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Rage > 10 Years in Rage: The Anniversary Album > Reviews
Rage - 10 Years in Rage: The Anniversary Album

A decade of the waylaid - 65%

autothrall, March 20th, 2021
Written based on this version: 1994, CD, Noise Records

It's an interesting premise: an album created to promote and celebrate the first decade of a band's existence, and comprised not of entirely new compositions to show where the band was currently at or headed, but a whole bunch of cutting room floor material from the era of the band's first seven studio full-lengths, being recorded for the first time in either its original form, edited, rewritten or expanded. It's almost as if Rage decided, rather than consigning a bunch of odds and ends to an endless cavalcade of B-sides and CD bonus tracks, of which they already had a great deal, to properly repurpose and smooth over this material into a more palatable presentation that fans will care about a lot more than if it had just been left in the ether, or squandered as bonus tracks. It's a good and worthy idea; granted, a great percentage of musical artists build their product from a number of ideas they're recycling through their history, but this is just a more formal and 'official' way to market it. I'd also be lying if I said I hadn't been jazzed up at the chance to hear more material in the mold of one of my favorite German bands' 'prime', or at least what I considered to be.

Sadly, 10 Years in Rage doesn't light the world on fire with a bunch of unforgettable material, and many of the tunes probably represent filler at best, but not for any lack of trying or laziness on the band's behalf. In fact, a lot of the tracks probably just can't overcome that shaped around riffs and progressions that weren't all that catchy in the first place. You've got some blazing material on this like "Vertigo" and "Dangerous Heritage" which feels like vintage Rage momentum sans the truly memorable chorus parts. There are a handful of riffs or passages on the album that are worthwhile on their own, and if you just have a fondness for the band's overall style then I can't imagine you'd feel ripped off by this, as background noise it could be worse than just to have more 'Rage' playing. A handful of cuts like "Take My Blood" seem like they might have been contenders with a bit more of the tweaking they'd already undergone to make it here. The high level of competent musicianship and conviction displayed by this quartet is in no short supply, with an especially great performance by the new guitarists Sven and Spiros who have stepped into Manni Schmidt's seat with a loyal grasp of the group's traditional riffing and lead styles. Had I not looked at the actual lineup on the album I wouldn't have noticed, although I'll add that Manni and a bunch of the band's other alumni are present on "Prayers of Steel '94", whipping out some leads and drum battery.

I don't really care for "The Blow in a Row", a medley of earlier tracks across the band's first decade, entirely unnecessary as almost all of them should be sought out on their own for the far superior listening experience. We don't need a 'sampler' here, so this is a complete toss-out. Another issue I take is that this is one of those 90s Rage albums that suffers a bit from the drier production; quite like I scored some marks against the otherwise-great Missing Link, this one just doesn't sound all that good when I compare the mix vs the instrumentation. So in the end, while 10 Years in Rage is on paper a really compelling idea, a little more effort might have been spent on how the recording came across the speakers, and perhaps chopping off the useless medley and the 'new version' tune, despite all its fun lead guitars. What remains would still have proven one of my least-regarded studio albums of their whole career, but it would have felt a little more worthwhile as a panoply of Rage cuts that I would not have otherwise experienced. Sandwiched between two of their rock-solid, and most famous 90s albums, it's understandable why this one is so often neglected.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Their "B-sides" are better than everyone else's As - 95%

Crossover, August 16th, 2008

RAGE are the pioneers of German speed metal and arguably the best and most original in the Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray, Helloween, and others pool. BG, GR, and anyone else definitely owes (and they give them to him) Peavy Wagner some dues because surely RAGE paved the way for what was to come from the others. The fact is in there are no filler songs on RAGE cds, they just are marvelous songwriters.

Most of these songs are new, some are unreleased, and there's a medley, a rerecording and a rare bonustrack. This package has it all, both the original and remastered versions. I happen to own the Japanese version with Brainsucker as well as the remastered version with 5 bonustracks but i will be reviewing the Japanese version because the other tracks on the remastered version are from the Power of Metal live disc.


So the first 8 tracks are the first taste we get of RAGE without their stalwart guitar god Manni Schmidt. The songs are heavier and thrashier. Some highlights in this section are She killed and Smiled Which has some intense parts and a kick ass chorus after the solo ala Who Dares? from the previous album and Take My Blood which is a melodic speed/thrasher. All of these songs sound fresh and only really bare resemblance to Black in Mind and otherwise hold their own place in RAGE history. The epic track No Sign of Life is a rage classic. All of the rest of the first 8 tracks are speed/thrashers of the highest grade, no frills.


Then we get Prayers of Steel '94 a classic remake of one of the heaviest, epic, and triumphant RAGE songs ever written. It shines, and reproduces the original glory of the track, this alone is worth buying the disc. It also has expert drumming. After this comes a medley, its OK, nothing that special. It features quite a few good sections of classic RAGE songs and features every member RAGE had had up to that point. Then comes Brainsucker, a crossover/hardcore bruiser that will have your head obstreperously careening through your desk (or whatever else you may have in store for you) in seconds. I love this track and it was actually written in the 80s but never recorded til now since its clearly not RAGE's distinct style but it sure is a paladin.


Absolutely this is one to buy, not as good as the albums with Manni but perhaps the closest they've ever reached. Buy it now!


Highlights: She Killed and Smiled, No Sign of Life, Take My Blood, Brainsucker, and of course Prayers of Steel '94. There all really highlights though!