Rage For Order - Album Notes

Album Notes

• The title "Rage for Order" is more than likely taken from the 1934 poem "The Idea of Order at Key West" by American modernist poet Wallace Stevens which is about "approach(ing) reality with a piecemeal understanding, putting together parts of the world in an attempt to make it seem coherent." The album title appears in the line "Oh! Blessed rage for order, pale Ramon"
• The expression "Rage for Order" is also used in reference to human psychology where "the first bias is a tendency to over-detect pattern, especially when we are feeling scared or uncomfortable". This may lead to the development of conspiracy theory, as demonstrated by the research of psychologists Jennifer A. Whitson and Adam D. Galinsky which showed that “Lacking control leads to a visceral need for order, even imaginary order.” An example of this would be Norwegian killer Anders Behring Breivik who developed his conspiracy theories when living with his mother as an adult after failing at success in the outside world - education, business, relationships.

• The original version of "Gonna Get Close to You" appears on Dalbello's 1984 album Whomanfoursays.
• EMI, the record label that released Rage for Order, has created multiple cover layouts for the album over the years. A few thousand initial copies bear a bluish-silver banner that was later changed to black in order to make the artist and title easier to read. The original cassette edition also had all the gold accents on the cover changed to white.
• The band wrote and recorded at least three complete tracks that did not make it to the final product but are available on various demos. "From the Darkside" is a slow atmospheric piece with lyrics and concepts later revisited for the "Operation:Mindcrime" album, "The Dream" is a fast heavy metal tune and the unreleased title track "Rage for Order" also has elements that ended up on "Mindcrime", mainly the intro which became "Anarchy X" and some lyrical concepts. The song "Rage for Order" was played live during the tour promoting this album and is available on bootleg audio and video.
• The band was invited to promote Rage for Order by opening for Ratt on their Dancing Undercover tour.
• Rage for Order was ranked No. 88 on Kerrang! magazine's "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums Of All Time" in January 1989.
• Although not credited, the album cover was designed by Garry Sharpe-Young. It had originally been proposed for a 12" picture disc, which never materialized, and was used by EMI Records for the album cover without permission. This logo, with subtle changes, would be used by the band throughout their career.
• In the reissue, the live bonus tracks "The Killing Words" and "Walk in the Shadows" were recorded at The Astoria Theatre in London on October 20, 1994, and in La Crosse, Wisconsin, between May 10 and 12, 1991, respectively.
• "Walk in the Shadows" was also covered by Arch Enemy on their "Revolution Begins" single. The song was also covered by Jess Harnell as a bonus track on his 1995 solo album The Sound of Your Voice.