Incarnatus perform live at The Spot in Newmarket, Ontario. Photo By: Michael Drukarsh By: Michael Drukarsh Newmarket, Ontario - I found myself back at The Spot on Saturday February 28 (which to be honest, might just become a monthly ritual for me), to witness Hardcore Is For Lovers . The Spot gives off a very indie/DIY vibe but the bands that take the stage are far from the amateur garage bands working out their stuff. The five acts on the bill promised to deliver a night o

Halfway Down perform live at Gabby's in Scarborough, Ontario. Photo By: Jay Broderick By: Jay Broderick Scarborough, Ontario - The night belonged to HALFWAY DOWN , and to the electric, youthful crowd that packed into Gabby’s Restaurant in my old stomping grounds of Guildwood. On February 27th the band psyched themselves up for a three‑set rock marathon that felt like a blast from my past! HALFWAY DOWN is a band made up of high school and university musicians who, based on t

Belphegor perform live at Lee's Palace in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Jojo Taylor By: Jojo Taylor Toronto, Canada - How do you take your Metal? Blackened! What I love about Lee’s Palace is they are a club that hosts a wide variety of music. They support local acts that want to play a bigger stage or they are a stage for international artists to play to an intimate crowd. So, when a band comes in from around the world, Toronto loves to visit these clubs, because you wouldn’t

Lita Ford performs live at Casino Rama in Rama, Canada. Photo By: Michael Drukarsh By: Michael Drukarsh Rama, Canada - There is something very magical about rock and roll from the 80s. It just seems to have the power to make everyone smile, from the bands that play it to the fans who love it. And this was once again on display last night at Casino Rama as Lita Ford headlined an intimate show along with opening act Headpins. Headpins Headpins perform live at Casino Rama. Ph

Hellseer perform live at The Spot in Newmarket, Ontario. Photo By: Michael Drukarsh By: Michael Drukarsh Newmarket, Ontario - Nestled in an unassuming business complex next to a church on Gorham Road in Newmarket, The Spot Rehearsal Studio has become the hidden gem for live music events in Ontario's York Region. Along with nine well equipped rehearsal rooms available for monthly and hourly rental, The Spot boasts a newly renovated concert space, a tattoo artist, a print sho

Left to Suffer perform live at The Garrison in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Jay Broderick By: Jay Broderick Toronto, Canada - Still reeling from the storm of the century on January 25th, Toronto continued to be a disaster zone when I headed down on February 4th to take in Left To Suffer 's The Eternal Suffering Tour . Snowbanks swallowing sidewalks and parking lots, and downtown traffic moving at a crawl. But inside The Garrison , none of that mattered. Metal fans packed the r

Ghost perform live at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Michael Drukarsh Photos By: Michael Drukarsh Words By: Jay Broderick Toronto, Canada - Toronto didn’t just host Swedish rockers Ghost on Saturday night... it surrendered to them! By the time doors opened at Scotiabank Arena, the place was already buzzing with fans in full Ghost regalia... face paint, papal robes, ghoulish masks, and enough ghostly attire to turn the concourse into a cathedral of the damne

Judas Rising perform live at The Rockpile in Toronto, Ontario. Photo By: Michael Drukarsh By: Michael Drukarsh Toronto, Ontario - The temperature inside The Rockpile wasn’t too far off the outside temperature of minus a million degrees last night as the crowd slowly made their way into the venue. But that all changed as soon as the lights went down and the first of three bands hit the stage to deliver a set of classic heavy metal to fans ready to warm their hearts and souls

Lord of the Lost perform live at Danforth Music Hall in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Jay Broderick By: Jay Broderick Toronto, Canada - Toronto has seen some things… but nothing like January 2026! By the time Germany’s Lord of the Lost finally took the stage at The Danforth Music Hall , the city had already survived a week that felt like hell! First came the brutal cold snap on January 23rd... A soul‑crushing –50°C (that’s –58°F for our American friends), officially making Tor

Kayo Dot perform live at The Cave in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Jay Broderick By: Jay Broderick Toronto, Canada - There are hidden rooms in Toronto’s music scene, and then there’s The Cave . Well, ok, maybe it's not "hidden", but I certainly had never been aware of the upstairs venue at Lee’s Palace. How it has eluded me all these years, I cannot say. How I’ve been going to shows in this city for 4 decades without knowing this grungy little sanctum existed is beyond me. But

Krisiun perform live at The Garrison in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Jojo Taylor By: Jojo Taylor Toronto, Canada - The Garrison is a small but mighty club that can bring in some of the best underground acts from around the world. In this case it was three bands from America and one from South America. This was a wild mixture of Death metal from Fargo, North Dakota, Long Island, New York, and Los Angeles, California. The headliner this night came in from Brazil. Gorgatron Roxa

Death to All perform live at The Danforth Music Hall in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Jay Broderick By: Jay Broderick Toronto, Canada - Winter has gnashed its ugly teeth here in Toronto, the death of summer clearly not a dream. The biting cold and first snowfall outside felt ironic for tonight’s showcase, a night dedicated to the legacy of Chuck Schuldiner , one of the most influential figures in heavy metal history. Inside the Danforth Music Hall , however, warmth came not fro

Emery perform live at Adelaide Hall in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Josh Friesen By: Josh Friesen Toronto, Canada - Toronto’s Adelaide Hall was buzzing long before the first note rang out. The small venue quickly filled shoulder-to-shoulder with fans eager to mark a milestone: Emery ’s 20th anniversary of The Question . But nostalgia wasn’t the only force at play. With Wolves at the Gate’s faithful following fueling anticipation, and Josh Scogin's new project '68, the night

Killer Dwarfs perform live at The Biltmore Theatre in Oshawa, Ontario. Photo By: Michael Drukarsh By: Michael Drukarsh Oshawa, Ontario - Coming home is always a special feeling and that was certainly evident at the Killer Dwarfs show at The Biltmore Theatre in Oshawa on November 8th, 2025. Surrounded by a jam-packed house filled with friends, family and fans, the Killer Dwarfs were home, along with two more home grown bands, Darren James Smith Band and Oshawa’s My Own Addi

THRICE perform live at Danforth Music Hall in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Jay Broderick By: Jay Broderick Toronto, Canada - As the sun sat directly on the horizon and literally blinded the westbound commuters on Highway 401, I left the office and headed toward Danforth Music Hall (one of my favourite venues to photograph at), already feeling the sting of early November darkness. But the promise of live music, and the mystery of a band that I was not completely familiar with,

Will Ramos of Lorna Shore performs live at Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto. Photo By: Jay Broderick By: Jay Broderick Toronto, Canada - Toronto’s Great Canadian Casino Resort got a baptism by fire on October 27 as deathcore juggernauts Lorna Shore tore through the third-last night of their tour with Shadow of Intent and The Black Dahlia Murder. This is the first time I've even attended a show at this venue, let alone covering a show here, and it quickl

Kataklysm perform live at Lee's Palace in Toronto, Ontario. Photo By: Jay Broderick By: Jay Broderick Toronto, Ontario - Toronto’s metal faithful (a number of whom I see at every single show I cover) packed into Lee’s Palace for an Inertia Entertainment presentation of the 2025 'Carnival of Death' Tour. While I lined up awaiting the doors opening, there was still a buzz about the Sacrifice show 10 days prior. With a stacked bill featuring Skeletal Remains, Malevolent Crea

Acid Bath perform live at Rebel in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Joe Taylor By: Joe Taylor Toronto, Canada - Acid Bath formed in 1991 and departed in 1997. They are a heavy, sludgy doom band that was pioneering a different sound for the nineties. Combining sludge, doom, hardcore and thrash music, Acid Bath became an important influence on a new musical direction. The band broke up due to the death of their bassist Audie Pitre. They hail from Houma, Louisiana and recorded two s

Sacrifice perform live at The Concert Hall in Toronto, Ontario. Photo By: Jay Broderick By: Jay Broderick Toronto, Ontario - Returning to The Concert Hall , the same venue where I first saw Sacrifice at the Toronto Metal Massacre show on March 18, 1988, felt like stepping into a time machine powered by power and adrenaline. I arrived at the Yonge Street venue at 6:30 PM, half an hour before doors opened, and already the line stretched down Yonge Street. The buzz was distin

Sonata Arctica perform live at The Mod Club in Toronto, Canada. Photo by: Jay Broderick By: Jay Broderick Toronto, Canada - Toronto was glowing with summertime vibes on a late September evening. City dwellers in shorts and tank tops strolled down College Street, as Heavy Metal fans lined up outside the Mod Club , buzzing with anticipation. The Mod Club, Axis Club to some, Mod Club to the nostalgic, is probably the most cumbersome venue for me to get to, but despite the logis