Rage are a German heavy metal band, formed in 1984. They were part of the German heavy/speed/power metal scene to emerge in the early to mid 1980s, along with bands like Helloween and Running Wild.
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, U.D.O., Motrhead and Saxon in the early 1990s.
Their 1992 album Trapped 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. 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 saw the light of day in March 1998. The next album Ghosts 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 and Soundchaser were met with enthusiastic response from critics and fans alike.
Rage toured with Primal Fear 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 Andr 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 and released on February 22, 2008[1].
The band played at Bundesvision Song Contest 2009 (BUVISOCO) on 13 February 2009, the Festival was hosted by Stefan Raab (TV Total)[2] - Rage became more famous through their participation in the show, as well as by placing third.
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 Dinkelsbhl, Bavaria and will feature over 50 bands and draw around 40,000 attendees. The festival is held between August 19-21. [3]
