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The history of RAMPAGE (which means the outbreak of violent behavior, a name chosen to reflect the hostile living conditions prevailing nowadays in almost all fields of human interaction) began in december 1994, when the present lead-singer, Robert (aka Bertl RAMPAGE) completed the then existing line-up. Since initial insurmountable difficulties in finding an adequate bass player came into being, the drummer occasionally took over the four string-rhythm section, yet live on stage still stuck to his original instrument. After several months of activity including the recording of a debut mini-CD entitled "The burden of melancholy gravity", the band's line up was finally completed by Wolfgang, the bass player.
The line-up of RAMPAGE consists of the following five individuals:
Robert Lamprecht: vocals & lyrics
Alfred Zimmermann: rhythm- & lead-guitar, background vocals
Andreas Proksch: rhythm- and lead-guitar, background vocals
Wolfgang Bruckner: bass-guitar, background vocals
Wolfgang Haider: drums
From the beginning of their completion, RAMPAGE rehearsed ad nauseam until a final concert set was completed consisting of a variety of songs that differ in mood and lyrical variety, treating the possible forms of human relationships as well as social observations from an internalized point of view.
At the beginning, more precisely until the time after the creation of their second (full-time) CD entitled "In a cryptic dream" (recorded in 1998), the music of RAMPAGE could be defined as traditional Death Metal, yet this definition did not really hit the nail on the head, as the varied structure of the songs ranging from extremely fast to ballad-like parts mixed with slow-moving, powerful rhythms already announced the musical progress to be expected in future times.
At the present moment, the concert set of RAMPAGE consists of nine totally new songs (waiting to be recorded in the following months and including a cover version, THE PRODIGY's "Breathe") that correspond to the development already mentioned before. Existing musical structures have been adapted to the progress of each band member, and initial unnecessary complexity has made way for a tight conception of grenade-like tracks that reflect the live-experience of RAMPAGE, a coherent appearance that is likewise manifested by the modified vocal section: Not only do all band members, apart from drummer Wolfgang, participate in the contribution of backing vocals, but Robert has also developed a different, yet not completely altered strategy of singing: Ultra-violent grunts merely contribute to a wide range of vocal exaltation including the usage of spoken parts, passages of screaming and shrieking at a high pitch level as well as rough-voice parts that give the new set a typical melodical touch without the risk of losing the necessary heavyness that is located at a red thread mid-tempo coherence.
Thus, after having emancipated from the inclusion of one-sided Death Metal roots, the new RAMPAGE set cries for a baptism of rebirth on stage that perfectly illustrates the possible co-existence of heavy and popular music denied by those who underrate the impact and social importance of the different variants of Metal.
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