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A new star is born to fascinate all Power Metal fans. The newly founded
band is called RedKey and the five-some has just released its debut album
Rage of Fire. Even though we are talking about a debut album, the musicians
themselves arent newcomers at all. Many of you probably are familiar
with vocalist Thomas Rettke and guitarist Sascha Paeth who, back in the late 80s and early 90s were the heart and soul of the Metal band Heavens Gate. Their albums IN CONTROL (1989) and LIVIN IN HYSTERIA (1991) were internationally acclaimed and in South East Asia the band was treated like royalty in league with Judas Priest and Helloween.
Once the band broke up Rettke and Paeth decided on different paths for their future endeavours. In 99 after the release of MENERGY Paeth started to work as producer and became a sought after expert in the trade. He produced well-known Rock acts such as Edguy, Kamelot and Rhapsody as well as the latters mastermind Luca Turillis solo albums. Rettke on the other hand acted a guest musician to various bands. Not a single one of Rhapsodys albums has been recorded without featuring his vocals and bands like Edguy, Kamelot, Running Wild, Victory and Mob Rules also didnt want to recording without
him singing. Rettke also played a major part in the Metal Opera AINA DAYS OF RISING DOOM.
Here we are more than seven years after the last recording of Heavens Gate and both Rettke and Paeth are working together again. Says Rettke, I had a lot of ideas for songwriting and eventually I met up with Sascha last year to let him hear what I was up to. He immediately offered to record some of the demos and also added most of the guitar arrangements. When I asked Sascha whether hed be interested in us playing together once again it was the renaissance of our musical co-operation.
Another of their old friends was also ready and willing to once again start playing in a band, guitarist André Barowski, who used to be part of Steeltower Rettkes and Paeths band previous to Heavens Gate. Daniel Eichholz on drums and bassist Klemens Klarhorst joined RedKey and together they recorded RAGE OF FIRE. The album has its roots in traditional Melodic Metal but is so varied that fans of the more modern styles of Heavy Metal will also love the new output.
We never considered a reunion of Heavens Gate. Some of the former band members have turned their backs on music altogether and I wanted to work with new and highly motivated musicians to create a different sound. RedKeys music is a lot rougher and straighter that Heavens Gates used to be, says Rettke.
Immediately following the intro RAGE OF FIREs title track starts of fusing the best of NWOBHM, like Judas Priest in the early 80s, with elements of guitar oriented US-Power Metal the likes of Racer X, Vicious Rumors or (Wicked) Maraya. The following track Be My Guide is dark and monumental and due to the variety of Rettkes vocals and the virtuous guitar playing puts one in the mind of artists like Ronnie James Dio and Rob Halford. Rebellion is a rhythmic hymn with a fantastic sing-along refrain in the vein of Judas Priests PAINKILLER.
Regardless of whether you listen to the lead-guitar-duels in Peace & War, the perfect fusion of slow rhythm and staccato riffing in Easy Way Out or the melodic Obsession, all tracks are arranged up to todays standards, powerful guitars along with expressive vocals to make any headbanger want to do just that bang along. The 8-minute epic The Fortune perfectly rounds off the album. Rettke and Edguys front man Tobias Sammet sing a duet that sums up what RedKey and their debut are about. RAGE OF FIRE is a unique and first class Melodic and atmospheric Power Metal album and is sure to be RedKeys key to success to a brilliant future on the international Power Metal stages.
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