix with Charlie Bauerfeind. From my point of view I promise you brute guitarriffs with fancy soli. In one song, I've hidden a modification of a real famous melodie - the one, who will first recognize this melodie, will get a present! At "Open My Grave", my sitar-guitar came into operation, at "Lord Of The Flies", I've contributed a phat keyboard-arrangement.

Backingvocals

Thomas Hackmann
Jen Majura

As on our last CD, Thomas Hackmann (to be listened at Blind Guardian, Helloween, Grave Digger) has visited us in studio, supporting us with backingvocals. At "Lord Of The Flies", also vocalist Jen Majura (already to be listened at the 20th anniversary Nuclear Blast "Into The Light"-CD with Mats Leven/ Ex-Therion) has chanted bombastic choruses.

Bonusmaterial

We've also started to cut the video material of the Wacken concert with the Lingua Mortis Orchestra, for using it as bonus material for the "Carved In Stone" CD.

We see us on tour in spring 2008, and we are looking forward to get your opinion about our new CD.

Best regards, yours Victor!