Review Summary: One of the most consistent metal C-listers pull out a late-career ace.
Rage are one of the handful of early Metal bands enjoying an incredible late-career high. The band never really dropped off in quality, being incredibly consistent across their discography which, as of now, spans 26 (!) albums. However, their recent outputs have been some of the most energetic and heaviest of their career, with Afterlifelines possibly taking the top spot for that accolade.
Afterlifelines is an incredible collection of 21 (!) songs, which aside from the intro/interlude, are remarkably consistent in delivering excellent riffs, some of the bands best solos, and the heaviest and fastest rhythm work they’ve displayed yet. There is a healthy dose of Melodic Death Metal influence in quite a few songs, as heard in the Gothenburg-tinged guitar leads, incredibly heavy chugs, and powerful double bass drumming. The record is somewhat of a concept album, not really telling a consistent story, but focusing on themes of man-made apocalypse, exploring just about every corner of it from conscious looks at the current mass extinction caused by mankind’s abuse of nature, to more sci-fi end of the world type post-apocalypse scenarios. It ends up being one of if not the darkest albums in the band’s discography, and the heavier music style plays off these themes very nicely.
The album is split into two parts (discs, if you get the physical copy). Disc 1 is for classic Rage enjoyers; Nothing but barebones Heavy/Power Metal, hell-bent on delivering as many kick ass riffs as possible while still containing some catchy choruses. The driving drums on these tracks are such a plus, double bass being more liberal here than on previous records and always carrying the songs with power. The aforementioned Melodeath influence can really be heard on this disc.
Disc 2 is for fans of when the band leans into Symphonic Metal territory, such as on LMO. Each track here is backed by very fine compositions of mostly strings that add an excellent layer of depth. Rather than simply repeating the lead melodies, the strings provide counterplay and tertiary melodies backing the primary instruments, leaving wonderfully dense compositions. These songs are typically a bit less heavy and energetic, but Disc 2 opener “Cold Desire” averts this full-stop by being one of the heaviest songs on the album. It has definitely entered the top 5 Rage tracks of all time for me. The climax to Disc 2 is the nearly 10-minute semi-title track Lifelines, a progressive epic full of passion and excellent songwriting.
It's got stiff competition in albums such as Black in Mind and LMO, but Afterlifelines definitely ends up among my favorite releases by the band, possibly even taking the top spot. While it could have easily been their best if cut down to only the better 10 or 11 songs, I really can’t complain about it being overlong when it’s this incredibly consistent, as well as evenly divided up between the band’s two unique styles to form 2 fully realized albums worth of material. Just shy of masterpiece status, but a late-career triumph in the same category as Judas Priest’s Invincible Shield.
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