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Rating: I return home disappointed and completely soaked. A particularly intense summer thunderstorm must have mingled with a tropical storm, and the product of their windy love must have had a lot of fun quickly sinking the evening's aperitivo in the square and my desire to be outside in the August cold. Disappointed, I take the road home and once I've raided the fridge, I grab the computer and start goofing around. Among the various sites, I check the weather, which promises sunshine and good weather for the next day (Sunday). It's half past midnight, but I don't care: I pack the backpack with food and clothes and set the alarm for 5.00 AM, intending to go for a walk in the Pale di San Martino the following day. I had promised myself countless times to go there, but due to female troubles, adverse weather, and other various commitments, I had never been able to go. So, I go alone, since almost all the friends are at the beach (and I'm the only fool working during the Ferragosto week) and the pseudo university students left pretending to study are amebas whose knees start shaking at the mere mention of the word mountain combined with effort. They can kindly go to hell...
As I drive at five-thirty, the roads are all mine, and I crank up the volume of a good bone-crushing CD to wake up properly.
There's a German, an American, and a Russian. No, it's not a joke set during the Cold War in East Germany but rather the three nationalities of the band members. A band with over twenty years of history founded by Peavy Wagner (who gains 10 kg with each CD) that kept me company during the trip. Rage is one of the cornerstones of power metal, but let it be clear that we're not talking about the ultra-melodic-fantasy version that's fashionable now and makes me want to puke, except for a few rare cases. No, "Rabbia" is part of the old, very old guard, and you can tell just by looking at the eerie cover, which indeed hints at a whirlwind of heavy metal complete with the occasional melodic insertion in the solos and choruses amidst the bone-sawing jaws depicted in the artwork.
Strangely enough, the early morning sun is really annoying, especially if you're traveling east where it tends to rise and annoy drivers, clouds permitting. You usually realize this when you curse and practically can't see the road, but instead, a modern painting "yellow on yellow background" insinuates itself into your field of vision. It must have been then, when Mike Terrana (the drummer) was pounding away like a madman on the raw Human Metal, that I must have hit a rock on edge. I don't pay it any mind and turn up the volume because the album is going very well and embodies my taste in heavy metal. Rough vocals, but not growls (like the ones who burp words in death metal, if you know what I mean), and definitely no high-pitched tones like Cugini di Campagna. A healthy middle ground, in short. The drumming is phenomenal, though, with profuse countertimes, double pedal, but also continuous accelerations and slowdowns. Guitarist Victor Smolski exudes talent. Only those who have seen him perform live can understand me. With that junkie face, he displays total ease of execution, not just in tapping but also in slower, more sophisticated arpeggios. Combine all three of these characters, and you get a song like Soundchaser or War Of Worlds that completely excites me.
I was there, keeping time by tapping my fingers on the steering wheel when I hear a noise getting louder and louder. Louder. Damn, now it's drowning out the drums, I think to myself, and it's not like good ol' Mike is gentle when hitting the skins. 1 plus 1 equals 2, and I quickly realize that rock I hit moments ago might have punctured the tire. Let's remove the "might have." According to Murphy's law that luck is blind, but misfortune sees very well, I find myself, of course, in a tunnel. Rage keeps me company with the gloomy Secrets In A Weird World that, coincidentally, perfectly fits the situation since the hole I'm navigating in a slight but annoying uphill climb is 3 km long, and there's almost one left to exit. I downshift, sweat (because the prospect of changing a tire in the middle of a tunnel isn't exactly exciting), and struggle, and when I finally exit with the car bouncing, begging for mercy, a liberating solo by Smolsky greets me. With the spare tire, I arrive thoroughly covered in grease in San Martino and, haphazardly, wander around looking for a parking spot and a trail to explore with the newly purchased map in hand.
I must admit that a day like this is truly satisfying. No plans, just improvisation for an excursion you create yourself and for this reason, due to its continuous surprise, you really enjoy it to the fullest. After a 1200-meter elevation gain, plenty of sunshine, and hundreds of photos, I return to the starting point to complete an immense loop: happy and tired. The spare tire reminds me to drive at 80 kilometers per hour, and slowly I take the road back, causing a traffic jam. This time the sun is in the west and is riding high, and as the kilometers slowly go by, I start singing the songs of Rage, savoring their technique in the fast-paced Great Old One and Flesh And Blood, in the mid-tempo, and up to the arpeggio of the concluding suite Wake The Nightmares. A memorable day, including the tire, and the soundtrack played its damn part too.
An excellently crafted album, a band recommended for fans of the genre, especially during the '90s era.
Tracklist and Lyrics
03 Great Old Ones (04:02)
Once, eons back in time from here
Long before man was born
They came from somewhere out of space
Shaped the young planet's face
And more, they made all to be, everything we see is their work
So good, the system and it?s frame played a perfect game
Until the other came...
It was all for the great old ones
Those who created life
And life carried on and on and on
They gave all for the great old ones
Under the new born sun
Where life carried on and on and on...
So everything was good to be
When some would fall from grace
Birth of the evil energy
Fear reaches back in those days
And hell wasted all to be, all the bad we see is it's work
To save the system and it's frame, the Soundchaser came
Some call them Perfect man...
It was all for the great old ones
Those who created life
And life carried on and on and on
They gave all for the great old ones
Under the new born sun
Where life carried on and on and on...
Life carried on for the great old ones
In the planets history there are secrets, you will see
Our nature has a source. Good or evil comes from those...
And all, all their secret deeds never could complete what they need
Cause hell wasted all to be, all the bad we see; 'till the Soundchaser came...
It was all for the great old ones
Those who created life
And life carried on and on and on
They gave all for the great old ones
Under the new born sun
Where life carried on and on and on...
Life carried on for the great old ones
04 Soundchaser (05:37)
"I have heared your voice
Now I have no choice
You must face your fatal end"
What is this? I can't believe my eyes
Is it trying to hunt, it's bringing me down, bringing me down
Why did I come to this hellish vault
I have heared, they warned
It's chasing, raging, killing you
Time stands still
And myself will
Disappear tonight from this world
Soundchaser
Now the beast has come
It's coming out to eat me alive
The Soundchaser
Is soundchasing, raging, killing you
"Eons back in time
This world has been mine
Deadly plage from heaven sent"
Hush, my dear, the silence saved my life
It won't find us if we hide on the ground, without a sound
Hell freeze over! Please, please save my life
Instinctive breed, it is chasing, raging, killing you
Time stands still
And myself will
Disappear tonight from this world
Soundchaser
Now the beast has come
It's coming out to eat me alive
The Soundchaser
Is soundchasing, raging, killing you
Soundchaser, Soundchaser, now the beast has come alive...
08 Human Metal (05:27)
This is the time, this is the place for me
They brought me back to life again
It was for seen a long, long time ago
I'm coming back, I shall return
Everything I've seen
All the places I have been
And the secrets of the earth
Have been given at my birth
I withstand all that's worse
I'm human metal, yes, I am real, I'm human metal
I'm human metal and I am made to give you back what you have lost
I'm human metal, yes, I am real, I'm human metal
I'm human metal
And I am made to give you back what you have lost so long ago
Organic life is pumping through my veins
A hard drive's working in my head
My ears are trained to catch the tiniest sound
I'm powered by the notes I get
Made of blood and steel
A machine but I can feel
Activated by the sound
Of the music that's around
A raging metal pound
I'm human metal, yes, I am real, I'm human metal
I'm human metal and I am made to give you back what you have lost
I'm human metal, yes, I am real, I'm human metal
I'm human metal
And I am made to give you back what you have lost so long ago
Made to save your life and make you grow
A majestic symphony is life, so give up misery
Now raise your head and listen what's to come...
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