RAGE
RAGE – “Afterlifelines”
By Colonel Angus
I can’t believe that RAGE has been making metal for forty years now (although their first release was in 1986) and they are still pumping out their blend of power and thrash metal. I first got into them through the pages of some metal magazine when I saw their cover artwork for “Perfect Man”. Back before Youtube, my friends and I all based our purchases on either word of mouth or cover artwork. RAGE fell into the latter category because none of us heard them prior to that release.
Fast forward many years and they are coming at us metalheads with a double album set of brand spanking new material. Over the years, after picking up some of their albums, I realized that while they didn’t always stay in their lane like a MOTÖRHEAD or AC/DC, they were very consistent with their sound. Some of their records were better than others but I always knew what I was getting into when I purchased one of their disks and I appreciated that.
One of the concerns I had when I first read about “Afterlifelines” being a double record was whether or not, there was going to be a lot of filler and if there was going to be enough variety to span two disks. Well, my concerns were short lived after the first spin of both records. One of the things that helps is that this release is broken up into two distinct pieces with “Afterlife” being the first disk and “Lifelines” being the second. Also, the overall sound is divided as well with “Afterlife” being the traditional RAGE we have come to love and expect and “Lifelines” adding a symphonic element which the band touched upon on earlier releases but here is a whole album of new material with lush orchestration and strings.
After a brief opening instrumental, “End of Illusion” hits you straight between the eyes with its hard hitting riffing and melodic chorus. Things don’t slow down one bit as single “Under a Black Crown” follows with that RAGE signature sound. The more traditional metal riffing of the title track is a nice element that mixes well with their power thrash metal framework. For those of you who were hoping for more thrash, grab a listen to “Dead Man’s Eyes”. There is some serious thrash going on but the chorus adds in a power metal vibe that keeps things interesting. Things slow down just a little for “Mortal” but the heavy riffing during the chorus is the star of this track.
I don’t know how singles are picked but I would have made “Toxic Waste” the first statement from “Afterlifelines”. There are some great riffs on this tune and it has the catchiest chorus on the whole record. Not only is it three and half minutes of pure RAGE joy, it has serious lyrics about humans polluting the oceans thus proving that metalheads care about more than just themselves. Thrasher “Waterwar” has some a great power metal in the chorus but intermixed are some bone crushing riffs and some great lead work from Jean Borman. Before we get to the two anthemic, fist-pumping songs (“Shadow World” and “Life Among the Ruins”) that finish the first disk, we get “Justice Will Be Mine” which I feel is the only let-down on an otherwise classic “Afterlife”.
As I mentioned earlier, “Lifelines” is the record that has the symphonic orchestration which RAGE has done previously on “XIII”. Don’t think for a minute that the material is soft because it is just as hard-edged as the other disk with just the addition of that lush orchestration adding a very full sound. Single “Cold Desire” starts off “Lifelines” with a very somber piano intro before it goes full-on thrash. The thrashy nature of the song works well with those symphonic elements. While “Root of Our Evil” is a good track, the chorus is a bit cliché sounding which is a shame because the rest of it is quite good.
One of the things that the orchestration does to the songs is that it pulls out some drama that would otherwise be missing from the track. “Curse the Night” is a good example and I feel the song would still work well without the added symphonic elements but with it, it brings out a whole different feel to the material. The military sounding intro to “One World” is another example where that additional element gives the tune a cinematic feel where the listener can almost see the film in their head. By contrast “It’s All Too Much” is the most straight-forward of all the songs on “Lifelines” and I feel that it would have felt more at home on Afterlife.
The other single from this record “Dying to Live” is a ballad but not in the cheesy hair metal way. It is a heartfelt performance that breaks up a lot of the heavier material that we were just offered. “The Flood” starts off slow but builds into a nice metal track but it’s the following song “Lifelines’ that really captures the listener for almost ten minutes and doesn’t let go. There are quite a few different parts that keep things interesting along the way but before you know it, the song comes to a close. You would think that something this long would be boring and one dimensional but there is so much going on in this title track that you could hear it back-to-back five times and not get sick of it. The second disk ends with instrumental “Interlude” and pseudo-ballad “In the End” which builds in the middle and then dramatically fades at the end.
Peavy Wagner and company have done what many bands can’t and this is make a double album that is engaging, interesting, and quite enjoyable. If you were to ask me to edit these two disk, I would be hard pressed to really take much out as I feel that the material is strong enough to warrant being on the record. I'm not quite sure which album I like better because I feel that they both make up part of the artistic vision but I guess it will all depend on the mood I’m in at the time. Either way, I hae some great RAGE music to listen to and “Afterlifelines” is a record I’m sure I will revisit often.