After a couple of weeks of head colds, cold weather and family issues, it was great to finally brave the snow to catch a show at the Slice. And Citizen Rage couldn’t have been a better choice, Friday, Jan. 17 for a close to sold out show at the Slice.
I missed Calgary Celtic rock band Syryn and Invicta Heights and wasn’t able to stay for a revamped Eons of Earth, who were playing their first gig with a new lineup.
But Citizen Rage were awesome as always.
They are an interesting contrast of good vibes mixed with loud, angry, detuned hardcore punk and metal along the lines of Black Flag with a touch of Pantera.
Frontman Mark Russell shouted at the crowd to “hug the person next to you,” while bouncing all over the stage, jumping back to let guitarists Ross Furguson and Sean Adams solo and bassist Mikey Bastard shout lead vocals for a couple of songs.
They played an intense, high energy set full of big, detuned riffs which included some new songs, songs about murder, mental illness and crowd favourites like “Fuck Your Face.”
They were called back for an encore as Eons of Earth got ready to close the night.