Album Review: REFUGE - Solitary Men

01. Summer's Winter

02. The Man In The Ivory Tower

03. Bleeding From Inside
04. From The Ashes
05. Living On The Edge Of Time
06. We Owe A Life To Death
07. Mind Over Matter
08. Let Me Go
09. Hell Freeze Over
10. Waterfalls

Refuge is basically the three guys who were Rage in the mid-eighties to the early nineties. As the original line-up of Rage is back together, this Metal trio have had to record under a different name. I like how they've got a logo that looks like the Rage design, and I also approve of them using a different moniker as opposed to Rage Inc. or Rage A.D or any shit like that.

So, Refuge is Peter "Peavy" Wagner, Manni Schmidt, and Chris Efthimiadis. I really like all eras of Rage and have a few of the albums that were created by these three guys, so I knew that I'd probably like Refuge. Musically, there isn't a massive difference between current Rage and Refuge. Arguably, Refuge is a little less dark and a fraction more 'old school' in its delivery. I still can't see how someone could like one and not the other though!

There are some awesome old school Metal tracks on here such as the single The Man In The Ivory Tower, From The Ashes, and Mind Over Matter showing that Refuge still have a lot to offer.

I understand that Refuge is considered to be a 'hobby band' by its members, and it definitely sounds like a labour of love by three dudes who are huge Metal fans and still have a great chemistry together after all of these years. Solitary Men is a solid record and is another gem in Rage's legacy.