Rage - The Video Link (2015)

If The Video Link accomplishes anything, it dispels any lingering doubts about this being Rage's best lineup. It also serves as a bittersweet sendoff for long-tenured shredder Manni Schmidt, who went into artistic hibernation for most of the '90s before later resurfacing with Grave Digger to great acclaim. The Missing Link is among the group's best work, but viewing this video as a companion piece to Rage's 1993 masterpiece would not be entirely accurate, primarily because at the point of filming, there was a marginal volume of back-catalogue to draw upon. From the speedier, sandpaper-laced fisticuffs of Reign of Fear to the smoother melodic disposition of much of Reflections of a Shadow, Rage had begun to widen in appeal, leading down a more experimental path which symbolized the second stable lineup.

Efficiently shot at the legendary Hamburg Docks, The Video Link exhibitions the band at their most convincing live. The multi-camera setup is adequately employed, utilizing a bevy of fast, strategic cuts without becoming actively irritating or disorienting. The performance is well edited, with a fair level of finesse and clear familiarity with the band's material. While unrelated footage occasional fades in and out over "Baby, I'm Your Nightmare," the lion's share of the footage is of the band exclusively. One personal nitpick I have with live DVDs is too much fan/crowd footage, and The Video Link refreshingly precludes itself from such pitfalls. The mix is also spectacular, so much so that the first few times I viewed this, I had convinced myself that Wagner's vocals were overdubbed after the fact in-studio. Perhaps this is even more of a credit to him, as his stage presence here is entrancing. Once the shock of seeing him thin and with long hair wears off, you realize that his vocals are irrefutably spot-on compared to their studio counterparts. Be it the melodic, soaring choruses of "Solitary Man" and "Enough Is Enough," or the gruffer, spoken verses of "Certain Days," it is frankly shocking how true to form the vocals are.

The setlist is, as expected, slightly skewed toward the then-new material. Trapped! is one of Rage's most underrated and forgotten outings, so it is nice to see it represented here in relative earnest. The only record not included here on The Video Link is Reflections of a Shadow, which if due to time constraints, would be the album I would drop out of the rotation as well; so not much lost there to be candid. Regarding The Missing Link, I would have preferably swapped out "Certain Days" for "Who Dares," but you can't win 'em all. "Enough Is Enough" is actually the most consistent, searing translation here, serving as a great final number when paired up with "Invisible Horizons" as a medley.

The extras are regrettably where we dial the proceedings back down to lukewarm. Included are a few minutes of backstage material and footage of the band touring the United States, but the grainy video quality is jarring compared to the sharpness of the performance footage, and in the end it comes off as somewhat pointless. There is a very short interview with the band (in english) commenting on the state of the metal scene at the time, which is interesting since many deem '93 to be the "cursed" year. There is also a track-by-track commentary by music journalist Malcolm Dome, who is one of the less irritating metal critics out there. He makes some decent points and at the very least appears to be familiar with Rage, so it serves as a neat curiosity piece. The stage banter is interestingly subtitled, which is useless for me (Hey, my German is improving!), but is a nice touch in the end. Overall this is all something of a mixed bag, as I would have preferred to hear more from Schmidt and Chris, who other than some background chatter during the behind-the-scenes footage, fail to have much of a voice here.

So in the grand scope of Rage's history, watching this lineup bow at the curtain call is a somber moment, as this was ironically one of the final performances before Schmidt split in late 1993. For fans of the band, this is ace stuff, and serves as a solidified final monument and culmination of the band up to this point. The lack of compelling bonus features hurt it a bit, but The Video Link will satisfy any fan of Rage (and by extension) any true fan of German heavy metal history.

by Diamhea, metal-archives.com