Rage - My Way EP
Power metal legends show they aren't finished yet
As their first release since announcing a new line-up, Power metal veterans Rage's new EP My Way may be the group's most important release since their early stages of existence. Proving you're still noteworthy can be just as hard as convincing people you are in the first place, and Rage will need to do this over their next couple of releases. With My Way, they've laid the foundations. To aid in this, Rage have resurrected fan favourites from 95's Black In Mind to accompany new song 'My Way', which appears twice - the second time being in its Spanish version 'Apuesto A Ganar'.
Sticking to what they know, the EP's title-track doesn't go far beyond the band's now formulaic power-metal style, with the soaring chorus opening up the plodding verses to great effect. An inherently catchy track despite packing a mean punch, its chorus demands a huge crowd to sing it back as Peavy Wagner (the band's only founding member left) sings "give me my way or no way at all" over the forceful riff.
Meanwhile, old favourites in the form of 'Black In Mind' and 'Sent By The Devil' have been given new life, with modern production techniques allowing the guitars to hit harder through a new punchy edge. Re-recording old tracks may seem too easy, but it gives new guitarist Marcos Rodriguez (from Soundchaser) and new drummer Vassilios "Lucky" Maniatopoulos (from Tri State Corner) a chance to prove their worthiness.
Though on the surface My Way only really gives fans one new song, it is an encouraging release that proves Rage's new line-up are capable of not only matching the quality of old favourites, but that they can also write powerful new songs that echo of the brand of power metal that Rage built their career upon.
7/10
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