LIVE REVIEW – RAGE, C.O.P. UK

Rage is a prolific German heavy metal band with twenty-six full length studio albums and eleven EP’s to their credit, first appearing on the German metal scene in 1984 and still going strong to this day. I would classify them as traditional metal crossing into power metal and symphonic metal at times during their career (with some albums including a full backing orchestra). Rage is best known for writing some off the catchiest choruses in metal and very popular in Europe, but far less known in Canada & U.S.A. I’ve seen Rage a few times live in Europe and they always put on a great show. 

I remember being super-excited to learn Rage would begin their 40^th anniversary world tour in Canada (or more accurately in the provinces of Ontario & Quebec) and this would be their first time ever playing in Canada. I bought my Toronto ticket way back in mid ‘23 and must admit, I was pretty sure this show would get cancelled before the date arrived. It just felt odd having a few isolated Canadian shows kicking off the world tour and not stopping in the States at all. Well, Rage did arrive in Canada on March 3rd as promised posting social media pictures of themselves at famous Canadian tourist stops like Niagara Falls. Cleary – This show was a GO!

I arrived at Lee’s Palace slightly late Monday night and was surprised to find a line outside the venue not moving. My first thought was they must have oversold the venue and not everyone is getting in. After a while, we were told there was a technical issue where the band didn’t have proper international electricity adapters (Euro to North American converters) causing the delay. This certainly proved Rage and crew were not used to playing in North America. The first thing I pack when going to Europe are my electricity adapters.  

We finally got into the venue 90 minutes late and I was dismayed at the crowd size. I didn’t do a head count but seriously doubt there were more than seventy-five to one hundred people in attendance. What a shame for a band of Rage’s caliber traveling all the way to Canada for the first time. Sure, it didn’t help this was a Monday night but that never stopped me. There must have been some kind of breakdown promoting this show. That said, those of us who did make it were clearly die-hard Rage fans knowing all the material inside out. Sadly, I read the next scheduled stop in Ottawa was cancelled (attendance related?). Luckily, it appears Quebec fans showed up in droves with sold out shows in Quebec City and Montreal. 

C.O.P UK (CRIMES OF PASSION)

The opening band was C.O.P. UK (aka – Crimes of Passion) and I enjoyed their set immensely. Never heard of them before this evening. They made the trip from England playing traditional metal / hard rock with a partial hair metal image (keyboards and all). The crowd was treated with seven or eight songs including a well-executed cover of Journey’s ‘Separate Ways’. If you like bands like Saxon, Tygers of Pan Tang, Magnum, and Thunder, you should check these guys out. Vocalist Dale Radcliff in his bright red jacket is a good front man with plenty of charisma commanding the stage. Musicianship was strong and the songs well-written with plenty of hooks and melody. I’m going to check out their albums in detail. Fun set.  

RAGE
Legends Rage finally took the stage to chants of “Peavy”, “Peavy” (Peavy Wagner – Rage bassist, lead vocalist and mastermind). This was truly a “best of” set but there was no way Rage could even play a fraction of their discography during a single show (and Peavy noted the same during the show). Rage pulled material from ten different albums playing fourteen songs in total. Peavy told the audience his English was a little rusty, but he was being modest. The stage set-up was completely no frills, just a banner hanging behind the drum kit. Since Rage are a three piece, the normally small stage looked rather sparse.    

My favorite Rage album is Perfect Man from ’88 and the highlight of the night for me was ‘Don’t Fear the Winter” showcasing a ridiculously addictive chorus. We got one track ‘Under a Black Crown’ from the soon to be released Afterlifelines record dropping March 28, 2024. I loved the new song instantly and look forward to the new double album later this month. Other favorites included ‘Higher than the Sky’, ‘End of all Days’, ‘Shadow out of Time’, ‘Black in Mind’, ‘Resurrection Day’ and ‘Great Old Ones’. To be honest, I wasn’t disappointed by a single song that night. I can’t remember singing so much at a show in decades.   

I got the impression Peavy was happy to see Rage’s music appreciated in Canada. He briefly interacted with the crowd throughout the night and smiled each time he heard the “Peavy” or “Rage” chants. At the end of the show, Peavy and band were shaking hands and I kept hearing everyone thanking him for coming to Canada (as I did). Canadians are known for our politeness, but this was heartfelt appreciation. We knew this was a special event that may never happen here again. I’m sure the band would have preferred a bigger crowd but showed no signs of disappointment and gave 100% all night.   

As a fan from the early Rage days, I was slightly disappointed to hear nothing from the Reign of Fear (’86), Execution Guaranteed (’87) and Secrets in a Weird world (’89) albums but it was impossible to get through everything. The sound mix was slightly off, drummer Vassilios Maniatopoulos was too high in the mix and Peavy’s vocals were too low but who cares, Rage is in my hometown of Toronto – that’s more than enough for me! Oddly, Rage guitarist Jean Bormann also played with C.O.P. UK this night, not sure if he’s in both bands or was just helping C.O.P. UK on this leg of the tour.

Bottom line – This was a brilliant night of metal and I hope Rage make it back to Canada soon, but the shows needs to be promoted better. Maybe Inertia Entertainment should run with the next Toronto show if we get a second chance. I get to see Rage again at Wacken ’24 and I know there will be eighty thousand plus fans with me, the way it should be. Once again, thank you Rage for coming to Canada.