20.12.2007 S E A S O N S - G R E E T I N G S Hello Metal-Classic-Racing-heads, !!! ...and again another whole year has passed, time is running so fast, faster than you can realize... At full throttle on guitar and racing circuit - and already reached the finish line: A lot of dreams came true for me this year! People who still remember my last sentence on "From the Cradle To The Stage"-Rage-DVD, about that I'd love to organize and offer a great show with band and orchestra to all RAGE-fans one day might know, that this dream came true for me during this year's Wacken Open Air! There's no chance on doing it better than doing a huge RAGE-show infront of 100.000 fans with my own orchestra and good ol' friends with whom I started my musical career! At the beginning of 2007 I had great fun, composing and producing a sampler with best metalsingers for Nuclear Blast's 20th anniversary. Together with André Hilgers on drums, we have put a lot of fresh "raging" energy into the new "Carved In Stone" CD! I still have no idea which song I like most on this album... somehow all of them became great. Many thanks go out to Charly Czajkowski for all his patience in studio. I'm already looking forward to present all these songs live on tour to all our fans. Another dream was to finally reach the first position in a longdistance race on the Nürburgring - and that I realized even 2 times this year! Both of these victories made me forget the real bad accident I had during the 24h-race! Many thanks go out to Veytal-Tuning, my racing team and good pals, for great support during this season! Our new M3's gonna be even faster... In spring 2007 the doors to my UNITY MUSIC SCHOOL in Hamm were opened and this year I did so many workshops worldwide like I've never done before. In 2008 there also gonna be an official comeback of my former band "Mind Odyssey" und we're about to start over with a Best-Of album by the beginning of the year! Great feeling, to awake all these gorgeous songs again to living! Many thanks to all my friends, fans and endorsement companies for your support! "Merry X-mas to all of you, Happy New Year and never give up dreaming!"

29.11.2007 - Release date of "Carved In Stone" fixed - The release date of the new RAGE album "Carved In Stone" is fixed. Nuclear Blast will release the CD on 22nd of February 2008.

25.10.2007 - With "Dicks On Fire" on stage - - Wacken show on Premiere TV - - RAGE on European tour - - New workshop dates - - Victor in excellent society - - Final motorsport season report - - Studiojob for new RAGE album completed - The performance with Stefan Raabs band "Dicks On Fire" in the Veltins-Arena at Pro7 TV was real fun. Again, many thanks to Brainpool TV-team, Rick Kavanian, Max Mutzke and certainly many thanks to Stefan: "Straight To Hell" with full throttle in the Schalke arena sounds real phat! From 16th of November, Premiere TV will bring the Wacken Open Air 2007 on screen. Premiere direct has tieded up four concert packages, each about 3 hours, filled up with the best bands of different genres. At the order number 431, the RAGE concert with the Lingua Mortis Orchestra, and the Volbeat and Dir En Grey shows will be offered. Premiere - Wacken Open Air concerts 2007 In spring 2008 RAGE will present their new album "Carved In Stone" at a European tour together with Edenbridge and Aspect. At the "Dates" section, you'll find all dates of the upcoming tour. Furthermore there are some new workshop dates available at the "Dates" section. At the presentation of the new INVADER series of Victors endorsement company ENGL, Victor is in a select company with Steve Morse, Vinnie Moore, Ritchie Blackmore and Marty Friedman. With 2 victories in my class, the motorsport season 2007 was the most successful one in my hitherto career as a racing driver. I would like to say thanks to my VEYTAL TUNING racing team for building up my flame-BMW, and for the great support! Also, a big "thank-you" to all fans, who visited and supported me on circuit the whole year! A detailed report you'll find at the "Motorsport" section. The studiojob for the new RAGE album "Carved In Stone" is completed now, and finally I can listen to all tracks of the new CD by my HiFi rack with quiet conscience, and I can say: it has exactly become what we figured out before: STRAIGHT ON THE KISSER! (maybe you have to stopp after 2 - 3 songs, getting a cold beer for a rest period...) ) From the beginning we decided, to compose the songs for this CD more straightly, concentrating on cool riffs and catchy melodies. Actually, with our new line-up it was easy to realize everything, as we pulled together with André perfectly! All the recordings with our co-producer, sound-engineer and almost 4th bandmember Charly Czajkowski, runs perfectly, as well as the final mix with Charlie Bauerfeind. From my point of view I promise you brute guitarriffs with fancy soli. In one song, I've hidden a modification of a real famous melodie - the one, who will first recognize this melodie, will get a present! At "Open My Grave", my sitar-guitar came into operation, at "Lord Of The Flies", I've contributed a phat keyboard-arrangement. As on our last CD, Thomas Hackmann (to be listened at Blind Guardian, Helloween, Grave Digger) has visited us in studio, supporting us with backingvocals. At "Lord Of The Flies", also vocalist Jen Majura (already to be listened at the 20th anniversary Nuclear Blast "Into The Light"-CD with Mats Leven/ Ex-Therion) has chanted bombastic choruses. We've also started to cut the video material of the Wacken concert with the Lingua Mortis Orchestra, for using it as bonus material for the "Carved In Stone" CD. We see us on tour in spring 2008, and we are looking forward to get your opinion about our new CD. Best regards, yours Victor!

13.10.2007 - RAGE on stage with Stefan Raab - On Saturday, the 20th of October 2007, the great TV total Stock Car Crash Challenge will start again. At 8:15 p.m, ProSieben will broadcast that motorsport-event live out of the Gelsenkirchener Veltins-Arena, where Stefan Raab and co. will again risk their necks as living Crash-Test-Dummies in their pimped up racing cars. At the first TV total Stock Car Crash Challenge 2005, "Dicks On Fire" (Stefan Raab, Rick Kavanian and Max Mutzke) rocked the arena with their song "I Want Rock". Now, they want to celebrate their comeback. Stefan Raab invited Victor Smolski, to support "Dicks On Fire" together with RAGE on stage. Look out for a real great show!!! For the next TV total Stock Car Crash Challenge, Victor already announced his interest for taking part as a driver.

21.09.2007 - RAGE in studio - - 20 years Nuclear Blast festival - - RAGE European tour - - Mind Odyssey "Best Of" album - I just have finished the recordings of the guitar tracks for the new RAGE album "Carved In Stone". This time, I decided to record the sound in general rougher and more dry, but I really like the result and the somehow little changed guitar sound. Concerning the music itself, we have concentrated ourselves more onto straight power-songs this time, and we also decided to do it without any progressiv instrumental parts and any orchestra, as we did on our last CD. 10 songs - asskickin! A detailed studio report you'll find at the RAGE ON webseite. On Saturday, 27th of October 2007, I will present some songs taken out of the album "Into the light", which I produced earlier this year. Together with my bandmembers Peavy & André and various guests on stage of the Martin Schleyer hall in Stuttgart, we will perform for the final of the "20th anniversary of Nuclear Blast festival". At 9.00 pm RAGE will also do a signing-session. For the upcoming European tour of RAGE in 2008, I have invited the Russian band "Aspect" as a support act. Thanks to the support of "Marinsound" studio, the band will present their new CD on tour. Together with my good old friend Mario Le Mole, singer of the band Mind Odyssey, we have planned a great x-mas gift for all the fans: a "Best Of" album with the most successfull songs, taken out of all 4 Mind Odyssey CDs, with bonus material including one videoclip! www.mindodyssey.de

16.08.2007 - Lingua Mortis Shows - - New RAGE CD - Hi everybody Now, this orchestra tour, which was planned already a long time ago, has passed, and the time went by much too fast. The arranging work, the notation of the notes-scripts and the whole organisation (incl. the visa-document stress for a whole orchestra!) was an incredible amount of work for me, but it was definitely worth it, for these unforgettable five concerts, that we were lucky enough to do and to enjoy! Hopefully we'll have the chance to repeat this again someday. I would like to thank all musicians of the orchestra "Young Belarus" (Lingua Mortis Orchestra)! Especially I would like to thank the conductor Professor Michail Kazinets and the director Professor Vladimir Budkevitch from my heart. I have never known any orchestra, that rocks on stage so great!!! Furthermore, I was so happy to finally be on stage together again with my old pal and music-colleague Andrei Zubrych (keyboard). About 20 years ago we have founded the band "Inspector", in which we were touring through Germany for the first time back in 1989. Another huge "Thank you" is -like usual- to all the fans, who have come along to the concerts and supported us loudly! It is always great to be on stage and to look into your enthusiastic faces! This is, what gives us the power to move on and to know, that what we're heading for is the right thing! The atmosphere at Wacken gave "goosepimples" to all(!!!) musicians on stage! Actually we don't know when, but we ensure you, that you'll see the recorded material. One stress leads to another, and so I am already in studio again to record the guitartracks for the new RAGE-album "Carved in Stone" - absolute Power-Metal-Firestorm! See you all either at any workshop-clinic, during the next tour or along the race-circuit! ;) Yours Victor

24.06.2007 - Race report available - - New workshop dates - For another time, Victor Smolski took part at the legendary 24h race on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgrings. After a perfect start from position 3 in division S2, Victor has been on the second place with the BMW 335d GTR of Dieselspeed after 2 hours, although the weather conditions were really hard. Then, Victor dropped out after heavy fog accident. A detailed race report with lots of photos you'll find at the motorsport section. The BMW 335d GTR of Dieselspeed. At the "Dates section" you'll find some more workshop dates.

07.05.2007 - Lingua Mortis shows - - New video clip - - New race dates - - Nuclear Blast sampler - RAGE have successfully ended their Lingua Mortis tour through Russia and the Ukraina. Special thanks to the orchestra, all parties concerned and the fans for unforgetable shows. We're looking forward for 3 more concerts in Prague, Wacken and Switzerland. A detailed tour report is available at the RAGE ON webpage. Due to the occasion of rehearsal in Minsk (Belarus) for the Lingua Mortis tour, RAGE have visited director Yankovsky (Irreal Pictures) in his studio, to plan a new video clip for the upcoming RAGE CD in next year. At the motorsport section we have added some new race dates. The compilation CD "Into The Light" for the 20th anniversary of Nuclear Blast, composed by Victor Smolski, will be released on 1st. of June 2007. With a shot out of the cannon of the battle cruiser Aurora, the history of Russia was completely changed. (start of the october revolution 1917).

16.04.2007 - Musicfair Frankfurt - Thanks a lot to all endorsement companies, who are supporting me since many years now, and also thanks to all my fans and friends, who have visited me at the music fair in Frankfurt this year. It has been great fun for me to meet and jam with many of my international musicians colleagues like f.e. Zacky, Billy Sheenhan, Frank Itt and Uli John Roth. Special Thanks to Siggi (Siggi Guitars) for the 10th anniversary present!!! You'll find some nice shots from the "music fair 2007" at the Photo section.

08.03.2007 - Music school opened - - Autograph hour at music fair - - Thanks for the 2 events - Finally I have opened a music school in Hamm. I will offer many different kinds of lessons at the "UNITY MUSIC SCHOOL". Check out the "Lessons" section for more information. The Yamaha endorser Billy Sheehan and Victor Smolski will give autographs at the Frankfurt music fair on 31st of March (Forum hall) at 1 p.m. The RAGE musicians will give an autograph hour at the Frankfurt music fair on 31st of March at Siggi guitar area (J 96 in hall 4.0.) at 2 p.m. Lately I was invited to the Headbangersball in Vienna and the 3. RAGE convention in Moscow. Thanks a lot for perfect organisation and for heartly welcome of the fans. Best regards, Victor

13.02.2007 - With full throttle across the roads - - Thanks for the birthday greetings - - Nuclear Blast anniversary sampler - - Release date of new RAGE DVD - - Concert dates - YES! FINALLY SNOW IN GERMANY!!! It's really great fun, drifting across the roads with full throttle ;) I would like to thank everybody for all the nice birthday greetings and the numerously presents. Most impressive was the registration of a new star of our sun system, which is calling my name now! The Nuclear Blast 20 years anniversary CD, entitled "Into the light", is completely recorded. (see studio report) After so many years, it was great fun, to work together with the Mind Odyssey guys again, . The new RAGE DVD "Full moon in St. Petersburg" will be released on 23rd of Februar world wide. A small taste you'll get at the following trailer. Click on the DVD cover, to download the trailer. (7,4 MB) New concert dates of my solo shows, as well as Rage & Lingua Mortis shows, are added to the "Dates section". Best regards, Victor

News - 2011 News - 2010 News - 2009 News - 2008 News - 2007 News - 2006 News - 2005 News - 2004 News - 2003 News - 2002 News - 2001 News - 2000