Rage formed in 1984 under the name, Avenger. After releasing their debut album Prayers of Steel and their Depraved to Black EP in 1985, the band changed their name to Rage because there was another band in England that also carried the moniker. Originally the new name was to be Furious Rage but it was eventually shortened to Rage. The first album released under the new name was Reign of Fear in 1986.
Rage's albums came out in regular, continuous intervals, and the band began touring with Running Wild, U.D.O., Motörhead and Saxon in the early 1990s.
Their 1992 album Trapped! marked their international breakthrough, a short highlight being Rage's tour in Japan. Their success was repeated again in 1993 with the release of The Missing Link. After change in their lineup, Rage went on to record Lingua Mortis, the first classical album by a German metal act, in 1996. Their material was performed live for the first time in late summer 1996 in Kufstein, Austria. Subsequently, Rage, and the orchestra used, embarked on a celebrated Christmas tour and played several European festivals.
in March 1998 Rage released Their thirteenth album XIII including the Lingua Mortis Orchestra having a huge success on the charts. XIII was ranked number 272 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.
After the album XIII, in 1999 Rage continues working for he next album Ghosts with the Lingua Mortis Orchestra. This album was followed by a major line-up change, featuring Peavy Wagner, Victor Smolski and Mike Terrana.
The trio performed at Wacken Open Air in August 2001, revealing their newest album Welcome to the Other Side. The following releases Unity and Soundchaser were met with enthusiastic response from critics and fans alike. Rage toured with Primal Fear in 2002 and Helloween in 2003.
Rage's frontman Peavy Wagner performing a show at Milan, Italy, 13 April 2006
In 2006, Rage reunited the Lingua Mortis Orchestra again to released the album Speak of the Dead, the last album with Mike Terrana on drums. On 1 January 2007, it was announced that their new drummer would be André Hilgers, formerly the drummer of Axxis.
In 2007, the band toured in Europe with a show featuring one symphonic orchestra from Minsk, Belarus under the name "Lingua Mortis Orchestra", and the concert in that August at Wacken Open Air at 80,000 fans was recorded for a DVD to be included as bonus to their new album called Carved in Stone, which was released on 22 February 2008.[3]
The band played at Bundesvision Song Contest 2009 (BUVISOCO) on 13 February 2009, the Festival was hosted by Stefan Raab (TV Total). Rage became more famous through their participation in the show, as well as by being placed third.
Rage celebrated their 25th anniversary with the release of the EP Gib Dich Nie Auf / Never Give Up.
Rage entered the studio in October 2011 to begin recording their 21st album for an early 2012 release, 21.
In 2014 Rage released the special box edition "The Soundchaser Archives, 30th anniversary" with rarities and demo songs from the last 30 years of Rage history.
In February 2015 Peavy Wagner announced the split of the most recent Line Up with Victor Smolski and André Hilgers.