An outcry went through the metal scene, when Peter “Peavy“ Wagner and Victor Smolski of Rage declared the end of their musical collaboration in the beginning of February 2015. Since André Hilgers also had to leave his place behind the drums, rumours were running high quickly and there was even talk about Rage would call it quits. Though Peavy made it clear over and over again in interviews that the new lineup of the band was already positioned, the names of his new band mates remained untold.

Now the wait has come to an end - the new lineup of Rage reads as follows:

Peter “Peavy“ Wagner - vocals, bass
Marcos Rodriguez - guitars, vocals
Vassilios “Lucky“ Maniatopoulos - drums, vocals

Watch a video statement below:

With his current lineup, Peavy puts his trust in relative newcomers this time. “There were quite a couple of proposals from established musicians, but this wasn’t what I was looking for“, comments Wagner. “I wanted to have a real band again with all members pulling in the same direction.”

Marcos Rodriguez was born in Venezuela and is living currently in Antwerpen, Belgium. The 36-year old exceptional guitarist is a die-hard fan of Rage and met Peavy on Rage’s 30th anniversary tour, when he was supporting parts of the tour with his own band Soundchaser.

Vassilios “Lucky“ Maniatopoulos has so far primarily made an appearance as the vocalist of the band Tri State Corner. It’s only surprising to those who haven’t seen Lucky live yet with his “Bouzouki-Rockband“ that the former drum student and drum technician of ex-Rage and now Tri State Corner/Refuge drummer Christos Efthimiadis and also long-time friend of Peavy and Chris is an excellent drummer himself.

“These two guys have literally inhaled Rage their whole lives and can vividly feel it - I’m very much looking forward to herald a new era of Rage together with them“, says Peavy.

The new lineup will be presented live to the public for the first time at Metal Hammer Paradise, Ferienpark Weissenhäuser Strand on November 14th, and thereafter on the Rage Black In Mind tour this December, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the release of the cult album Black In Mind.

The new studio album is about to be finalized and will be released in spring 2016.

Tour dates:

November
14 - Weissenhäuser Strand, Germany - Metal Hammer Paradise
27 - Athens, Greece - Kittaro**
28 - Thessaloniki, Greece - Eightball**
29 - Sofia, Bulgaria - Mixtape 5**

December
5 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7*
6 - Landgraaf, Netherlands - Oefenbunker*
11 - Vienna, Austria - Viper Room*
12 - Zlín, Czech Republic - Masters Of Rock Café*
13 - Markneukirchen, Germany - Warwick Music Hall*
18 - Valencia, Spain - X-Mas Metal Fest
19 - TBA, Germany - TBA
20 - Bochum, Germany - Zeche*

* - with Maxwell
** - with Emerald Sun