Napalm Death perform live at Lee's Palace in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Jay Broderick By: Jay Broderick Toronto, Canada - Another kick‑ass Inertia Entertainment night at Lee’s Palace... and for once, I rolled in with only minutes to spare. Totally unlike me, but whatever. The second I stepped inside, the room already felt charged. Five bands, a packed 19+ crowd, and a legendary grindcore institution ready to tear the roof off. What followed was one of the most exhausting, exh

Cryptopsy performs live at Lee's Palace in Toronto, Ontario. Photo By: Jojo Taylor By: Jojo Taylor Toronto, Ontario - The trend I usually see in Toronto audiences is that we are very polite at concerts. I have heard many artists say this about our city. I truly believe they are saying we are too quiet. We usually wake up at the end of a show to get that encore song. This was not the case on May 27th at Lee’s Palace. Our Legendary Brutal Death Metal band Cryptopsy and 3 other

Electric Callboy performs live at Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Ernon Schneeberger By: Ernon Schneeberger Toronto, Canada - Electric Callboy rolled into Toronto’s Coca-Cola Coliseum on their Tanzneid World Tour and basically turned the whole place into a massive party, with Scene Queen and Polaris along for the ride. With their mix of metalcore and EDM chaos, this was never going to be a normal show and with a lineup like this, it felt more like a full nigh

August Burns Red perform live at History in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Ernon Schneeberger By: Ernon Schneeberger Toronto, Canada - Toronto’s History played host to a stacked night of metalcore as the Spring Horizons Tour rolled into town, bringing together legacy giants August Burns Red and The Amity Affliction, alongside rising acts Boundaries and Heavensgate. Blending generations of the genre, the lineup felt like a collision between metalcore’s roots and its modern evoluti

Corrosion of Conformity perform live at The Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Jay Broderick By: Jay Broderick Toronto, Canada - It’s been a minute since I’ve covered a show at The Phoenix Concert Theatre. In fact, the last time I personally covered a show here was on May 30, 2024 when Death to All Screamed Bloody Gore! Walking up to the venue on May 5 felt like stepping back into an old haunt. One of my favourite venues in the city. A few diehards were alr

Unprocessed perform live at The Opera House in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Ernon Schneeberger By: Ernon Schneeberger Toronto, Canada - The Opera House in Toronto was absolutely buzzing for Unprocessed's headline tour with openers Midwinter and Allt setting the stage for an unforgettable night of progressive metalcore. MIDWINTER Midwinter perform live in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Ernon Schneeberger Midwinter came out swinging and immediately made it feel like the room was thei

Bring Me the Horizon perform live at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Matty Vogel Words: Ashley Depaz Images: Matty Vogel Toronto, Canada - Toronto didn’t just host a concert on April 28th, 2026... it got pulled into a fully realized alternate universe when Bring Me the Horizon launched their tour in Toronto, and they didn’t ease into it! They dropped the audience straight into a glitching, haunted digital world that felt like booting up a long-lost game on Play

Vana performs live at The Mod Club in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Justin Michael Carriere By: Justin Michael Carriere Toronto, Canada - Congratulations New Zealand, you have a Bonafide Metal Queen. Vana (pronounced VAH-NAH) brought her first headlining tour, The Lady in Red, to The Mod Club in Toronto on Thursday April 28th. Born in California, but raised in Aukland and calling NZ home, the metalcore musician is currently on the road in 2026 after signing with Sumerian Records

Dark Tranquility perform live at The Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Justin Michael Carriere By: Justin Michael Carriere Toronto, Canada - I have a confession: I am a death metal neophyte. For whatever reason, the genre just had not been on my radar for the longest time. Enter The Scandinavian Heavy Arts Tour (how bad ass is that title?!) … Dark Tranquillity, early originators of melodic death metal, and fellow Swedes Soen ushered me into a new dimension

Niall Gunovski of PEACE BOND performs live at The Spot in Newmarket. Photo By: Michael Drukarsh By: Michael Drukarsh Newmarket, Ontario - You just never know what you are in for when you walk through the doors of The Spot on a Saturday night. Usually, based on the almost eligible band names on flyers posted around town and announcements on Instagram, you can be sure whoever is on the bill will be loud. However, for this show, tucked in amongst the chaotic fonts was an unusual

Burning Witches perform live at The Garrison in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Jay Broderick By: Jay Broderick Toronto, Canada - Another night, another Garrison show, and honestly, I’m not complaining. I’m loving this venue more with every visit, even with the lack of a photo pit. But as a fan, it gets you as close as you possibly can get, and as a photojournalist, it allows close interaction with the fans. As Toronto finally shakes off the last of its winter hibernation, the str

Wacken Metal Battle Canada; Ontario Finals at The Garrison. Photo By: Michael Drukarsh By: Michael Drukarsh Toronto, Ontario - As part of the official WOA Warm-Up parties and in celebration of Wacken Open Air 's 35th anniversary, 35 concerts happened in 35 different countries on April 18th, 2026. Hosted once again by The Garrison in downtown Toronto, The Wacken Metal Battle Canada Ontario finals saw three bands, Dawn Vally, Misothronos, and Gravearth battled it out on stag

Raven perform live at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Jay Broderick By: Jay Broderick Toronto, Canada - Thirty‑five minutes before "doors" (which is actually a curtain), the Horseshoe Tavern was already buzzing... a full line running from the curtains at the back of the bar area out through the front door, metalheads of all ages shoulder‑to‑shoulder, waiting for a night of pure, sweat‑drenched heavy metal thanks again to Inertia Entertainment . The air ha

Cancer Bats perform live at The Opera House in Toronto, Ontario. Photo By: Jojo Taylor By: Jojo Taylor Toronto, Ontario - Cancer Bats fans, you may regret reading this. If you missed their 20th anniversary party at The Opera House on April 10th, you missed the best show of the year so far! This was a celebration like no other. But, I will digress already to let you know who else showed up before I get to the highlight. Chastity Chastity perform live at The Opera House. Pho

Loose Jaw perform live at The Spot in Newmarket, Ontario. Photo By: Michael Drukarsh By: Michael Drukarsh Newmarket, Ontario - Once again The Spot in Newmarket opened its door for another all ages metal-core extravaganza. This time though, the premise behind the four band bill was a little more special as headliners Loose Jaw took the advice of owner Mike Capobianco and booked the venue as well as the supporting acts for their very own cd release party in celebration of th

Rod "Ozzy" Clarke performs live at El Mocambo in Toronto, Ontario. Photo By: Michael Drukarsh By: Michael Drukarsh Toronto, Ontario - If you were lucky enough to grow up through the 70s and 80s you’d have had the opportunity to see many of the best metal bands perform in their prime. As the years go by we continue to lose our heroes... our icons. Thankfully we have musicians and artists willing to continue to pay homage to those who have fallen. Check out Ashley Depaz’s cove

Mortrem perform live at El Mocambo in Toronto, Ontario. Photo By: Michael Drukarsh By: Michael Drukarsh Toronto, Ontario - Mortrem is a Toronto-based post-metal band formed by lifelong friends who share a passion for crafting heavy, melodic music. Now streaming world wide, Mortrem’s debut album One With the Earth was celebrated on April 3rd with a very special release party at the El Mocambo . With themes that ominously fit perfectly in today’s world, Mortrem created an al

Black Label Society perform live at Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Ashley Depaz By: Ashley Depaz Toronto, Canada - On Sunday, March 29th, 2026, the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto became the epicenter of pure metal power as Dark Chapel, Zakk Sabbath and Black Label Society took the stage for a night that left the crowd flooding to the stage. The venue was packed from the moment the doors opened, with a diverse crowd of elder metalheads and younger

Erra perform live at History in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Ernon Schneeberger By: Ernon Schneeberger Toronto, Canada - From the moment the doors opened at History , the room pulsed with anticipation. Toronto crowds don’t mess around when it comes to live music, and on March 17, 2026, they packed the venue for The Silence Follows Tour , a powerhouse lineup headlined by progressive metalcore heavyweights Erra and Currents. Aviana Aviana perform live at History. Photo By: Ern

Not Enough Space perform live at Hard Luck Bar in Toronto, Canada. Photo By: Ernon Schneeberger By: Ernon Schneeberger Toronto, Canada - The Shallow Graves Tour has been ripping across North America this spring, with a killer lineup of rising acts Not Enough Space , Bailey Spinn, and Set For Tomorrow backing up the Dark Divine tour. After a string of East Coast dates, the tour finally hit Toronto’s Hard Luck Bar on March 11, 2026, and honestly, it felt like the room might e