Redkey
Rage of Fire

April 2007
Released: 2006, Dockyard 1/Sound Pollution
Rating: 1.5/5
Reviewer: Anders Sandvall

Heaven’s Gate singer Thomas Retke and guitar player Sascha Paeth haven’t played together for over 15 years, but now they’re back together in this new German act. Redkey takes a lot of influence from 80’s and 90’s British heavy metal acts, because their music has a lot in common with the later albums of Judas Priest with Rob Halford on vocals and the first Judas Priest album with Tim “Ripper” Owens. Lead singer Retke can belt out the high-pitched notes like Halford, so if you’re a Priest fan then I’m sure you’re going to find Redkey very interesting.

The main problem with RAGE OF FIRE is that the material doesn’t last in the long run; almost none of the songs stick and the few that do are unfortunately pretty boring. The music is neatly performed and the lead singer does his job, but what does that count for when the material doesn’t impress? The few tracks that actually sound OK are “Rage of Fire”, “Gone too Far”, “Rebellion”, and “Metal Head” where Retke sings amazingly and the music and heavy guitar riffs work splendidly.

Unless you’re a huge fan of Tomas Retke, Sascha Paeth, or Heaven’s Gate, this is nothing to invest your hard-earned money in. It doesn’t impress me at all and I’m pretty sure that I’m not going to put this album on repeat in the near future (read: never again).