'93's 'The Missing Link' sees 'Rage' following firmly in the footsteps of the excellent 'Trapped', again employing their own special brand of Speed / Power Metal with the occasional Thrash element thrown into the mix. As with the predecessor there's no shortage of variety, but to some degree again suffers from a couple of slightly awkward tracks, in this case 'Lost in the Ice' and 'The Pit and the Pendulum' needed more work. That said there is still a wealth of quality cuts and where 'Peavy Wagner's' vocals were once one of 'Rage's' weaker components, are now an asset.

The album gets off to a superb start with two excellent Power Metal stables, the opener 'Firestorm' is a punishing riff and rhythm driven cracker, that despite its brisk pace, still has that all important melody, of which 'Rage' have a certain knack of cleverly introducing. The ensuing cut 'Nevermore' isn't quite as fast or complex, but is still very effective, what few lyrics there are, are potent and powerfully sung, while 'Manni Schmidt's' solo also smokes. The tempo is lifted further for the blazing Speed Metal of 'Refuge', which highlights a catchy but less thunderous chorus, a splendid, furious instrumental and nice slower more controlled work towards the end. Less impressive is the slightly clumsy 'The Pit and the Pendulum', instrumentally it's solid as you would expect, but lyrically it's very repetitive and I would have expected more from 'Peavy'. Back on track is the raging Speed / Thrash of 'From the Underworld', which at times is reminiscent of classic early 'Metallica', the drum and bass work is unrelenting and 'Peavy' does admirably with the simple but effective lyrics. More indicative of 'Reflections of a Shadow' is the powerful, plodding mid tempo 'Certain Days' which despite promising in parts is slightly too uneven overall, while the pulsating 'Who Dares?' has that classic 'Rage' sound and is suitably catchy and well executed. Not quite so typical is the intro to 'Wake Me When I'm Dead', which is undoubtedly a nod to 'Jimmy Hendrix', the song develops into a fairly rowdy Speed Metal affair, which is spoilt by a trite, awkward chorus. 'Lost in the Ice' ensues and I am pretty sure must have been the inspiration for the superb 'Soundchaser' album, but despite plenty of early epic promise, soon deteriorates into an extremely repetitive rocker, there's the bones of a good song here, but this needed a lot more work and about four minutes shaving off the running time. Back on track is the short snappy 'Her Diary's Black Pages' which ebbs and flows to a refined rhythm, 'Peavy' gives the gritty lyrics the respect they deserve and is well supported throughout. The title track ensues in fine fashion, lyrically well penned and highlights another catchy and cutting chorus, whilst 'Manni Schmidt's' solo also hits the right spots. 'Raw Caress' closes the album shrewdly and balances more refined, almost passionately spoken passages with rapid fire Speed Metal, an interesting approach and I think a nice way to close the album.

The remastered 'Rage' albums come with a wealth of bonus tracks and 'The Missing Link' is no exception, the first 'Another Kind of Madness' was included on the Japanese version of this album and is a very polished, semi acoustic affair, 'Peavy's' vocals hit the right notes and all told is a respectably effort. The next three tracks are all covers from the 'Refuge' E.P, the first 'Truth Hits Everybody' was originally by the 'The Police' and although I don't know the original, this is a solid brisk rocker, a little Punky at times but 'Peavy' snaps out the lyrics to good effect. A cover of 'The Troggs'' 'I Can't Control Myself' is up next, a very interesting rendition it is too, faithful in place but heavier and quicker in others, nice instrumentation throughout and overall pretty good. 'Beyond the Pale' originally by 'The Mission UK' (Gothic Rock) succeeds, don't know the original, but this a melancholy mid tempo number, well penned and thoughtfully executed and makes for a nice departure. The album bows out with a previously unreleased demo of 'Sabbath's' 'Paranoid', it's a decent run-through, the guitar work is blistering, but not quite sure in this instance that 'Peavy's' vocals lend themselves to the song.

As with 'Trapped' I'd liked to have rated this higher, but the gloss is again taken off by a couple of awkward moments.