Ghosts

Some might be hesitant to praise Ghosts for its ballad-heavy, rock opera feel, and the relative lack of speed and heaviness compared to so many of the Germans' records past and future. But damn if this isn't one of the last truly great, and most unique efforts Rage would produce, which took me entirely by surprise, even with the preparedness that XIII offered me. Ghosts is a more distinctly 'symphonic' metal album than the one leading up to it, with a wider variety of both orchestral and synth sounds that create a broader arsenal for them to rock against. It's also a concept album, and really capitalizes on the emotional potential when one is speaking of life, afterlife and the veil between them, and it does this with some of the catchiest anthems the band would weave through their entire 90s catalog.

This is by far the best work Christian Wolff performed for the band in the studio, with a mix of epic, Wagnerian pianos and symphonic swells, and some more proggy synthesizers where it suits. The riff set on this album is likewise incredible, with each of the rhythm guitars playing perfectly off the keys and vice versa...everything shines, nobody smothers anyone else. The drums are great, they sound like they can support an entire in-the-flesh orchestra, and while Peavy is more focused on vocals here, the bass playing is fluid and he pops in a couple cool lines and fills to keep that end of the sound interesting. His voice is still in fine form, not reaching the pitch needed for early screamers, but sustaining quite well in that higher-mid range. There are a couple moments where the lyrics and his voice interact in a mildly goofy way, but I think that's just because you've got this big German dude singing in his second tongue and it's bound to have a few creases. Still, the meaningful lyrics go a long way to compensate for any flaws you'll find there, and he's still doing some harsher howling or lower crooning in here contrasts nicely against the passionate chorus sequences.

Even if I'm throwing on the bonus tracks for this one, that's about 13 tunes, with few that could even be considered weaker than the rest. Maybe I occasionally forget about "Six Feet Under Ground" or "End of Eternity", but they're both fitting to the concept and pretty decent as I revisit them. But the emotional core for this album is the martial, measured "Back in Time", the doomy trudge of "Ghosts" and unforgettable "Love and Fear Unite", with its sweeping synth flutes and strings that erupt into this totally awesome chorus which will make me smile if you have even a faint resemblance of a soul. The album goes a lot deeper than, with stuff like "Vanished in Haze" which is a prom ballad not unlike Bon Jovi's "Never Say Goodbye", only a lot better and with less glam bullshit; or the even more cheesy but heart-punching "Love After Death", yet another of these slower pieces with acoustic guitars in the verse that explode into some nice, climbing riffs and orchestration. There really aren't many complaints I can conjure up over the core 50 minutes of material, it's a ride...provided you're willing to get on...

I mean if you're only familiar with the band's early era as Avenger or the first 7-8 Rage records, you might be a little shocked at what you've got on disc here. There might have been tiny hints on stuff like Reflections of a Shadow, or the fat they obviously liked classical music (i.e. the intro to Secrets in a Weird World), and were quite catchy with it. But Ghosts is that whole side idea manifest into the best the band would ever do it, and while it's probably too accessible for some, there's nothing exactly sellout or commercial about it...this shit just wasn't that popular by the close of the last century. Maybe Therion, maybe the Trans Siberian Orchestra's evolution from traditional bits of Dead Winter Dead era Savatage into an entire band, but most were gettin' their nu-metal on by this time, or we had to suffer major metal bands of the 80s continuing to churn out shit. I'm not saying Ghosts isn't a little too teary-eyed and cheesy, or that hearing Peavy tackle some of this stuff with his style of voice doesn't induce a fraction of loveable cringe, but the sum results are so well written and sincere that this is still a good listen decades later, and certainly the best step Rage ever took outside the comfort zone to which it would, in some capacity, return.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

No, it wasn’t truth be told, as the German powerhouse made another stopover from their solid, not very compromising staple power/speed metal delivery with the album here; a momentary pause that made more heads shake in doubt than the earlier one made with “Reflections of a Shadow” a decade prior. Although I personally didn’t see this album coming it shouldn’t have come as a huge surprise for the majority provided that the late-90’s were still uncertain times with bigger names (Megadeth, Kreator, Judas Priest a bit later) messing it up in a much less forgivable manner. The restoration-of-the-old-school campaign already existed on paper, and was also officially signed at the time, but experimentations of all sorts were still being offered amply.

In fact, the experiments in the Rage camp started earlier, with the lush symphonic wonder “Lingua Mortis”, later nicely elaborated on “XIII”, and the more stream-lined traditional metal delivery on “End of All Days”. The stalwarts were simply not willing to fall into self-repetition traps that have ensnared quite a few of their compatriots (Running Wild, Sacred Steel, Grave Digger, etc.), but were looking to keep in pace with the leaders Blind Guardian and Helloween without drastically changing their arsenal.

Again, the band were not strangers to more deviant recordings, the mellower, more progressive 1990 opus comes to mind again, but that effort was necessary if the guys wanted to wash away the thrash and forge their own sound, which is exactly what happened. Mission accomplished back then on all counts, but what did they want to wash away this time? Unless they were looking for new paths to explore…

no, Peter Wagner and his flippant, not very reliant gang were not chasing new (invisible) horizons as became quite obvious from the subsequent “Welcome to the Other Side”. The man wanted to give another go to his milder orchestral infatuations this time without aggrandizing the environment with rowdy speed metal riffage which presence was quite prominent on “XIII”. And here we are, staring at ghosts and spirits which don’t look very scary or angry, trying to lure us into a not very nefarious hypnotic doom-laden plot with “Beginning of The End” and, of course, the title-track the delivery on those recalling the progressive metallers Saviour Machine. Not terribly off-putting especially with more dynamic cuts (“Fear”, “Wash My Sins Away”) provided here and there, those recalling the classic heavy metal nature of “End of All Days”. However, things take a downright lethargic turn at some stage with balladic/semi-balladic elegies (“Love and Fear Unite”, “Vanished in Haze”), with goofy radio-friendly rockers (“Spiritual Awakening”) not helping much in keeping the listener hooked. Sleep-inducing stuff, also enhanced with the overlong doomy melancholy “Tomorrow's Yesterday” that may drive the audience away way before the end which would be a pity as the epitaph comprises two boisterous power/speedsters that may have been left out of the “Black in Mind” recording sessions.

A very introspective effort that, if nothing else, brought Wagner’s progressive operatic ambitions to a close; an underwhelming close, though, one that made the band fans quite apprehensive regarding any future exploits. Still, in the instilling late-90’s quagmire of “Endoramas” and “Risks” finding a ghost floating next to you didn’t seem like the worst occurrence, but compared with superior adjustments works released at the same time like Blind Guardian’s bombastic epic “Nightfall in Middle Earth” and Helloween’s macabre tenebrous “The Dark Ride” this album didn’t present Rage as worthy contenders to those two. There wasn’t much rage left in the band’s repertoire to promise a solid helping shoulder to the spawning old school revival wave… just a bit more than a reflection of a shadow of it.

How happy the band were with the final result here became only too clear a few months later when the entire line-up, save for Wagner of course, packed up and left. That was some way to exorcize whatever ghosts and sprits were roaming around the band camp… a clean slate of some sorts ensued with the follow-up blending the primal aggression of old with still standing operatic tools, Wagner’s new team looking/sounding good, staying around for three solid entries that almost brought the delivery back to the glory days of the 80’s and the 90’s. Rage’s presence on the contemporary scene is strong again, no second opinion about that; however, whenever a pertinent smell of deja-vu rises in the air or someone sees the word “predictable” being spelt (p-r-e-d…, just that) across the horizon, rest assured that Mr. Wagner will dissipate those with another shadowy, ghostly transmogrifier.

Right, I’ll jump right into this one. Going backwards through Rage’s discography has been a silly (if highly interesting and entertaining) exercise to get to know the band. Getting surprises in reverse is something of a novel experience, and that’s precisely what happened to me with Ghosts. Now, I’d heard a few songs off of this work before, but listening to it from front to back a few times really reinforced just how unique a record this is. Being the second of a pair of albums (preceded by XIII) that saw Rage take a heavy keyboard/orchestral spin, and the last before the total lineup overall, Ghosts is, once listened to, clearly a rather distinct point for Peavy and his crew.

“Ok, you’ve said this about a number of Rage albums now Dan.” Yeah, I know, but it’s true! Compare the sound on Ghosts to modern efforts that attempt to be more symphonic (such as portions of Speak Of The Dead and Strings To A Web), and there is a stark contrast. Rage is so mellow here that, with the exception of Peavy’s instantly identifiable vocal timbre, you probably wouldn’t guess that it’s the same band. Take songs like the mellow title track or the sweeping, melodic “Back In Time”, and you’ll witness what I’m talking about.

There’s still a sprinkling of Rage’s trademark aggression, make no mistake, but on the whole, this is a rather smoothed-out and otherworldly experience. The tinkly yet foreboding keyboard work on songs like “Fear”, combined with some fortissimo bass chord hits means that the piano holds more sway over the overall feel and attitude of Ghosts than arguably any other album the band has produced (I say this because much of the neo-classical and symphonic influence of later albums is provided by guitarist Victor Smolski, and so its composition is often quite different). This makes Ghosts a particularly remarkable and bright thread in the tapestry that Rage has been weaving since its inception. There are even a couple of songs here that I could describe as downright bouncy (especially the chorus of “Love And Fear Unite”).

I think this album is unique mostly because I think that many melodic Euro-metal fans would find it quite accessible (or at least, more so than Rage’s standard fare), Ghosts might trip up some of the band’s more straightforward fanbase because of its comparative lack of aggression. However, it’s just as memorable, if not moreso, than most of what Peavy churns out. Personally, I enjoy it as a break from a lot of the band’s other work, but I don’t know that it’ll ever be a regular player for the simple fact that I miss the frenetic energy that crops up more often in the rest of the band’s repertoire. By no means is this weak or insubstantial though, and I admit a certain bias by having accessed the band when I did. In any case, it is at the very least an essential for the Rage fan, and a very solid piece of surprisingly well-crafted melodic Euro-metal (I can’t in good faith call it symphonic power metal, because it tends to cling rather tightly to most of the band’s regular structural norms. As a complete album though, it’s as close as Rage ever comes to that descriptor).

Original review written for Black Wind Metal

Rage have been around a long time, and they have done a lot of strange things. And why shouldn't they have? Not every band has to stick strictly to their guns. I think we should welcome more changes in style for bands like this - I mean look at it, these guys have played Speed Metal, Power Metal, Traditional Heavy Metal and even Symphonic Metal, which is the predominant style featured on their most unique outing to date entitled Ghosts.

The style here is predominantly Power Metal reminiscent of Blind Guardian or mid-era Stratovarius...if you mixed that in with heavy synthesizers and orchestrations that are integrated so well into the songwriting that you don't even notice sometimes. The vocals, handled by the ever-prolific Peavy Wagner, are still a gruff, tuneful shout, although here he uses his quite nice melodic singing voice most of the time. This whole album is just meticulously constructed, with every song sounding like Peavy and his motley crew put their heart and soul into writing it. They're all very dynamic and fluid, with even the more straightforward and pop-oriented songs sounding 110% authentic and energetic. There's nothing here that really stands out as amazing or spectacular, but every song is very well done and definitely an exercise in metallic creativity that the Power Metal world is quite devoid of these days.

Every song either has a catchy hook or a gold-mine of musical ideas. This sort of variation makes for an album that is easy to listen to all the way through, as it has enough to please both those looking for dark, musical progressivism and also those looking for catchy indulgence. The opening bombast of "Beginning of the End" rocks out with cool lyrics and a big chorus, and it's a misleading title, as this song is actually more like the beginning of good ideas and enjoyable songwriting. "Back in Time" is a more traditional Power Metal number with a speedy tempo and a big shooting star of a chorus that streaks across the sky and leaves a great trail of flame behind it. "Fear" and "Ghosts" are slower, more atmospheric numbers, and while they might not be quite as good as the faster stuff, they're still very good themselves, with a delicacy to them that you probably didn't expect to hear on a Rage album. I mean, it's not like Rage know how to do anything but bash out "Don't Fear the Winter" and "Insanity," right? Fuck no.

"Wash My Sins Away" is fast, catchy and bouncy, and so is "Love and Fear Unite," and I really enjoy these songs. Do you like melodic Power Metal? You will like this. "Vanished in Haze" isn't very good, with a dragging chorus that I just don't like much, but "Spiritual Awakening" kicks things up again with a classic Rage stomp, and "Love After Death" continues this. "More than a Lifetime" and "Tomorrow's Yesterday" end things in fine fashion; warm and intricate Symphonic Metal numbers with class and style to spare. Even bonus track "End of Eternity" is pretty decent, with some good musical ideas and another huge chorus.

Is later era Savatage not doing anything for you? Do you dislike shitty Nightwish songs and boring Epica albums? Well, then, I have a solution for you, and its name is Ghosts. Catchy, upbeat, stirring, original and well written, this was one of Rage's finest hours. Get it now.

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

Rage, throughout their long career have been through a number of different sounds, with Ghosts coming toward the tail end of their first symphonic period. The sound is not quite heavy as XIII, and the orchestration is a bit more integral to the sound, helping form the melodies that play in your head for what seems like forever after hearing this album.

Peavy really outdid himself with this album, crafting a set of melodies and hooks that he may never match again. While other Rage albums have a higher headbang factor, or more asskicking sound, none leave the lasting musical impact of Ghosts. Every song has a huge hook that just sucks the listener in to enjoy the beauty and majesty of the melodies. Some would criticize this album for not being heavy enough, but that isn't the point here. The point is taking you on a near-magical musical journey through a cornucopia of emotions.

My only complaints are that there is quite the dearth of solos (though I'm not so sure they'd fit in with the flow of the album anyway), and that the album is not as long as it could have been. The latter is good, if you look at it in the sense that only the best made the cut, but this album is so good, it just leaves me wanting more. There are no weak songs on this one.

Highlights: Tomorrow's Yesterday, Love After Death, Fear
Lowlights: n/a