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Rage > Beyond the Wall > Reviews
Rage - Beyond the Wall

Bricks toppled, bricks thrown - 50%

autothrall, March 14th, 2021
Written based on this version: 1992, CD, Noise Records

It makes all sorts of sense for a German band like Rage, which is often tackling sociopolitical subjects in its lyrics, to pay some sort of tribute to the Berlin Wall, and though it took a couple years, you could view this EP as their way of dealing with that or at least referencing it, even if the lyrical subjects aren't unanimously contending with that. This is another of those short-form reviews from Peavy and company throughout the 90s that, in hindsight, has become entirely useless other than maybe the kind of nifty cover by Andreas Marschall who would use that decade to become the God of German Power Metal Covers. All of the content has been scattered about reissues of several of the band's full-length efforts, but since my initial exposure was to this as a standalone product, I will once again cover it as such.

The material here definitely melds in with the style of their post-Reflections material, where the trio is starting to regain a little of the thrash metal aggression and record with a cleaner, more direct, cubicle sort of production. Had these tracks popped up on Trapped! or The Missing Link, they would have fit in rather flush, other than the fact that they are mostly filler quality tracks which don't all cultivate riffs or chorus parts that are ultimately memorable. "On the Edge" is a decent one that I could remember not only for its presence here but also as a bonus on the Execution Guaranteed CD that I picked up. A nice, choppy verse riff melody and a galloping bridge, but it's still not top shelf Rage. "I Want You" has a pretty uppity guitar lick in the verse, something that could have shown up on Perfect Man, but the rest of the track is rather dull as it never escalates to anything that can complete with Manni's riff. I think "Last Goodbye" is probably one of the better inclusions with its savaging, hammering guitars and a chorus that at least teases that it'll be catchy.

Depending on which edition of this you got, you were treated with an acoustic tune or two, and I have to say with some dismay that this one really sucks..."Light in the Darkness" is such a shrieking and feel-good anthem on Secrets in a Weird World...but the clean version saps it of all that impulsive and essential energy, not to mention that the vocals don't quite stick the landing. The glimmering acoustics capture the notes clearly enough, but it just doesn't benefit whatsoever from being wimpified, it's an embarrassment that the band shouldn't have bothered to share with us, or the audience at this gig for that matter. On the Japanese version they've got an acoustic version of "Dust", which is a little better suited to the treatment, but still doesn't feel remotely necessary other than the band trying to feel good about itself for spreading its wings. None of the harder hitters come even close to this level of mediocrity, mind you, so it's not that Beyond the Wall is pure rubbish, but one would think with the opportunity to explore this topic they might have even pulled out the stops, written some great new songs, or a full-length even...this is leftovers at best, few of which are much good. The heart was in the right place, but the songwriting simply wasn't.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Classic RAGE riffs - 97%

Crossover, August 22nd, 2008

Another year, another RAGE release, this one is something extra-extra-special though. It marks the beginning of a 2 album killing spree of sorts where RAGE seems to obliterate every boundary of the metal genre but more on that in a future review.

This album is really special and when you add in bonus tracks is almost like a Full-length. These are RAGE songs of the highest order. All 5 of the studio songs are RAGE classics. The production is heavy and bone-crushing, a foreshadowing of the Ten Years in RAGE production. This Thrash/Speed of the highest order like no other band has ever done. Everything, the vocals, guitars, bass, and drums are near perfect.

Probably the most well-known song on here is On the Edge which also appeared on the Video Link video and Power of Metal comp. The opener Bury All Life is a pissed off thrasher. I Want You is a thrilling speed metal anthem. Nothing to Lose is a mid paced stomper. Last Goodbye has a riff that was recycled form the song Don't Fear the Winter but thats the only similarity. This song has an amazing chorus melody. This EP includes two live acoustic versions of RAGE classics aswell.

Overall this EP has some of RAGE's most original riffs ever and is a must own. You can find the remastered versions of all the songs scattered through the RAGE rerelease catalouge or you can doll out around 15$ or less for an original copy on ebay or amazon as it had fantastic production even back in the day.
A classic.