German metalers Rage participated in the first day of the virtual Wacken World Wide Festival on Wednesday (29). The band set themselves up in Germany’s historic Balve Cave for a hard-rocking three-song set that included songs “Straight To Hell,” “Black In Mind” and “Higher Than The Sky.”
Rage’s set was also special in that it marked the first show for the band’s two new members. Guitarists Stefan Weber, who joined the band in May, and Jean Bormann, who was formally introduced at this show, filled the spot vacated by Marcos Rodriguez in May.
Said frontman/bassist Peavy Wagner about the additions:
“We’ve wanted for some time for Rage to be a quartet again, with two guitarists the way we operated back in the days of Black In Mind and End Of All Days. After Marcos had returned to Tenerife and consequently was no longer available, I used this opportunity to enlist two young guitarists.”
In June, the new four-man line-up released a video for “The Price Of War 2.0,” a reworking of the track from 1995’s Black In Mind.
“As you can tell from the clip, Stefan and Jean complement each other perfectly,” said Wagner. “They’re both young and bring a lot of fresh energy to the band. We consciously chose this number for the video because we also wanted to revitalize the sound of the Black In Mind-era. The track was cut practically live for the clip, with only a few overdubs added. Rage will sound as heavy and punchy as we do on that song.”
The new track is just the tip of the iceberg, as the band is using their time during the pandemic to record new music. “As we’re not in a position to do any shows for obvious reasons at the moment, but the guys are bursting with energy, we’re using that momentum to work on new ideas that will probably be ready for release next year.”
Wacken World Wide runs from now through Saturday, August 1. A mix of archival and new concert sets, artists on the roster include Alice Cooper, Foreigner, In Flames, Nightwish, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Lordi and more. The schedule can be found on the Wacken website.
Rage released their 25th and latest studio album, Wings of Rage, in January.
The full set can be viewed below:
