'Trapped' marks the sixth album in for 'Rage' and by this stage of their career they have ironed out the unevenness that plagued earlier releases and have matured into an accomplished Power / Speed Metal band. 'Peavy's' vocals have continues to develop since 'Perfect Man' which further enhances the material, while his partnership with 'Manni Schmidt' and 'Chris Efthidiadis' is a solid as a rock. Perhaps thirteen tracks was a little ambitious, but 'Trapped' comes off very strongly and is always highly regarded by 'Rage' fans.

The album unfolds with the Eastern influenced 'Shame on You', not your typical 'Rage' opener, but still an effective cut that comes complete with lively rhythm work and a splendid 'Manni Schmidt' solo. Better still is the brisk paced 'Solitary Man' which ebbs and flows to perfection, 'Peavy' delivers the lyrics admirably, while the catchy chorus and sharp fret work are another highlight- top track. The more melodic 'Enough is Enough' ensues and like the previous song, brings back memories of the catchiest cuts from 'Perfect Man', the mid track instrumental break is also nicely executed and makes this yet another jewel. A little more rowdy is the energetic Speed Metal of 'Medicine', a decent affair but at times a little too uneven, although 'Peavy' deserves a nod for the way he works the difficult lyrics. 'Questions' follows in a similar vein, but despite some solid lyrics comes across a little disjointed, while the heavy plodder 'Take me to the Water' hits back strongly, with a fine grooving rhythm and nice sound effects on the intro and outro. Further improvements are made with the galloping 'Power and Greed', which ebbs and flows splendidly and is again graced with impressive lyrics and further braced by another fine 'Manni Schmidt' solo. The following tracks 'The Body Talks' and 'Not Forever', I first heard as acoustic live renditions, both of which were very pleasurable, these slightly brisker studio counterparts also fail to disappoint, as they are passionately executed and come complete with strong melodies. The pace is lifted for the uncompromising Speed Metal of 'Beyond the Wall of Sleep', a thunderous piece that despite it's bristling rhythm work, is a little too uneven in places to make the grade. Improvements are quickly made with slightly more commercial sounding 'Baby, I'm Your Nightmare', which flows superbly thanks to a refined rhythm and a strong melody, lyrically it's fairly catchy and 'Peavy' does a fine job. Even better is the superb cover of 'Accepts' classic 'Fast as a Shark', the speed this is played at is just frenzied, 'Peavy' approach is a little different to 'Udo's', but it works just as well, while 'Chris Efthidiadis's' drumming is magnificent. Last up is 'Difference' which sets out with a balladsy intro, only to mature as a plodding rocker, a little to languid and longwinded in my opinion but far from a poor effort.

As with all the 'Rage' re-masters this comes complete with five bonus tracks, the first two were originally released on the Japanese version of 'Trapped'. 'Innocent Guilty' is a fairly typical early 90's 'Rage' Speed Metal stable with lyrics that are pretty interesting, while the second 'Marching Heroes- The Wooden Cross' is a fairly dull and uninspiring instrumental. The next two tracks are from the 'Beyond the Wall' EP, the first of which is the pummelling 'Bury All Life' which despite dragging a little in places is a good solid cut- very uncompromising. The second 'I Want You' is also pretty brisk but with a more Thrashy approach, ultimately let down by some poor, unconvincing lyrics. Last up is a demo of 'Questions', in all honesty not much different from the one reviewed above and hardly warrants an inclusion.

More consistent than any previous 'Rage' album and although a couple of tracks don't quite impress as much I would have liked, still an excellent release.