• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

"The Video Link" is Rage's first ever DVD. It was filmed at Hamburg's Docks venue in Germany on the 1993 "Melodic Metal" Tour in support of the "Missing Link" album and was finally released in DVD format in 2003 by Sanctuary Records.

I finally got my hand on this, thanks to eBay! This DVD is, at this time, very hard to find, and it's currently only available in PAL format (European standard). Thankfully, my audio/video system can read it.

The 55 minutes gig begins in full force with the oriental-ish intro off "Shame On You", the excellent opening track off "Trapped!" and goes on with their speedy classic "Don't Fear The Winter" off the album "Perfect Man". The next one is THE highlight of this concert, the heavy as hell "Certain Days" from their "Missing Link" album. I have had this song in mind ever since I listened to this DVD! With these 3 great songs, what a way to start a gig on the right track!

The show carries on with "Suicide" from their first album, the "weakest link" off the excellent gig's tracklisting in my humble opinion. Next is a very short interview where leader Peavy says that metal is still alive (remember it was in the mid-90s). The gig carries on with some of the best Rage material so far in their long career like "Refuge", "Baby I'm Your Nightmare" (cheesy title but excellent song), the very fast and direct in-your-face "Down By Law", "Firestorm" and "Solitary Man", the latter preceded and followed by 2 short behind-the-scenes footage where we can see Rage on the road in the U.S.A., in a music shop and playing in their rehearsal room. Back to the gig, the band does an encore with a medley of two mandatory Rage songs: "Enough Is Enough" and "Invisible Horizons". Excellent ending but I would have preferred to hear "Enough Is Enough" entirely instead of cutting after the lead and switching to "Invisible Horizons".

The picture is actually very good since it was recorded in 1993. They did an excellent work for the audio. It is remarkably done in Dolby Digital 5.1. We can distinguish every instrument easily. Peavy's voice and the crowd's noise are very well balanced. However, the extras are a bit light with only a small but good introduction (only one minute long) and a track-by-track audio review from journalist Malcolm Dome, which is only a small comment at the beginning of each song. They put subtitles in English between the songs when leader Peavy speaks to the crowd in German. This is a very nice addition.

All in all, a very good concert with an excellent tracklisting. It would have been great to have a longer set list and more extras but this near one hour show is pure delight! This DVD is a must-have for any Rage freaks because this was one of the last ever performances by this beloved Rage line-up; Peavy Wagner on vocals and bass, Manni Schmidt on guitars and Chris Efthimiadis on drums. It was just before guitarist Manni left Rage in friendly terms and was then replaced on guitars by Spiros Efthimiadis and Sven Fischer. The band is in top shape and the songs are played very tight. Peavy's voice is remarkable and the guitar work by Manni really blows me away, especially in the lead department. Recommended to any Rage freaks! I just hope that this DVD will be more easily available in a near future.

Additional Information

Track Listing:

1. Opening Titles
2. Shame On You
3. Don't Fear The Winter
4. Certain Days
5. Suicide
6. Band interview
7. Refuge
8. Baby I'm Your Nightmare
9. Down By Law
10. Firestorm
11. Behind The Scenes 1
12. Firestorm
13. Behind The Scenes 2
14. Medley – Enough Is Enough / Invisible Horizons
15. End Credits