Rage is a German heavy metal band. Formed in early 1983, the group was originally known as Avenger and featured vocalist Peter Burtz, guitarists Jochen Schröder and Alf Meyerratken, bassist Klaus Müller, and drummer Jan Yildiral. By the time the group was renamed Rage in 1986, the lineup included Peter "Peavy" Wagner on vocals and bass, Schröder and Thomas "Guinness" Grüning on guitars, and Jörg Michael on drums. Wagner is the only remaining early member, with the current lineup also featuring drummer Vassilios "Lucky" Maniatopoulos (since 2015) and guitarists Jean Bormann and Stefan Weber (since 2020; Weber has been on hiatus since 2023).
History
1983–1994 Rage was formed as Avenger in early 1983 by vocalist Peter Burtz, guitarists Jochen Schröder and Alf Meyerratken, bassist Klaus Müller, and drummer Jan Yildiral. After recording a demo, Burtz and Yildiral left near the end of the year to join Steeler. They were replaced at the beginning of 1984 by Peter "Peavy" Wagner (who also took over bass duties) and Jörg Michael, respectively. A second demo followed, before the band recorded its full-length debut Prayers of Steel in October 1984, after which Meyerratken was replaced by Thomas "Guinness" Grüning. Depraved to Black followed in 1985, before Avenger changed their name to Rage and released Reign of Fear in early 1986.
In late 1986, Grüning was replaced by Rudy Graf, who debuted on the 1987 album Execution Guaranteed; that July, shortly after the album's release, Wagner dismissed all three of his bandmates due to their desire to play "more commercial music", subsequently introducing a new three-piece lineup featuring guitarist Manni Schmidt and drummer Chris Efthimiadis. This lineup remained in place for seven years, releasing five studio albums, three EPs and one live video. In February 1994, after the tour in promotion of 1993's The Missing Link, Schmidt left Rage, claiming that he was "tired of the music business and tired of making music"; he later joined Grave Digger in 2000.
1994–2020
To replace Schmidt, Wagner hired two guitarist — Spiros Efthimiadis, Chris's brother, and Sven Fischer — as he claimed that Efthimiadis alone "wasn't good enough" to take over on his own. The new quartet's first release was 10 Years in Rage, which featured a track on which former members Jochen Schröder, Alf Meyerratken, Jörg Michael, Thomas Grüning, Rudy Graf and Manni Schmidt were all featured. This lineup remained in place until 1999, releasing five more studio albums, two EPs and one live video album. In June 1999, after the recording but before the release of Ghosts, the Efthimiadis brothers and Fischer all departed as a result of various personal and musical disagreements, again leaving Wagner as the sole member of the band.
Rage returned later in the summer of 1999 with a lineup of Wagner, guitarist Victor Smolski and drummer Mike Terrana. This lineup remained in place until December 2006, when Terrana left due to "personal and musical differences". On 1 January 2007, Axxis and Silent Force drummer André Hilgers was unveiled as Terrana's replacement. In February 2015, it was announced that Wagner had parted ways with both Smolski and Hilgers, and would build another new lineup of the band. In June, the new members were announced as guitarist Marco Rodriguez and drummer Vassilios "Lucky" Maniatopoulos. The new trio released The Devil Strikes Again, Seasons of the Black and Wings of Rage, before Rodriguez left after relocating, and was replaced by Jean Bormann and Stefan Weber in June 2020 as Wagner wanted the band to be a four-piece again.
Since 2020 After releasing Resurrection Day in 2021, Rage reverted to a trio again starting in July 2023, when Weber went on "indefinite hiatus" due to "personal reasons". The band's next album, 2024's Afterlifelines, did not feature Weber. As of 2026, Weber has still not returned to the band.
Members Current Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributionsPeter "Peavy" Wagner1984–presentall Rage releases to dateVassilios "Lucky" Maniatopoulos2015–presentall Rage releases from The Devil Strikes Again (2016) to dateJean Bormann2020–presentall Rage releases from "The Price of War 2.0" (2020) to date
Former Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributionsJochen Schröder1983–1987lead guitarAlf Meyerratken1983–1984Peter Burtz1983lead vocalsAvenger first demo (1983)Klaus MüllerbassJan YildiraldrumsJörg Michael1984–1987Thomas "Guinness" Grüning1984–1986rhythm guitarRudy Graf1986–1987Execution Guaranteed (1987)Chris Efthimiadis1987–1999drumsManni Schmidt1987–1994all Rage releases from Perfect Man (1988) to 10 Years in Rage (1994)Spiros Efthimiadis1994–1999Sven FischerVictor Smolski1999–2015Mike Terrana1999–2006André Hilgers2007–2015drumsall Rage releases from Carved in Stone (2008) to LMO at Master of Rock Festival (2014)Marcos Rodriguez2015–2020Stefan Weber2020–2023lead and rhythm guitars
Timeline
Lineups Lineups as Avenger PeriodMembersReleasesEarly–late 1983Peter Burtz — lead vocals Jochen Schröder — lead guitar Alf Meyerratken — rhythm guitar, backing vocals Klaus Müller — bass Jan Yildiral — drumsAvenger first demo (1983)Early–late 1984Peavy Wagner — lead vocals, bass Jochen Schröder — lead guitar Alf Meyerratken — rhythm guitar, backing vocals Jörg Michael — drumsAvenger second demo (1984) Prayers of Steel (1985)Late 1984–early 1986Peavy Wagner — vocals, bass Jochen Schröder — lead guitar Thomas Grüning — rhythm guitar Jörg Michael — drumsDepraved to Black (1985)
Lineups as Rage PeriodMembersReleasesEarly–autumn 1986Peavy Wagner — vocals, bass Jochen Schröder — lead guitar Thomas Grüning — rhythm guitar Jörg Michael — drumsReign of Fear (1986)Autumn 1986–July 1987Peavy Wagner — vocals, bass Jochen Schröder — lead guitar Rudy Graf — rhythm guitar Jörg Michael — drumsExecution Guaranteed (1987)July 1987–February 1994Peavy Wagner — lead vocals, bass Manni Schmidt — guitar, backing vocals Chris Efthimiadis — drumsPerfect Man (1988) Secrets in a Weird World (1989) Reflections of a Shadow (1990) Extended Power (1991) Trapped! (1992) Beyond the Wall (1992) The Missing Link (1993) The Video Link (1994) Refuge (1994)Spring 1994–June 1999Peavy Wagner — lead vocals, bass Spiros Efthimiadis — lead guitar, backing vocals Sven Fischer — rhythm guitar, backing vocals Chris Efthimiadis — drums10 Years in Rage (1994) Black in Mind (1995) Lingua Mortis (1996) End of All Days (1996) Live from the Vault (1997) XIII (1998) In Vain: Rage in Acoustic (1998) Ghosts (1999) Metal Meets Classic Live (2001)June 1999–December 2006Peavy Wagner — vocals, bass Victor Smolski — guitar, sitar, cello, keyboards Mike Terrana — drums, percussionWelcome to the Other Side (2001) Unity (2002) Soundchaser (2003) From the Cradle to the Stage (2004) Speak of the Dead (2006) Full Moon at St. Petersburg (2007)January 2007–February 2015Peavy Wagner — vocals, bass Victor Smolski — guitar, sitar, cello, keyboards André Hilgers — drumsCarved in Stone (2008) Strings to a Web (2010) 21 (2012) LMO (2013) LMO at Master of Rock Festival (2014)June 2015–June 2020Peavy Wagner — lead vocals, bass Marcos Rodriguez — guitar, backing vocals Vassilios Maniatopoulos — drums, backing vocalsThe Devil Strikes Again (2016) Seasons of the Black (2017) Wings of Rage (2020)June 2020–July 2023Peavy Wagner — lead vocals, bass Jean Bormann — guitar, backing vocals Stefan Weber — guitar Vassilios Maniatopoulos — drums, backing vocals"The Price of War 2.0" (2020) Resurrection Day (2021) Spreading the Plague (2022)July 2023–presentPeavy Wagner — lead vocals, bass Jean Bormann — guitar, backing vocals Stefan Weber — guitar Vassilios Maniatopoulos — drums, backing vocalsAfterlifelines (2024) A New World Rising (2025)
References
External links Rage official website