German Power Metal band Rage has come up with a special surprise for its followers to thank them for their loyalty and patience during the long wait enforced by the pandemic: In time for their major co-headlining tour alongside Brainstorm in October and November 2022 and as an appetizer for the things that await their fans, singer/bassist Peavy Wagner and his bandmates Jean Borman, Stefan Weber (both guitars) and Vassilios “Lucky” Maniatopoulos (drums) are set to launch their “Spreading the Plague” EP, featuring three previously unreleased new songs as well as three exciting bonus tracks, on September 30th, 2022.
Says Peavy: “This is a thank-you to our fans who have stood by Rage for so many years. We really look forward to seeing everybody again at our upcoming shows”.
“Spreading the Plague” consists of the songs “To Live and to Die”, “Spreading the Plague” and “The King Has Lost His Crown”, all three from the production phase of Rage‘s 2021 album “Resurrection Day” and previously unreleased. Peavy explains: “These are numbers that we recorded at the same studio quality level as our ’Resurrection Day‘ material but have deliberately held back until now to have something special up our sleeve for our fans when we‘ll be able to tour again at last”. “Resurrection Day” was a major success for Rage: The album scored high chart positions in a number of countries in September 2021, such as number 14 in Germany, number 12 in Japan, number 38 in Switzerland, and a more than impressive number 46 and 81 in the US and Canada, respectively.
The new EP is complemented by three bonus tracks: “A New Land” is a new unplugged version; “The Price of War 2.0.” was first released a few months ago as a digital single including video clip to introduce new band members Jean Borman and Stefan Weber, but has not yet been available on any physical record, same as the Rage classic “Straight to Hell”, a live stream from the Balve Cave venue in July 2020.
So there are plenty of exciting things in the offering: a new EP (complete with exciting cover artwork courtesy of Karim König, who has also designed ’The Devil Strikes Again‘ and ’Seasons Of The Black‘, among others) as well as a big European tour in October/November 2022. It‘s safe to say that Rage fans have plenty to look forward to.
“Spreading the Plague” will be released on September 30th, 2022 through SPV/Steamhammer in the following configurations:
• DigiPak
• LP, 140 g ,black vinyl, printed inner sleeve
• Download / Streaming
Pre-order here
• Exclusive CD/LP Bundle with a shirt only at the Steamhammer shop – Pre-order here.
Tracklist:
01. To Live and to Die – 4:07
02. Spreading the Plague – 4:27
03. The King Has Lost His Crown – 4:29
04. A New Land (acoustic version) – 3:29
05. The Price of War 2.0 – 4:07
06. Straight to Hell (live from the Cave) – 5:08
Festivals 2022:
23.07. IT Zogno – Ambria Music Festival
30.07. DE-Hünfeld – Rhön Rock Open Air
06.08. DE-Regensburg – Metal United Festival
12.08. DE-Pfungstadt – Phungo Festival
20.08. DE-Essen – Turock Open Air
26.08. PT-Viseu – Milagre Metaleiro Open Air
27.08. DE-Tennenbronn – Metalacker
03.09. DE-Brüggen – Bongert Open Air
10.-12.10. ES-Mallorca – Full Metal Holiday
European Tour Dates 2022:
13.10. DE-Mannheim – 7er Club
14.10. DE-Siegburg – Kubana
15.10. AT-Wörgl – Comma
16.10. DE-Munich – Backstage
18.10. CH-Pratteln – Z7
19.10. SK Bratislava – Randal Club
20.10. HU Budapest – Barba Negra
21.10. CZ-Zlin – Masters Of Rock Cafe
22.10. PL Krakow – Hype Park
23.10. CZ-Prague – Rock Cafe
25.10. DE-Nuremberg – Hirsch
26.10. DE-Berlin – Lido
27.10. DE-Fulda – Kreuz
28.10. DE-Flensburg – Roxy
29.10. BE-Ittre – Zik Zak
30.10. DE-Osnabrück – Bastard Club
31.10. DE-Stuttgart – Im Wizemann
02.11. DE-Hamburg – Kulturpalast
03.11. DE-Übach-Palenberg – Rock Factory
04.11. NL-Enschede-Metropool
05.11. BE-Sankt Vith – triangle
06.11. DE-Trier – Mergener Hof
09.11. IT Paderno – Slaughter Club
10.11. DE-Burglengenfeld – VAZ
11.11. DE-Neuruppin – Kulturhaus Stadtgarten
12.11. DE-Hanerau – Hademarscher Hof
13.11. DE-Bochum – Zeche
(w/ Brainstorm)
Weblinks:
www.rage-official.com
www.facebook.com/RageOfficialBand
