Rage

Rage are a German ^Germany heavy metal ^{Heavy metal music} band, formed in 1984. They were part of the German heavy/speed/power metal scene ^{Music_of_Germany#Metal} to emerge in the early to mid 1980s, along with bands like Helloween and Running Wild ^{Running Wild (band)} .

  Rage formed in 1984 under the name, 'Avenger'. After releasing their debut album Prayers of Steel and their Depraved to Black EP in 1985, the band changed their name to Rage because there was another band in England that also carried the moniker. Originally the new name was to be 'Furious Rage' but it was eventually shortened to Rage. The first album released under the new name was Reign of Fear in 1986.

Rage's albums came out in regular, continuous intervals, and the band began touring with the likes of Running Wild ^{Running Wild (band)} , U.D.O., Motörhead and Saxon ^{Saxon (band)} in the early 1990s.

Their 1992 album Trapped ^{Trapped (Rage Album)} marked their international breakthrough, a short highlight being Rage's tour in Japan.

Their success was repeated again in 1993 with the release of The Missing Link ^{The Missing Link (Rage Album)} . After change in their lineup, Rage went on to record Lingua Mortis, the first classical album by a German metal act, in 1996.

Their material was performed live for the first time in late summer 1996 in Kufstein, Austria.

Subsequently, Rage, and the orchestra used, embarked on a celebrated Christmas tour and played several European festivals.

Their thirteenth album XIII ^{XIII (Rage Album)} saw the light of day in March 1998. The next album Ghosts ^{Ghosts (Rage Album)} was followed by a major line-up change, featuring Peavy Wagner, Victor Smolski and Mike Terrana.

The trio performed at Wacken Open Air in August 1999, revealing their newest album Welcome to the Other Side.

The following releases Unity ^{Unity (Rage album)} and Soundchaser were met with enthusiastic response from critics and fans alike.

Rage toured with Primal Fear ^{Primal Fear (band)} in 2002 and Helloween in 2003 and proved to be successful outings.

Rage recently celebrated their 25th anniversary with the release of the EP Gib Dich Nie Auf / Never Give Up.

On December 6, 2006 the split with drummer Mike Terrana was officially announced, due to personal and musical differences.

On January 1, 2007 it was announced that their new drummer would be André Hilgers, known as the drummer of Axxis.


In 2007 the band toured in Europe with a show featuring one symphonic orchestra from Minsk, Belarus under the name "Lingua Mortis Orchestra", and the concert in that August at Wacken Open Air at 80,000 fans was recorded for a DVD to be included as bonus to their new album called Carved in Stone ^{Carved in Stone (Rage album)} and released on February 22, 2008.

The band played at Bundesvision Song Contest 2009 (BUVISOCO) on 13 February 2009, the Festival was hosted by Stefan Raab (TV Total)
In the start of 2010 Rage will be part of the Summer Breeze Open Air heavy metal festival in Germany. The festival will take place in Dinkelsbühl, Bavaria and will feature over 50 bands and draw around 40,000 attendees. The festival is held between August 19-21.
Current members

* Peter "Peavy" Wagner ^{Peavy Wagner} – vocals ^Singing , bass ^{Bass guitar} (1984-present)
* Victor Smolski – guitar (1999-present)
* André Hilgers – drums ^{Drum kit} (2007-present)


Former members

* Alf Meyerratken – guitar (1985)
* Thomas Grüning – guitar (1985–1986)
* Jochen Schröder – guitar (1985–1987)
* Jörg Michael – drums (1985–1987)
* Rudi Graf – guitar (1987)
* Manni Schmidt – guitar (1988–1994)
* Chris Efthimiadis – drums (1988–1999)
* Ulli Cohler - keyboards (1990)
* Spiros Efthimiadis – guitar (1994–1999)
* Sven Fischer – guitar (1994–1999)
* Christian Wolff - keyboards (1996-1999)
* Mike Terrana – drums (1999–2006)
As Avenger

* Prayers of Steel (1985)
* Depraved to Black (EP, 1985)


Albums as Rage

* Reign of Fear (1986)
* Execution Guaranteed (1987)
* Perfect Man ^{Perfect Man (Rage Album)} (1988)
* Secrets in a Weird World (1989)
* Reflections of a Shadow (1990)
* Trapped ^{Trapped (Rage Album)} (1992)
* The Missing Link ^{The Missing Link (Rage Album)} (1993)
* 10 Years in Rage (1994)
* Black in Mind (1995)
* Lingua Mortis (1996)
* End of All Days (1996)
* XIII ^{XIII (Rage album)} (1998)
* Ghosts ^{Ghosts (Rage album)} (1999)
* Welcome to the Other Side (2001)
* Unity ^{Unity (Rage album)} (2002)
* Soundchaser (2003)
* Speak of the Dead (2006)
* Carved in Stone ^{Carved in Stone (Rage album)} (2008)
* Strings To A Web (2010)


EPs

* Extended Power (1991)
* Beyond the Wall (1992)
* Refuge (Japan) (1993)
* Higher than the Sky (Japan) (1996)
* Live from the Vault (Japan) (1997)
* Gib Dich Nie Auf / Never Give Up (2009)


Live

* Power of Metal (Live, 1994)
* From the Cradle to the Stage (Live, 2004)
* Full Moon in St. Petersburg (Live, 2007)* The Video Link (1994)
* From the Cradle to the Stage (2004)
* Full Moon in St. Petersburg (2007)