Mad rage can lead to slaughter (7)
I believe the answer is:
carnage
'slaughter' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'mad rage can' is the wordplay.
'mad' is an anagram indicator.
'rage'+'can'='ragecan'
'ragecan' is an anagram of 'CARNAGE'.
'lead to' is the link.
(Other definitions for carnage that I've seen before include "Mass killing" , "Wholesale killing" , "Mass slaughter" , "destruction" , "Bloody slaughter and butchery" .)