Citizen Rage Shares New Album, Harsh Reality
Formed in 2013, CITIZEN RAGE is a hardcore punk band from Calgary Alberta Canada. Drawing influences from seminal acts like DRI, Madball, and Good Riddance, as well as more modern bands likeIgnite, Comeback Kid and Get The Shot, Citizen Rage makes their own brand of hardcore to tear apart controversial topics in pursuit of social change.
On the strength of several western Canadian tours, and five self-released EPs, the band secured slots on festivals like Armstrong Metal Fest, Loud as Hell, East-Town Get Down, Lethbridge Deathfest, and a headline spot at the inaugural Decimate Metal Fest.
After sharing the stages with bands such as DRI, Cro-Mags, Trapped Under Ice, Madball, Revocation, and Dayglo Abortion, as well as an upcoming show with California’s long-running melodic hardcore bandIgnite, Citizen Rage have unleashed their first full-length album, HARSH REALITY on Toronto punk powerhouse CURSED BLESSINGS RECORDS. They hope to carry on spreading their message of positive social change through more tours and more recordings.
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
We are Citizen Rage, a hardcore punk band from Calgary, AB. Ross on guitar, Chase on drums, Mark on lead vocals, and Mikey on bass and vocals.
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
In the spring of 2023, we released our first full-length album, Harsh Reality, on Cursed Blessings Records. Recorded with Jamie Kovalski at Prohibitor Studios, and mixed by Rob Lawless at The Physics Lab. 10 tracks, including a cover by one of our favorite bands The Rebel Spell. We brought a lot of homies in to help with certain tracks, so there are plenty of sweet guest vocals and solos.
Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to tell us about?
December 9th we’re at Starlite Room in Edmonton for the Raygun Cowboys album release with Fire Next Time and The Devil’s Sons. December 29th we’re at Dickens with Class Action, No Brainer, and The Meds.
January 20th we’re back in Edmonton for a fundraiser show for a close friend of ours who needs a hand with some serious medical bills. The details for that will be released pretty quickly here.
If given the chance, which Canadian artist would you love to work with in the future?
This is gonna sound like a joke, but we would seriously love to get Carly Rae Jepsen to collaborate on a song with us. I know we aren’t the only punk dudes who secretly love her. She’s got a gorgeous voice, and everything she touches turns to pop music gold.
On a more realistic level, we’d love to hook up with Comeback Kid or Fucked Up and crush a massive tour with them.
What’s your goal for 2024?
We’re doing a bunch of writing right now so if all goes to plan, we’ll have a new EP or two released next year. On top of that, we have some plans in the works for some note touring. There’s even potential for our first international trek. Keep your eyes on the socials for all the details on that.