I had the pleasure to talk with Peavy many many times and after the
last studio album (Welcome To The Other Side), I ask him what
was his three favorite Rage albums. He mentioned Trapped,
Black In Mind and XIII, which are also my favorite Rage
records.
I also told him at that time : "I don't like Welcome To The
Other Side. Rage seems to have lost its unity and its typical
sound. What a shame !!!". He answered me that "Welcome
To The Other Side is the first record with the new lineup, that
Rage's fans should be patient as next Rage albums will
be much more heavy and less "experimental". The time has come
for Rage to come back to the Trapped album sound".
Hell, he said the truth !
Unity sees Rage back to the roots … in other words,
back to Trapped and The Missing Link period. The orchestral
parts of Ghost, XIII and Welcome To The Other Side have
been left aside (finally !!!) and the heavy/thrash Rage trademark
of the band will hit you right in the face. First three songs (All
I Want, Insanity, Down) will become new Rage classics (fantastic
songs !) and the power coming out of Unity hasn't been reached
since Black In Mind. The melodies will remind you immediately
Trapped or Black In Mind, without forgetting End Of
All Days.
Fifth song (Dies Irae) is the only orchestral/symphonic song
on Unity and is inspired by the opera - Smolski's touch. Except
the fifth track, Unity is melodic, fast, heavy, thrashy …
and is a pure moment of pleasure from the first second till the last
one. Peavy sings like never before (you can feel the guy is happy again),
Smolski plays like a genius with his guitar (listen to Unity,
the instrumental track) and Mike Terrana hits the drums like a monster
!!! And the song-writting ? DAMNED the song-writting is back at the
"rendez-vous" and I am down on my knees. The best Rage album
since a long long long time. Who said the best ever ?
Yes Rage is back and the new lineup has not killed this band. I was
very afraid - not to said very very disappointed - by the last album,
which was too experimental for my taste. Unity sees Rage
back to the top, back to the place it shouldn't have lost after XIII.
Now please Peavy, the time has come to record a live album (two Cds
please). I am dying - so does Rage's fans - to hear your first songs,
Rage's classics and your new rockets with this lineup ... as something
tells me this live will be a killer !
As for today, if you are a Rage's fan, don't miss this one for
nothing. And if you still don't know this band, Unity is the
best possible start after XIII. Trust me !