RAGE
SOUNDCHASER
SPV

LINKS:

spv.de
Germany's Rage have been in the metal game for over two decades, as the trio's mighty power metal has thrilled audiences the world over. Back with the outfit's 16th album, and the group's second conceptual work, the 11-track Soundchaser merges the constantly crossed-over genres of sci-fi and metal with success.
Based on the Soundchaser, the band's "mascot” that adorns the Rage album covers (akin to Maiden’s Eddie), as well as a HP Lovecraft novel, this album tells tales of despair, loss, and enlightenment (always proper metal fodder, no?) through the eyes of this fictitional character. Galloping rhythms, jarring guitars and whirlwind drumming help flesh out this story, and also assist Rage in creating another solid notch on the troupe's already dazzling power metal belt. If you dig Helloween (whose Andi Deris guests here, by the way), Iced Earth, or Judas Priest, chances are you'll flip over Rage.

----Mike SOS