Rage – Wings Of War

3rd February 2020 0 By Donk

Now then folks, so RAGE are a new band to me so I’m not really sure what to expect. The band are labelled as Power Metal, so it definitely had me interested.

True is the first track up and the intro had me bristling like a hedgehog on crack but that was until the vocal kicked in. It’s not that Peavy has a terrible voice, far from it the man can growl and wail for sure but its mixed horribly. Our sound engineer Wayne got a better vocal mix in our basement studio if I’m being brutally honest.

The dirtier vocals are mixed and leveled well but when we reach those more powerful vocals its as if the engineer just left it alone and added a hint of reverb. Sorry guys but a more rounded mix would have sat far better as there are some bloody belting riffs, bass work and those drums sound huge, they just all get lost when the vocals are over the top.

Take the intro for Let Them Rest in Peace, holy shit, that makes the hair stand up on my arms! Its brutal as fuck, then the overpowering vocals kick in and I’m like, ah man, sad face. Even just a few less db’s on the vocal track would have worked so much better. The track is also catchy as hell and the middle 8 is brutal as fuck!

Moving on, the album follows the same sort of pace with sporadic lead sections, catchy riffage and well composed songs but unfortunately the vocal mix really spoils it for me. I tried listening to it in the van, in the car, on headphones, through my recording monitors all with the same conclusion, it was poorly mixed. Maybe that’s their way of doing things, I’ve not listened to any other albums from the guys and maybe that’s how they prefer it but for me its just a nope!

For the solid riffage, heavy hitting and lead work I would give it a solid 8 but just because of the mix I can’t go over a 6.

If you’re a fan of RAGE give it a shot for sure, if not maybe give it a whirl but you’ve been warned.

Score 6/10.

Tracklisting:
01. True
02. Let Them Rest in Peace
03. Chasing The Twilight Zone
04. Tomorrow
05. Wings Of Rage
06. Shadow Over Deadland (The Twilight Transition)
07. A Nameless Grave
08. Don`t Let Me Down
09. Shine A Light
10. HTTS 2.0
11. Blame It On The Truth
12. For Those Who Wish To Die