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rage

The British band known as Rage has no ties to the German melodic thrashers who emerged a few years later, but actually rose from the ashes of '70s hard rock also-rans Nutz in 1981. Having witnessed the promise of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal firsthand when their last Nutz composition, "Bootliggers," was featured in the very popular Metal for Muthas collection, but knowing their previous baggage marked them as members of a previous generation, singer Dave Lloyd, guitarist Mick Devonport, bassist Keith Mulholland, and drummer John Mylett hired second guitarist Terry Steers to beef up their sound and cleverly renamed themselves Rage. Initially, their new lease on life seemed to bear fruit, with their first album for French label Carrere, 1981's Out of Control, selling quite well and receiving healthy press accolades, including a "5-K" review from Kerrang! magazine. But their euphoria was short-lived, as subsequent efforts like 1982's Nice 'n' Dirty and 1983's Run for the Night saw a return to the underwhelming songwriting and indifferent fan response that had plagued Nutz throughout the 1970s. This ultimately led to Rage's ignominious and final breakup sometime in 1984. Mylett tragically died in a car crash later that year, but Lloyd moved forward into a new project called 2 A.M. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi

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