Welcome to the Other Side

DISCLAIMER - The Smolski era of Rage features my favorite albums of all time, however objectivity and honesty are my primary objective with those reviews.

The story behind Rage's 2001 album "Welcome to the Other Side" actually begins in 1999. Peavy was working on his then magnum opus "Ghosts" when the entirety of the band quit Rage to form pop-rock band Sub7even. According to numerous interviews, internal turmoil led to this decision, Peavy specifically calling then guitarist Spiros Efthimiadis "one of the biggest mistakes of his career", however it would seem the rest of the band left on good terms considering then drummer Chris Efthimiadis would rejoin Peavy in another band decades later. Enter guitar master Victor Smolski, who ended up joining the band alongside drum virtuoso Mike Terrana after helping Peavy during the recording of "Ghosts", and thus creating in my humble opinion a top-tier metal line-up.

"Welcome to the Other Side" is the new trio's first offering, and what an album it is. It begins with an intro featuring some sort of hospital scene samples with the first showcase of Smolski's guitar wizardry. And then... Oh god the production, what happened during mixing? The band itself sounds extremely well rehearsed and tight, but those drum tones are questionable at the very best. The guitars are very bass-heavy and sound nice when by themselves but they don't gel very well with the rest, the bass is nearly inexistent and the vocals are a quite loud compared to the rest. At first this was kind of a turn off for me as I am a fan of great, clean productions but there is so much to love about this album that it ends up being easy to get over this issue. In fact, maybe too much...

Indeed, "Welcome to the Other Side" is not a short record, clocking in at nearly 65 minutes and featuring 17 songs (2 of which are interludes to be fair) there is a lot to digest here and unsurprisingly for a record of this magnitude, there is a bit of filler that could have been cut off to make "Welcome to the Other Side" a much better record. However there is a lot of variety to be offered on this album: the 4-song suite "Tribute to Dishonour" is a great piece of classically-inspired metal music in the vein of what Rage has previously done on "XIII", heavy pounder "Straight to Hell" (which would become arguably the band's most well-known song) and acoustic ballad "After the End" are among the better songs on the album while proving that Rage is clearly no one-trick-pony.

Unfortunately, as mentioned before there is quite a bit of filler on "Welcome to the Other Side". The album starts strong with "Paint the Devil On the Wall" and "The Mirror In Your Eyes" full of great riffing, melodies and hooks, a great showcase of what Rage still has to offer. Past the "Tribute to Dishonour" suite however the band seems to be slowing down a bit. Songs like "Point of No Return", "Leave It All Behind" and the title track show the band slowing down with songs that don't know if they should be heavy and powerful or moody ballads, worst offender being the quite cheesy "Deep In the Night" which is almost reminiscent of an 80's style hard rock ballad (although it is one of my favorites for this reason, it is objectively not one of the best songs on this record).

One thing that is undeniable about this record is how much of a virtuoso each members are on their instruments. Peavy delivers an overall great vocal performance (though not without a few hiccups here and there), but Terrana brings creative and flashy drumming throughout the record and what can we say about Smolski's flashy rhythm guitar tracks full of twists and turns and his tastefully virtuosic lead playing as seen on interlude "Lunatic" among others. Rage has a lot to offer with this new lineup, and were perhaps a bit too excited to showcase everything they can do for their own good as seen with filler songs as "Riders on the Moonlight" and "Sister Demon" that are still very much enjoyable but could have been cut from the record and released on an EP a few months later and bring up the score of "Welcome to the Other Side".

Highlights:
Tribute to Dishonour" suite
Deep In the Night
Lunatic & Riders On the Moonlight
Straight to Hell
After the End

Least favorites:
Point of No Return
Leave It All Behind
Welcome to the Other Side

As far as launching and showcasing the talents of a new band roster, few albums in my collection are quite as potent as Welcome to the Other Side. After the lovely, memorable, and conceptual Ghosts, Peavy parted ways with his longtime partners in crime Spiros and Chris Efthimiadis and Sven Fischer, and joined forces with a pair of absolute monsters in drummer, who had played alongside such unknowns as Artension, Tony MacAlpine and Yngwie Malmsteen, and Victor Smolski, arguably one of the more gifted guitarists in European metal to arrive in some time, who was somewhat of a newcomer but certainly didn't play like one. Smolski had recorded some guitars on Ghosts, so this wasn't entirely his Rage rodeo, but here he is let loose to exhibit his wide range of mastered disciplines like the progressive, neo-classical and jazz influences he can so effortless weave into the riff-oriented material required for the Germans' distinct power metal.

Now, to be clear, this is not one of my favorite albums they released with this lineup, I like the two follow-ups considerably more, but there are a number of catchy staples here like "The Mirror In Your Eyes" and the surging "No Lies", both of which feature the vast instrumental capabilities of the band while reigning it all in with great vocals lines in which Wagner still spits out a little higher range reminiscent of the group's earlier years. The best riffs on the album are usually the dextrous speed/power metal progressions long attached to the band, but Smolski integrates even further levels of melody, some jazzy chords and fusion feeling leads to imbue their material with elements I simply hadn't heard before. Almost as if a continuation of the prior album, this one could be considered mildly experimental...but not at all weird. There are a number of softer pieces like "R.I.P." and "Requiem" which are largely just pianos and spaced out, atmospheric guitar leads with some narration that feel like parts of a rock opera, which they are as there's about a 15 minute chunk of stuff here comprising the 'Tribute to Dishonour' suite.

Other pieces like the clean, hyper-picked classical exercise "Trauma" or the highly proggy, measured gait of "I'm Crucified" also stand out a little, the latter sometimes reminding me of Savatage in the later 80s or early 90s...in fact you can hear a bit of Gutter Ballet or Streets: A Rock Opera throughout this, despite the band having a different approach from a different continent. The same could be said of its predecessor Ghosts, of course, and a lot of that bled through onto this one, in fact the entire 'Lingua Mortis' concept from the 90s was returning until it would later be separated into its own things. All of this is perfectly acceptable and Rage are no chumps at performing it, but the mellower stuff takes a backseat for me to the aggressive writing that I prefer. "Deep in the Night" is well written and actually has a pretty catchy chorus build that feels like it belonged on Ghosts, but there are too many throw away tracks like the classical tapping of "Lunatic" which reminds me of Joe Satriani's "Midnight" only nowhere near as good. I get that Smolski likes to strut his stuff but I just don't feel this is the place, especially when he's not going to go all-in and shred your face off with something substantial.

Alas, there's a whole lot that went into this one, over 60 minutes worth, and the sum of its parts just isn't overall as valuable as a handful of its best cuts. However, the writing is on the wall: there just isn't much that these three will be unable to attain together, and while Welcome to the Other Side is surely a competent effort with a lot of elements that would please a lot of people, it's the album following this one which really tightens the trio and makes a statement.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

After losing its entire band, Peavy Wagner recruited guitar virtuoso Victor Smolski and expert drummer Mike Terrana to start afresh (in 2001 in the Italian metal magazine PSYCHO! Wagner said he considered this to be a new "debut album" for Rage).

The previous two studio albums were heavily symphonic, with the Lingua Mortis Orchestra providing classical instrumentation to accompany the band. Perhaps inevitably, this also meant a less heavy approach to the music and more emphasis on melody and arrangements. With the new album, things are different. The orchestration is kept to a minimum (and is provided by Smolski who also plays keyboards, the Lingua Mortis Orchestra in not present on this album). The music is heavier - with Smolski's guitars playing a dominant role, Terrana hitting hard on the drums and Wagner taking a slightly more aggressive style with the vocal delivery. Rage retain, however, their unique feel for unconventional, yet pleasant, melodic solutions - which makes the band stand out relative to other contemporary bands. This is particularly evident in the songs' choruses that never go for the obvious melody, but try instead to propose more original solutions.

Broadly speaking, Rage's musical coordinates can be found in bands like Savatage (for the penchant for symphonic/progressive arrangements), Grave Digger (in terms of aggression) and German power metal bands like Helloween (for the upbeat melodies). Differently from the latter two bands (Grave Digger and Helloween), however, the "epicness" is kept to a minimum, which sets Rage apart from the standard European power metal sound.

Technically, the musicians' performances are all excellent. Smolski is a truly gifted guitar player, he is able to provide fast, interesting riffs that are played with feeling. The solos are also excellent, balancing to perfection technical skills and emotion. He also plays sitar on a couple of tracks, giving some extra color to the songs. Terrana is a terrific drummer, heavy but also extremely dry and precise. It reminds me of Portnoy in terms of combination of drumming that is at the same time heavy and sophisticated. Wagner is a good (not fantastic) and expert vocalist who can carry a melody with passion. The production is also very good, although there are some unusual solutions occasionally (the solos and the acoustic guitars are really loud and in-your-face in the mix, which feels slighly strange).

The main weakness of the album is its length - not an unusual problem for Rage. It contains 17 songs for more than 1 hour, and at least 5/6 songs are obvious fillers, really nothing that goes beyond a run-of-the-mill heavy metal song. This has often been the case for Rage throughout their career, I wish they could work with an external producer to help them cut down the least interesting songs and make more focused albums.

The album starts very strong, with "Paint the Devil on The Wall" and "The Mirror in Your Eyes", both bursting with fresh and exuberant guitar riffs and excellent vocal melodies. The 4-piece suite "Tribute to Dishonour" follows and is also very strong, with its piano-driven beginning and interlude, mixed with heavier (yet melodic) parts. It's notable that all but one of these initial excellent songs are composed by new member Smolski. The following three songs are somewhat weaker, they lack the spark that made the opening tracks special and come across as fairly mundane, yet listenable. "Deep in the Night" is another high point, perhaps the best song of the album, with a particularly well-crafted chorus. From this point on, unfortunately, the album is considerably weaker, the songs are all fairly heavy and fast, with little concession to memorable melodic solutions or interesting arrangements. They are really nothing special except for a couple of nice solos (notably the instrumental "Lunatic"). It's a pity, because with a bit more focus and attention to detail, this could have been a much better album. As it stands, it is a bit hard to listen to this in one go without getting bored or distracted.

They say the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Nowhere is this less accurate than the inopportune comedy of errors that nearly led to the demise of Wagner's monolithic German heavy metal institution Rage. Despite reveling in a high water-mark creatively for much of the '90s (coming to a logical and anticipated head with Ghosts), the Efthimiadis-led lineup shockingly threw in their collective towel, ditched Wagner and formed the pop/rock outfit Sub7even to marginal acclaim. Blindsided and forced to improvise, Wagner recruited a relatively unknown virtuoso whom he earlier tapped in limited volume for the last record. That unknown was one Victor Smolski.

With Smolski comes a more bombastic, rock opera-leaning disposition that builds upon the framework inaugurated in earnest on Lingua Mortis and especially Ghosts, consolidating most of the melodic appeal around either cut-and-dry verse/chorus structures or loose jam session eruptions that give Victor's stratospheric chops room to sufficiently emote. We see Rage return to their classic three-piece configuration here as well, with journeyman Mike Terrana rounding out this nucleus by augmenting the traditional Rage core with his busywork, disorienting and rapid-fire percussive outpourings. It goes without saying that the songwriting is credible and hook-laden for the most part, and for the time of its release, Welcome to the Other Side exemplified a weighty comeback on Rage's part, and was undeniably the Germans' most traditional and striking output since End of All Days.

That said, Welcome to the Other Side also ushered in a permutation of Rage that has decidedly less value to the morbid speedsters that helped pull the band out from oblivion nearly fifteen years earlier. Smolski can set the fretboard alight like no other, but even his heaviest riffs exude hard rock qualities in equal (if not more) measure compared to heavy metal fare. Perchance it is an artifact of his slack, unguarded playing style and ear for more progressive, multitudinous movements like the "Tribute to Dishonour" series that accounts for much of the middle section of the album. In spite of pivoting courtesy of a number of short instrumental breathers, it can't help but foreshadow "Suite Lingua Mortis" from Speak of the Dead along with the "Empty Hollow" sequence featured on Strings to a Web. Despite the eccentricity showcased on the equivalent outings here, Welcome to the Other Side is still relatively lacking as far as white-knuckled militants like "Voice from the Vault" or "The Crawling Chaos" are concerned. Melodicism is ample and will keep most listeners invested, but I can't help but find Welcome to the Other Side one of the more uneven Rage outings, at least in terms of this dichotomy,

Individual performances are in general quite the collective step up, as Mike Terrana has to be one of the most underrated journeyman percussionists out there. Terrana is a very hard hitting and physical drummer, which is as integral a cog as any as far as Rage's flesh-into-gear rhythm backbone is concerned. That said, his kit is unusually triggered on this album, a frankly incomprehensible sonic decision that was swiftly rectified on Unity, but still stands out as a flabbergasting decision. The octopus-on-PCP drum fill that opens "The Mirror in Your Eyes" proves both Terrana's mastery and the disconcerting drum mix in one swift motion. Wagner is still pushing the smoother vocal temperament circa Ghosts, so there are still holdouts from that era for the few that were still equitably pining for such.

As with all Rage efforts, Welcome to the Other Side is a lot to take in and is by no means devoid of filler. Disregarding the memorable but neither here-nor-there "Tribute to Dishonour" transition, the record both opens and closes strongly. "Sister Demon" is a dead-simple yet mashing 4/4 cruncher, and "Paint the Devil on the Wall" coexists cogently with "The Mirror in Your Eyes" as part of an opening flurry that aims for a first-round knockout. Pair this with a number of technically passable, yet floppy outings wherein we still find Smolski finding his voice like "No Lies," and I can ultimately do without Welcome to the Other Side in light of both Unity and Soundchaser immediately after it. A solid outing nonetheless, and a serviceable welcome to two of the most accomplished musicians to ever rage alongside Wagner.

In 2001, after a couple of years of recovery from the departure of his entire band, Peavy Wagner and newfound brothers-in-arms Victor Smolski and Mike Terrana heaved the extraordinarily unique Welcome To The Other Side into a churning current of changing metal tides. For their first foray together in Rage, the trio crafted an intricately detailed and widely varied monster of an album which defies quick comparison to what the band would create both prior to and after its release, instead proving to be an engaging segueway. Unlike the past couple of albums, which saw Peavy utilizing orchestration more and more, Welcome To The Other Side instead begins with a rather straightforward and yet extremely dynamic approach.

Well, prior to this point, “extremely dynamic” and “extraordinarily unique” have not been words that I’ve used to describe individual Rage albums, which, both before and after this pivotal album have been quite consistent and fairly predictable. I suppose I owe you, the reader, some explanation. The strange tides of circumstance and reformation see to it that while this album is still very identifiably the same band under the same flag of leadership, it wraps up a bundle of ideas and sounds that make it a transitional milestone in the group’s career. While Unity would find Victor Smolski settling into a rather well-defined riffing groove, here he is all over the place (which in this case is a good thing). From head-smacking riffs in opener “Paint The Devil On The Wall”, to ethereal and heady solo work in “Requiem”, Peavy must have been mad with joy to find himself with such excellent company.

True and excellent variety is the order of the day here. Ripping mid-tempo tracks are present, as they are on every work the band has ever produced, but so are more pop-oriented rockers such as “The Mirror In Your Eyes” and “Sister Demon”, as well as the screaming pace of “No Lies”, and the surprisingly capable balladry of “Deep In The Night”. Peavy pulls out a multi-part song with “Tribute To Dishonor”, and it is an exceptionally good one amongst several that the band has created. Shifting between images of anticipation, conviction, and malignancy, and wrapping up with the powerful “I’m Crucified” (with some foreshadowing of things to come for the band), this is possibly one of the best and most concise multi-part song experiences that I’ve had the pleasure of hearing.

Sonically, this album has an excellent balance of sound. Especially in comparison to older Rage, the paradigm shift to a trio instead of a four piece musical machine means that despite being less crowded, the musical elements are easier to pick out. The roar or trickle of guitar, the punch of Peavy’s bass, and Mike Terrana’s excellent drumwork; all are always easily discernible. While keyboard work does crop up here and there, even on the “Tribute To Dishonor” suite, the symphonics are quite subtle and restrained, unlike the album’s predecessor, Ghosts. The sheer enormity of this album (17 tracks, none of them wasted, and 65 minutes of metal) defies the possibility of a careful track by track. Howver, aside from the notable works that I’ve already mentioned, I’d like to draw special attention to the maniacal and impetuous nocturnal journey that is “Riders On The Moonlight”, as well as the at first seemingly absurd rocking stomp of “Straight To Hell”, which turns into one of the more unique songs that the band has written.

If you’re going to pick up one Rage album that provides a great sampling of what the band can do at its best, I highly suggest that you consider Welcome To The Other Side. The influences and sounds are widespread enough that it is very slow to wear out its welcome, and unlike some of the band’s later material, the lyrical themes are less worn and often less clumsy. Think of this album as a strange blend of both the original and newer incarnations of the band. I might consider this the absolute pinnacle of Rage’s overall mastery of blending very mixed elements into their music, and it is an absolutely necessity for listeners of landmark heavy and power metal.

Original review written for Black Wind Metal

Yup, this is the best Rage album, for sure. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a heavy/power metal band as eclectic and oddball as Rage. They pull in such a wide variety of influences and put them so seamlessly into albums that it feels natural, even when you get pop hooks in one song and orchestrated sophistication in the next, with a healthy root stuck in the soil of true heavy metal the whole time. Welcome to the Other Side is the best one I have heard from these guys, and pretty much the peak of their songwriting skills, with the tightest and best written collection of tunes.

Peavy Wagner’s vocals are their usual peppy, saccharine wail, sometimes going into a slightly harsher tone and sometimes letting out a croon so sappy that he sounds like he belongs more on a 80s Bon Jovi tribute, as on the melodramatic “Deep in the Night.” I really love his voice, and I always have. Nowadays, if you really wanted me to criticize something, I guess I could tell you that he could pick better vocal lines at times, as they could always be more agile and aggressive – but hey, maybe they don’t need to be. I don’t know. The choruses will get stuck in your head for months. You will seriously never forget them – this is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what you think of this album. Oh, and the bass and drums are great. They have a really nice, hard edge to them that makes them really enjoyable to hear.

The guitars crunch and flail away, snapping necks with a deadly precision and introducing subtle changes and outside influences at times, too. Like on “Straight to Hell,” which opens up with a blackened country lick before morphing into the song’s chugging, thrashy metal tempo; what a cool song that is. Or perhaps the opaque title track, with its jazzy break in the middle and dark theatrics. But they never forget the metal – witness the grooving, head stomping awesomeness of “Riders on the Moonlight,” the ultra-catchy “Sister Demon” or the excellent, soaring “Leave it All Behind,” with its wind-up explosive chorus and raging guitar antics. And that isn’t even mentioning the straight-up power metal of the opening duo of “Paint the Devil on the Wall” and “Mirror in Your Eyes.” Splendid! It is always entertaining and always keeps you on your toes.

At times, like on the ambitious “Tribute to Dishonor,” placed surprisingly in the beginning of this long, long album, we see Rage doing what they do best; being pompous as hell. These songs are dark and mysterious, with brooding atmospherics exploding into pained, sorrowful choral cries from the vocals. Rage seemingly has an addiction to putting pieces like these on their albums. It’s become something of a signature for them, especially in these later years, but this is probably my favorite, just for its brevity. There really isn’t a need to make half of the album one of these classical things; it’s just overkill. This is the better way to do it; just four shorter songs strung into one big, booming piece of foreboding gloom.

Rage have fallen into a rut of self-parody in later times, with their newest material not having the same punch as their classic work and being oft derivative, but don’t let that deter you from listening to great albums like this. I just love the variety of this, how there are 17 songs on this fucking thing and yet it never grows boring. Every song has self contained ideas and motifs that are completely unique and weird, but the band ties them together with familiar elements like a catchy, home-brewed guitar riff or a soaring 80s style chorus. It should feel really cobbled together and fraudulent, but Rage tied everything together with a huge amount of class, style and heart. It feels like really genuine music made by people who just love making it; why else would they have been around toiling in the underground for 30 years to this date?

Conclusion? Get Welcome to the Other Side. It is individualistic, incredibly fun and also really well written. Music for those who tire of convention and long for something new and fresh.

This is one of my favorite Rage albums...I can't believe it doesn't have any reviews yet. This band deserves so much more recognition than it gets.

This album has a very raw drum sound which really adds a raw and heavy atmosphere to all the songs, even 'Deep In The Night' which could almost be a hair metal ballad if not for that drum sound. Sadly, this sound was disposed of on their next album, 'Unity', for a purer sound, which also sounds quite good.

Peter's vocals are strong, clear, and heeeaaavvvyyyy. This guy doesn't miss a beat and his tone sets the emotion for every song. He's a very versatile vocalist and always dominates.

The guitars are just mindblowing, I'm sure most of you will be shooting your load once you hear this baby. There's some crazy shredding action that goes on in 'No Lies' and I can guarantee you at least one astounding solo in every song. Rage never allow themselves to sound boring and they've got a plethora of kickass riffs packed on here. As for the bass, it basically follows the drums most of the time, which gives a fatter, fuller sound.

Best Tracks: No Lies, Point of No Return, The Mirror In Your Eyes, Paint the Devil On the Wall, and Deep In the Night.