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SOUNDCHASER
I often find it comical at how serious some of the bands I review take
themselves, when in all reality, all they are is a parody of
something that MIGHT have been serious at one point...long ago... far, far away.
When a band, which is assembled by some of the better musicians
in the euro-metal scene, puts a CD out that you don't
know whether to laugh or just shut it off because they sound absolutely
comical, you have to question what they were really thinking at
the time they made this. RAGE, the German power trio consisting of Peavey
Wagner (bass/vocals), Victor Smolski (guitar), and U.S.
transplant Mike Terrana (drums) are a powerhouse musical unit. Smolski, a
serious shredder and can riff his brains out, Terrana is a
longtime veteran of the underground metal scenes in both Europe and the
United States and Wagner is a very accomplished frontman
clearly have the right vision for their music, and the right audience to
target it to, but what makes this disc such a laugh is the lyrical
content, musical arrangements and vocal delivery. Everything is simply
bombastic, non-dynamical, with one of the WORST vocal accents
I've heard since Klaus Maine (Scorpions frontman). I just laughed at the
psuedo-macho tough guy thing and felt basically uncomfortable
while listening to this overblown mess. Each track sounds like the next, and
the chorus, or whatever you call them, simply don't stick
with you. This is supposedly a concept album, what it's about is beyond me
and lets face it: Who Really Cares? What you want, is tight
songs, with melody, and powerful hooks, neither of which is found on any of
the songs on this disc. This is basically a crying shame
because this band has some serious talent in it, though I could say that if
Wagner never stepped in front of mic again, he'd be doing the
world a great favor. I can only hope they realize that this version isn't
working and they could find a really decent, charismatic frontman
which will give them the opportunity to sit down, take some time and create
an album that has all the elements which are sorely missing
from this pile of rubbish. Off to the compactor for this one.
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