It’s been more than two decades since GWAR first arrived on the seething mud ball that is planet Earth, and at the beginning of December, the comedic thrash band that’s hailed from the state of Virginia since their intergalactic journeys brought them to our planet visited Alberta, as part of their 25th anniversary tour.

Joining the group and their slaves were Massachusetts grindcore four-piece The Red Chord, who opened the show with a killer 30-minute set of original material from their first three studio albums, as well as tunes from their latest full-length recording, Fed Through the Teeth Machine [Metal Blade, 2009]. Vocalist Guy Kozowyk’s on-stage energy never fails to impress, and the second band on the bill, Arizona’s Job For A Cowboy, brought the intensity up another notch at Calgary, Alta.’s Dec. 3 concert at MacEwan Hall.

After GWAR hit the stage, it didn’t take long for those new to the band’s live show to figure out why the walls, speakers and stage monitors were covered in plastic. One song, actually, before the blood-cannon rolled out and ignited a gore splattering good time.

The Grammy-nominated band was not for everyone, though, and the diverse line-up of bands definitely brought out a varied crowd, some of which left after seeing the band they came for, some not arriving until just before, so the Calgary venue was only ever about half full, in spite of the show being nearly sold out.