Originally known as Ransom, Rage Of Angels is a Glam Metal band that formed back in 1987 in Stamford, Connecticut. When Rage Of Angels is mentioned in certain circles of the Metal community, comparisons are often made to bands like Poison, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Skid Row, or even Ratt. R.O.A. can easily be placed along side such bands as the previous aforementioned groups and, in some comparisons, be considered much better than their secular equivalent. Yes, with Rage Of Angels what we are talking about is top of the line Hair Metal that will Rocks your face off!
Rage Of Angels got their start by placing two tracks on two different compilation albums: "Reason To Rock" appeared on East Coast Metal, and "Rock For The Rock" made it onto Heavy Righteous Metal. While both songs were a bit rough around the edges production wise, they hinted at the potential the band displayed on its self-titled 1989 Regency Records debut.
Rage Of Angels got their start by placing two tracks on two different compilation albums: "Reason To Rock" appeared on East Coast Metal, and "Rock For The Rock" made it onto Heavy Righteous Metal. While both songs were a bit rough around the edges production wise, they hinted at the potential the band displayed on its self-titled 1989 Regency Records debut.
In 1989 Rage Of Angels released a 3-track Demo recording simply titled 'demos' which included the tracks - "Never Leave You", "Reason To Rock", and "Somebody's Watching You".
In 1989 Rage Of Angels roared onto the Metal scene with the release of their full-length debut self-titled album. This release is guaranteed to draw out ones nostalgia for the Metal golden years - a time when guitarist knew how to shred coupled with sick vocals and hooks galore. With that said, Rage Of Angels is sure to please fans of the 80's era Metal scene who like it heavy.
The shred is managed from a duo guitar approach by both Frank DiCostanzo & Greg Kurtzman who deliver up some heavy, energetic, driving riffs along with some memorial solos.
John Fowler's percussion work behind the kit is second-to-none with an 80's era punishing performance that is simply over-the-top and in the veins of Drummer-Robert Sweet(Stryper).
Dan Mariano(on far left in promo pic above) is the frontman for Rage Of Angels and his performance here is nothing short of stellar! Mariano's vocal delivery has been compared to such well known vocalists as
Bret Michaels(Poison), Sebastian Bach(Skid Row) Vince Neil(Mötley Crüe), or even Joe Elliott(Def Leppard). What we like about Dan Mariano's vocal work is that he delivers up plenty of attitude and often lets loose some killer high range screams not unlike vocalist-Michael Sweet(Stryper) or many of the previously mentioned vocalists.
Rage Of Angels debut album was produced by Doug Mann for R.E.X. Music who was assisted by members of Rage Of Angels. The arrangements were then mixed by Paul Krueger & Doug Mann and released on Regency Records. There has been a rumor floating around that John & Dino Elefante had a part in remixing the album due to the band not being happy with the original mix. I was able to get a direct response about this subject from John Elefante who stated: "No, I was not involved that I recall, Dino said that he might have been involved with a song or 2 on a completion...je".
The shred is managed from a duo guitar approach by both Frank DiCostanzo & Greg Kurtzman who deliver up some heavy, energetic, driving riffs along with some memorial solos.
John Fowler's percussion work behind the kit is second-to-none with an 80's era punishing performance that is simply over-the-top and in the veins of Drummer-Robert Sweet(Stryper).
Dan Mariano(on far left in promo pic above) is the frontman for Rage Of Angels and his performance here is nothing short of stellar! Mariano's vocal delivery has been compared to such well known vocalists as
Bret Michaels(Poison), Sebastian Bach(Skid Row) Vince Neil(Mötley Crüe), or even Joe Elliott(Def Leppard). What we like about Dan Mariano's vocal work is that he delivers up plenty of attitude and often lets loose some killer high range screams not unlike vocalist-Michael Sweet(Stryper) or many of the previously mentioned vocalists.
Rage Of Angels debut album was produced by Doug Mann for R.E.X. Music who was assisted by members of Rage Of Angels. The arrangements were then mixed by Paul Krueger & Doug Mann and released on Regency Records. There has been a rumor floating around that John & Dino Elefante had a part in remixing the album due to the band not being happy with the original mix. I was able to get a direct response about this subject from John Elefante who stated: "No, I was not involved that I recall, Dino said that he might have been involved with a song or 2 on a completion...je".
Lyrics are bold and show a love for their Creator as one can see in the following lyric excerpts:
"Leave You Or Forsake You"
I'll never leave you or forsake you,
On these words you can depend.
I'll never leave you or forsake you,
I'll be with you until the end.
"Reason To Rock"
So, let me tell you for your own good,
It's gonna leave you in shock.
Christ is the reason you live,
And he's the one way to rock.
"Somebody's Watching You"
Ya know, everyday we take for granted that if we should die,
That we would go to heaven.
But what we don't realize is that one day,
We're gonna have to account for all our doin's.
So, while you're out partying and living it up,
Just remember that no matter where you go,
What you say or what you do,
Somebody's watching you.
"Rock For The Rock"
The way has not been easy,
Many walls we had to face.
But still we keep on striving,
Towards the one that grants us grace.
If only you would just believe,
And realize he died for you.
He'd come inside your heart today,
And show you love you never knew.
I'll never leave you or forsake you,
On these words you can depend.
I'll never leave you or forsake you,
I'll be with you until the end.
"Reason To Rock"
So, let me tell you for your own good,
It's gonna leave you in shock.
Christ is the reason you live,
And he's the one way to rock.
"Somebody's Watching You"
Ya know, everyday we take for granted that if we should die,
That we would go to heaven.
But what we don't realize is that one day,
We're gonna have to account for all our doin's.
So, while you're out partying and living it up,
Just remember that no matter where you go,
What you say or what you do,
Somebody's watching you.
"Rock For The Rock"
The way has not been easy,
Many walls we had to face.
But still we keep on striving,
Towards the one that grants us grace.
If only you would just believe,
And realize he died for you.
He'd come inside your heart today,
And show you love you never knew.
Before the release of their debut album, the band members went their separate ways with guitarist-Frank DiCostanzo and Drummer-John Fowler moving on to join the band 'Steelheart'. Fronman-Dan Mariano went on to form a band called 'Pyn Siren'.
Drummer-John Fowler later passed away and entered eternity on March 21, 2008. He died after falling into a coma on March 17th following a sudden brain hemorrhage.
Drummer-John Fowler later passed away and entered eternity on March 21, 2008. He died after falling into a coma on March 17th following a sudden brain hemorrhage.
This has been a rare and hard to find release for many years now. One wanting to purchase this debut album can expect to pay anywhere from 40 to the upper range of 80 US dollars. This is one of those albums that desperately needs to be re-issued by the band and there record label.
What's mind boggling is how a band of this caliber, with such a mind blowing product, is not making an effort to re-issue and make their product affordably-available once more. If your not concerned with re-releasing the album then at least make it available as a free download from your site so that fans can enjoy it and some might be reached with the message of the album. I would like to challenge the band members to move to action because there's a "Reason To Rock" the world once more!! Christ is that reason!
What's mind boggling is how a band of this caliber, with such a mind blowing product, is not making an effort to re-issue and make their product affordably-available once more. If your not concerned with re-releasing the album then at least make it available as a free download from your site so that fans can enjoy it and some might be reached with the message of the album. I would like to challenge the band members to move to action because there's a "Reason To Rock" the world once more!! Christ is that reason!
Purchases can be made at the following links:
Musicians:
Dan Mariano-Lead Vocals
Frank DiCostanzo-Guitars
Greg Kurtzman-Guitars
Dale Glifort-Bass
John Fowler-Drums
Chris Ainsley-Keyboards
Dan Mariano-Lead Vocals
Frank DiCostanzo-Guitars
Greg Kurtzman-Guitars
Dale Glifort-Bass
John Fowler-Drums
Chris Ainsley-Keyboards