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(Spring 2006) by George Dionne
Not too many heavy metal bands can state they've been around for over twenty
years, but German metal heavyweights Rage are more than worthy to make such
a statement. Although the band has had numerous line-up changes through the
years, Rage mastermind Peter Wagners has always carried the torch for the
group and heavy metal music in general. Earlier this year, Rage released
their seventeenth album Speak of the Dead (read
CD review). Their latest
is a nod to their old school roots as well as a sign of the present and future
of the group.
RIL: If I knew absolutely nothing about Rage, how would you describe the
group's music to me?
PW: We’re a Heavy Metal three-piece with progressive & symphonic
elements. Our roots come from 80´s Power-metal.
RIL: You're latest album Speak of the Dead begins with
an eight-part song "Suite Lingua Mortis." What does the title translate
to? What is the story
behind the song?
PW: The title reminds to our 1996 release Lingua Mortis,
which was the first fully orchestrated Metal album, long before Metallica
;-). “Lingua
Mortis” is Latin and means "the language of the dead". Our "Suite
Lingua Mortis" has a classical theme as story, "death and the young
girl"--a motif that was already used by Franz Schubert, the classical
composer.
RIL: Does the rest of the music on the album differ from the opening song?
PW: Yes, the rest of the album is pure Metal, like
Rage is known for. We wanted to show all of our musical variation on this
album. I think the
material reflects all the different eras in Rage’s history pretty
well.
RIL: How would you say Rage's sound has between your debut album Reign
of Fear and your latest album?
PW: When we started 22 years ago we sounded a bit simpler, I guess. Our musical
abilities and range has certainly spread and developed. The music and sound
changed a bit with the different line ups but the red line never got lost,
due to my style of songwriting.
RIL: Speak of the Dead is Rage's 17th album. Not too many bands can say
they've been fortunate enough to accomplish that feat. What would you attribute
your longevity to?
PW: We have very true followers everywhere. Plus the fact that I simply love
this music.
RIL: You recently shot a video for the song "No Fear," what
is the concept of the video?
PW: The video clip contents excerpts from the movie Ludgers Fall, our shots
were integrated into the movies storyline.
RIL: "No Fear" is also going to be appearing in the German
movie Ludger's Fall. Can you tell me a little about the movie?
PW: It’s a psycho criminal story, taking place on a North Sea island
in Germany. It’s not finished yet, so I haven’t seen the final
cut.
RIL: You've been touring through Europe since March, what will be going
on after the current tour ends?
PW: We toured Europe from March till May, then we went
to play Russia where we also shot a DVD in St. Petersburg. At the moment
we’re taking some
weeks off and then play (some) festivals here in Europe. We also plan to
tour Japan and South America later this year. We’ll work on the DVD
in between...
RIL: In its twenty years of existence, Rage has gone through numerous member
changes. Do you think that the current line-up is going to be around a while?
PW: All in all it was 4 different lineups, that’s not too much for
20 years I’d say. The current line up has lasted 7 years and is the
longest lasting of all.
RIL: Why do you think American audiences haven't embraced Rage as much as
Europe and other countries have?
PW: Good question! First of all this music is not popular in the States in
general. Unfortunately we never had a label that tried to establish us in
the US. Speak of the Dead is our first release in the states since the late
Eighties...
RIL: How did you get the nickname Peavy?
PW: In school when I was 10 my classmates started calling me Peavy and the
name stuck on me since then.
RIL: What's the best experience you've had on stage?
PW: One of our first live shows with a full orchestra
was on the Dynamo Festival in Holland. The reactions were so fantastic that
the audience didn’t
let us go. We played our full set twice!
RIL: What's the worst experience you've ever had on stage?
PW: I’m glad that nothing really bad has ever
happened (like the Great White disaster), but (there are) some shitty moments
I do remember. On our
last tour during a packed show in Barcelona, Spain we had a blackout. We
had to take a break of more than an hour before the power came back.
RIL: A couple years back you were involved in a car accident. What happened?
PW: This was last year. I was riding my bike when a car hit me; I broke both
my elbows. It sucked, believe me. But I recovered completely; just a big
scar is left from the operation...
RIL: Who are some of your favorite bands that you have toured with?
PW: Motörhead and Saxon were cool. Nice guys,
good memories!
RIL: Are there any bands that you would not tour with again?
PW: I’ve made no enemies so far, ha-ha! No, there
are no bands that I hate. But the guys from Helloween, when we toured (with
them) there was
never enough red wine, because Andy (Deris) drank it all, ha-ha! |
PETER
WAGNERS
