Weird Science (1985

It was in the year 1985, when the foundation was laid for the career of a band which is, almost 35 years later, as active as on the very first day. Certainly, the talk is of Rage that have started out as Avenger, before the band name was changed. Now the three albums between 2001 and 2003 of the Metal Legend from Herne, Germany, are being re-released on three double CDs in a box set, including bonus CDs containing numerous demo versions that also include previously unreleased songs. Especially interesting for all fans is the digitally re-mastered version of the album "Welcome To The Other Side".

Issued on Essential in 1994, Shriekback's double-disc Natural History set merely couples The Best of Shriekback: The Infinite (Kaz, 1987) with The Best of Shriekback, Vol. 2: Evolution (Kaz, 1988) under a new name. For the curious, this might be preferable to The Y Records Years (also a two-disc set, released six years later in 2000), since the terrain documented here is more expansive, covering the band from its inception through 1985's Oil and Gold. One major attraction is the number of selections on the second disc culled from the long out of print Jam Science. One major problem will be finding Natural History, as it has gone out of circulation since its release.