Many people including myself found 2006's 'Speak of the Dead' a confusing album with its strange mix of half orchestral and half straightforward Metal, here they have thankfully taken a more conventional approach. Musically this also has a more traditional 'Rage' feel, with some of the modern element of it's predecessor no longer present, so 'Carved in Stone' has the potential to be a great 'Rage' album, is it you ask? Sadly no, It's a very solid album that cements the new line-up with 'André Hilgers' now on drums, but it's not another 'Soundchaser', with too many of the songs just failing to go the extra distance, while being a little short on material by 'Rage's' usual standards.

The title track is selected to open and this is does is hearty fashion, the subtle melodic intro is typical of 'Victor Smolski', but gives way to a hard hitting riff and rhythm so indicative of 'Rage', however does incorporate melody and a very respectable solo. Time warping back to late 80's 'Rage' is 'Drop Dead!', a song which nicely balances aggressive with the melodic, but for me sounds too recycled from previous work and at times looses a little focus. Improvements are made with the brisker paced 'Gentle Murders', while 'Open My Grave' nicely includes Eastern influences and strong melodic passages. 'Without You' ensues again utilising the subtle intro to thundering Metal, perhaps even by this stage of the album a little overused, although the doomy 'Black Sabbath' undertones give the song a another edge. The harmonious yet anthemic 'Long Hard Road' follows and fails to disappoint, again in the older '90's' 'Rage' style, displaying fine work from 'Peavy' and 'Victor Smolski'. 'One Step Ahead' follows, initially taking a slightly aggressive approach, but as with a number of tracks on this album the tempo softens and utilises softer melodic choruses to good effect. Next up is the brisker more uncompromising Speed Metal of 'Lost in the Void', which opens with a 'Soundchaser' reminiscent intro and continues with their distinctive Melodic / Speed approach. Less impressive is the monotonous and repetitive 'Mouth Of Greed', which feels like a recycled 90's track with forgettable lyrics. The final cut 'Lord of the Flies' is a bit of a departure for this release, incorporating a little orchestration, keyboards and female backing vocals, thankfully it comes off pretty well, the Eastern feel gives it an extra appeal and while the gimmicky chorus is perhaps overused, is still good stuff.

Not a bad album by a long stretch and it's nice to have that familiar 'Rage' sound back after the last confusing album, but perhaps with a bit more work this could have been a classic.