Rage have been making the kind of Speed Metal that makes your head spin for twenty-five years now… yep, twenty-five years - that’s going to make a few of you feel quite old I’m sure. Now the band are heading into their twenty-sixth they’ve decided to make it with a new album. Looking back they must have released something, be it a single or LP every year of the past quarter century. So there is plenty to compare this new album to.
Well, if you don’t know Rage sound like you can get the gist from pretty much any track off any album. Heavy Metal played very fast - big riffs, bigger choruses, no bullshit, and not really groundbreaking despite some proggy pretences. But they’re, much like Motorhead, a safe bet. And lo and behold Strings To The Web isn’t any different.
‘The Edge of Darkness’ opens things with some head spinning guitar work and a fantastic speed metal riffing - a good start. ‘Hunter & Prey’ is a nice heavy metal track, but the mix seems a little off despite some excellent performances. ‘Into the Light’ musically is a promising track but the vocals and lyrics seem rather bland on this one. ‘The Beggars Last Dine’ almost sounds like Motley Crue if Vince Neil smoked as much as Lemmy and is one of the standout tracks on the album. ‘Empty Hollow’ breaks out those symphonic tendencies the band are known for occasionally indulging in - but to great effect, the intro adds weight to the groove laden guitar riff before it rejoins to give an extra kick. The title track of the album almost sounds like it’s going to head into industrial territory for a minute with its strange loops and proggy machinations that descend into a mind bending mix of metal and jazz and back again. ‘Fatal Grace’ marks the halfway point with a brief and very mellow interlude that again shows off the bands symphonic prowess. ‘Connected’ feels militaristic in its beat and has a great crawling dark feeling thanks to the electronics that are liberally throughout. ‘Empty Hollow Reprise’ despite being a nice little fast reminder of the track proper, is rather superfluous. ‘Saviour of the Dead’ is a nice bass driven chugging track that changes the pace of the album - sounds like of swampy metal for zombie strippers. ‘Hellgirl’ is a bit a let down - unfortunately there are plenty of bands writing songs of this calibre and it’s not something you necessarily want to hear coming from the veterans. ‘Purified’ goes back to what the band does best - straight up Speed Metal, the kind that might ignite in your Hi-Fi. The penultimate track ‘Through Ages’ is a short acoustic ballad that normally I’d hate but on here it just works well sandwiched between the previous track and the albums closer ‘Tomorrow Never Comes’. A classic sounding heavy metal track that unfortunately you’ve heard too many times before, it could have benefited from some embellishment.
On the whole the album is a success. The band have never lost “it” despite the many line-up changes. However I still feel their high water mark was on Unity and Soundchaser. But this is still a great album with lots of positives to outweigh the negatives.
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