21.12.2000 "HEAVY NEW YEAR" "Merry Christmas", "A HEAVY NEW YEAR" and a big thanks for support to all Endorsment companies and all RAGE fans, who are waiting for the new "Heavy Album" for such a long time. The last 4 months were filled with hard but productive work and a heavy fight with the record company to get all the 17 titles on "Welcome To The Other Side" released. We like to offer our fans as much as possible, even notes of guitar parts you will find in the booklet!!! Best wishes and take care Victor Smolski

21.12.2000 Release Date 26.02.2001 The new RAGE album "Welcome To The Other Side" will be released on 26. 02. 2001. As it looks like a Europe tour will start on 05. 04. 2001.

18.12.2000 International Racing Licence After successful absolve Topcourse at the Rallye School Warstein Victor has got the International Racing Licence C. Have a look for the car with the RAGE logo!!!!

15.12.2000 Victor at NAMM show in L.A. From 16. up to 23. 01. 2001 Victor is on workshop tour in the USA. He is going to play there at the NAMM show in L.A. and at different Guitar World Stores.

10.12.2000 Amps. and Speaker for Behringer In co-operation with the company Behringer Victor is developing new guitar Amps. and Speaker which you will hear at the next RAGE tour.

28.11.2000 First MP3 file from new RAGE album At the Button "MP3's" you'll find a first sound file from "Welcome To The Other Side" for download. Actually this song is not really a new one, you all know it. It's a first sound impression for you (before mastering). The next files will be available at the mid of December.

As a guest at Mc Laren Mercedes While staying in Poznan (Poland) Victor Smolski had the opportunity to be guest at the Mc Laren Mercedes racing team for a weekend. He even could fulfil a dream of so many motor sport freaks being catapulted in 3 seconds from 0 to 100 by the famous double-seat-racing car with Olivier Panis at the steering wheel. What a feeling.....

15.11.2000 New MP3 file Lately, Victor produced another GB ARTS album called "The Lake". At the Button "MP3's" you'll find a sound file for download. On "Shadows Of Faces" you can here Mike, Peavy and Victor as guests.

09.11.2000 GRAVE DIGGER Anniversary Show On the 11th of November at 8 p.m. there is a 20 Years Grave Digger Anniversary Show in the "Zeche" in Bochum. Among lot's of guests on stage there's also Peavy and Victor.

Sinfonie for E-guitar and orchestra On Friday, 27th of October Victor Smolski and the Symphonic Orchestra Belarus presents a symphonie for electric guitar and classical orchestra at the "Stadthalle Mühleim an der Ruhr" at 8 p.m. Victor Smolski und Dmitry Smolski: Sinfonie for E-guitar and classical orchestra Peter Tschaikowsky: Concert Nr.1 in b-moll for piano and orchestra Peter Tschaikowsky: Sinfonie Nr.5 in e-moll National Academic Symphonic Orchester Minsk - Belarus Conductor: Julius Günter Ruedell Soloist: Friedrich Hoerike - piano Soloist: Victor Smolski - E-guitar

12.10.2000 GB ARTS CD with RAGE musicians During last months a new GB ARTS CD was produced by Victor Smolski. On the "The Lake", that's the title of the album, the band were supported by renowned artists like RAGE musicians Peavy Wagner, Victor Smolski and Mike Terrana as well as ANGEL DUST vocalist Dirk Thurisch and former MIND ODYSSEY keyboarder Andreas Dirksmeier. Release date is the 6th of November. On the webpage of B.MIND RECORDS (http://www.b-mind.com) you can find detailed information about GB ARTS and "The Lake". Point Music 27010

10.09.2000 With RAGE in the studio Since a couple of days Victor is in the VPS studio in Hamm together with his colleagues from RAGE to record a new RAGE CD. In doing so, he also tested new developed models of guitar amps. and guitar speakers of the company BEHRINGER, from which he got an offer regarding this purposes recently.

Rock Seminar in Magdeburg The Rock Seminar at Gröninger Bad Magdeburg, where Victor and Mike showed their ability of playing their instruments in front of many guests was really successful. Even the rooms were nearly overcrowded it was great fun and during the 6 hours seminar the visitors became lot's of things explained and demonstrated in opposite to ordinary Workshops. Victor and Mike would like to come back again next year. More dates of workshops you'll find at the button "Dates".

07.09.2000 ROCKSEMINAR There's a ROCKSEMINAR in the "Gröninger Bad" in Magdeburg on the 21st of October 2000 between 10°° and 16°° hours. After a session by Victor Smolski, Mike Terrana and Thomas Senff (GB ARTS) you have the chance to meet and talk to the musicians.

02.08.2000 Workshop on the Waken Open Air Victor Smolski, Mike Terrana and Thomas Senff (GB ARTS) will give some examples of their ability playing their instruments on the Wacken Open Air. On 04.08. at 5 p.m. and on 05.08. at 4 p.m. you can listen to parts of Victors Solo CD the "HERETIC" for example in a tent near the enrty.

29.06.2000 Victor in studio in Miami On 3rd of July Victor will fly to the United States of America. Together with wellknown musicians he will do some jam sessions in a studio in Miami to prepare his next solo album.

21.06.2000 Sheets of music from "THE HERETIC" Out of the VPS- musik studio you can find the original notes of the song "Witches Hammer" from Victors solo CD "THE HERETIC" here. NOTEN

THE HERETIC RELEASE DATE: 19.06.2000 74321 75820 2 LABEL: Drakkar Classic Records / Vertrieb: BMG Contemporary composers with a preference for heavy metal as well as classical orchestrations, who also have the necessary musical training to combine these two - on the surface contrary worlds - homogeneously, are thin on the ground. The first to come to mind is of course Jon Lord, organ player with British rock act Deep Purple. His 1969 Concerto For Group & Orchestra is legendary and has been serving as a popular blueprint for numerous similar projects. Guitarist and composer Victor Smolski, who was catapulted into the international limelight practically over night when he joined the German metal act Rage last year, proves with his first solo release The Heretic that his talent and vision are similarly distinct. Together with the White Russian State Orchestra, which consists of over seventy musicians, and the other two Rage members, bassist/vocalist Peavy Wagner and drummer Mike Terrana, Smolski has come up with one of the most unusual 'metal meets classic' albums in music history. The Heretic was composed entirely by Smolski himself, with the assistance of his father Dimitri, a classical composer who advised him on some of the arrangements. Smolski has taken on a particularly ambitious subject for his solo debut: the history of witch hunt, persecution and the various attempts to eradicate supposed heresy. Smolski's story is based on historical documents from White Russia, America and Germany, which he researched with meticulous attention to detail and collected from a number of libraries. "The lyrics have not moral, no definite message," says Smolski. "They stand for themselves, they talk about mistakes that were made throughout history. People can draw their own conclusions from these stories." The Heretic lives off friction, off the collision of two different worlds that do not seem to agree with each other at first glance. However, Smolski's arrangements succeed in mixing these opposing musical styles in an intricate, subtle manner by letting them circle each other symbiotically, presenting them side by side or having them play along at a distance, repeatedly dissolving all contrasts created by orchestral and rock instrumentation and blending the two genres. "As far as I am concerned there is no real difference between heavy metal and classical music," explains Smolski. "Both musical styles express the same emotion, have similar forms of aggression. Only the choice of instruments is different." At the same time The Heretic is a piece of music that wants to be explored, no shallow background music but a combination of rock and metal for truly sophisticated connoisseurs. "The album should preferably be listened to without interruptions," recommends the maestro. "That's the only way to understand the whole structure, every high and low." The seven compositions are interspersed with irregularly reoccurring lyrical passages that explain, reflect or throw light on the subject of witches from different eras and varying points of view. Smolski was able to enlist his two Rage pals Peavy Wagner (for the German lyrics) and Mike Terrana (for the English sections) as narrators for these passages, and the title song was recorded by the complete Rage line-up with Smolski on guitars, Terrana on drums, and Wagner on bass and vocals. The fact that a Russian Director has already expressed an interest in using The Heretic as a musical basis for a film on the subject of witches shows just how impressive Smolski's first solo offering has turned out to be.

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