image created by AI By: Michael Johnston - It’s been called a golden age in entertainment. The 2000s sit perfectly before the streaming era, and just after music’s digital boom. Fewer concepts better epitomize this entertainment landscape than Florida's Yellowcard on a Spider-Man soundtrack. The 2000s brought advanced and more widely available cameras. This allowed for high quality, credible movies, at lower prices. In 2002 major studios standardized 2, and 4K film, marking t

By: Jay Broderick - Los Angeles heavy-metal lifers Armored Saint have been carving their place in the genre since 1982, debuting with March of the Saint in 1984 and sharpening their identity across a catalogue that has always felt defiantly their own. For me, the band’s second and third records, Delirious Nomad and Raising Fear, remain personal favourites, even if they aren’t universally crowned as the band’s peak. Now, 44 years after their formation and nine albums deep, Arm

By: Mike Johnston - Trent Reznor once said “to me.. rock music was never meant to be safe”. Singer/songwriter, Iota, MIGHT have taken this advice a little too seriously. The result, however, produced one of the coolest ideas in diegetic soundtrack history. Starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) was a massive critical and commercial success. The Namib desert offers breathtaking backdrops for this post apocalyptic masterpiece. Fury Road boasts a stell

By: Mike Johnston - In 1976, German metal kings, Accept, began their reign of Teutonic Terror. In 2026, the group will culminate 50 years of metal on one face-melting album. Forged in the 'City of Blades', Accept began performing in their hometown of Solingen, Germany. There, they became an integral part in the development of thrash and speed metal. For 50 years they have shredded their way through the annals of rock. On September 4th, 2026, Accept reaffirms their place in th

By: Mike Johnston - Starring Mark Wahlberg, Rock Star is inspired by the story of Tim "Ripper" Owens. In 1996, he was performing in a Judas Priest cover band when the unthinkable happened. Priest’s vocalist Rob Halford departed in 1992, triggering their hiatus. Now, with the rest of the band ready to tour again, they needed a singer. After seeing a tape of Owens perform, they found him. “I get a call saying ‘you have to call this number-it's Judas Priest.’” The script almost

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

Wrong Way Records (l-r: Store Manager Adam Rayfield, Newmarket Mayor John Taylor, Owner/General Manager Ray Pelletier By: Michael Drukarsh Newmarket, Ontario - The doors to Wrong Way Records in Newmarket opened at 8:00 am on April 18 to celebrate Record Store Day Canada 2026 (RSDC). Arriving just after 8, I figured I would be there to watch as things got set up and ready for the day. Turns out, I was late... With growing anticipation of the special vinyl releases in honor

By: Michael Drukarsh - As the decline of vinyl music was evident, independent record store owners came together and in 2008 the first official Record Store Day (RSD) took place on April 19th in Mountain View, California hosting a major kickoff with Metallica. Seen as a celebration of vinyl music and culture, RSD quickly spread across the U.S. and then globally was celebrated in independent record stores from as far away as the U.K. and of course right here in Canada . Conti

By: Jay Broderick - Fifteen years ago, the Foo Fighters slammed the garage door shut, cranked the amps, and made the loudest statement of their career. Wasting Light wasn’t just their seventh studio album, it was a full‑throttle reset! No digital polish. No studio sheen. Just tape machines, sweat, and the kind of stubborn conviction that only Dave Grohl could turn into a mission statement. Recorded straight to analogue in Grohl’s garage and released through Roswell and RCA

Floral Park perform live at Market Brewing Co. in Newmarket, Ontario. Photo By: Michael Drukarsh By: Michael Drukarsh Newmarket, Ontario - As a band, you know you are doing something right when you watch a new patron enter the bar and instantly put their hands in the air and start singing along to the tune you’re playing. That is exactly what happened tonight at The Market Brewing Company as Floral Park were in the middle of their version of The Rolling Stones’ "Honky Tonk

By: Jay Broderick Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto Growing up with an absent father and stumbling into trouble during my early teenage years taught me firsthand how crucial an adult role model can be. The statistics don’t lie... young people from single‑parent or fractured homes face steeper challenges than peers raised in more stable family environments. And in a massive city like Toronto, temptation and trouble lurk around every corner. That’s where Big Brothers Big Sis

By: Jay Broderick - On August 29, 1981, my MUCH older cousin (sorry Jim, wink, wink), took my sister and I to the CNE Grandstand in downtown Toronto to see a rock concert. It was my first ever live music experience. I was 10 years old. The band? April Wine ! I remember 2 distinct things that night... the funny smell of the smoke that filled the air, and the drum solo in which the drummer's sticks glowed different colours. It was pretty damned cool!!!! 27 years later (almost

By: Michael Drukarsh - If you are a child of the 70s then you were a teen of the 80s... and chances are, if you are here checking out this site, you were - and perhaps still are - a metal head. And , if you were a teen metal head of the 80s then chances are you owned these four influential albums; British Steel (1980), Blizzard of Ozz (1980), Number of the Beast (1982), Kill 'Em All (1983). And , if you were a teen in the 80s, then you were a young adult in the 90s, and

image generated by AI By: Michael Drukarsh - 2025 has been a rough year for heavy metal fans. Our heroes are getting older, as we all are, and the time has come to say good-bye to many. With the loss of Ozzy Osbourne on July 22, followed by Ace Frehley on October 16 , I thought it might be nice to share some Ozzy and Ace gift ideas to help make the holidays a little brighter. After all, they may have left us but thankfully the music they created will live on forever. Books

Bif Naked at The Royal Theatre in Toronto, Ontario. Photo By: Jay Broderick By: Jay Broderick Toronto, Ontario - On November 12, 2025, Toronto music fans gathered at The Royal Theatre to celebrate one of Canada’s most fearless and beloved artists at the screening of Bif Naked: A Documentary . The evening was more than a film premiere... it was a living testament to resilience, and the enduring power of music. Bif Naked arrived with her puppy Grace, a hospital therapy dog w

Taylor Acorn performs live at All Your Friends Fest. Photo By: Michael Drukarsh By: Jay Broderick - On June 1st, 2024, I headed to Toronto's summer concert amphitheatre Budweiser Stage to cover the Walk Off the Earth Tour for Corus Entertainment . On the bill that night was a pop-punk rocker from Pennsylvania named Taylor Acorn . Three months shy of the singer's debut full length album Survival in Motion being released, her performance on that early summer evening was one

Image generated by AI. By: Michael Drukarsh - Now that the disbelief has somewhat subsided, it’s time to take a moment and reflect on the passing of the original (and in many people's eyes, the only) Space Man, Ace Frehley . One of the four founding members and lead guitarist for Kiss , Ace made his mark on the rock and roll world by having a natural swagger that never felt forced or snobbish. Instead, Ace took to the stage, and to life, with a Bronx attitude that made peop

By: Jay Broderick - The Royal Theatre in Toronto is set to welcome a Canadian based, cultural icon as Bif Naked brings her fearless spirit and unmistakable voice for an intimate, one-night-only event that Toronto music fans won't want to miss. On Wednesday, November 12, 2025, from 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM, The Royal at 608 College Street will host “BIF NAKED: A Documentary”, a multifaceted evening featuring a screening of her brand new documentary, followed by a live acoustic p

By: Jay Broderick - Toronto thrashers, brace yourselves, for the apocalypse arrives at The Phoenix Concert Theatre on September 28. For the first time in over 30 years, Dark Angel , the thrash metal legends are storming back across North America. The band's 'Extinction Level Event Tour' marks a long awaited comeback, celebrating their first new album since 1991, Extinction Level Event, which was released by Reversed Records on September 5th. Formed in 1981 alongside Big 4

By: Jay Broderick - If ever a book could be described as a museum in hardcover form, Infinite Dreams is it. Set for an October 7, 2025 release. Published by British publisher Thames & Hudson , this massive flashback to Iron Maiden ’s 50-year reign is more than just a coffee table book... it’s a shrine to one of heavy metal’s greatest bands of all time. The illustrated book publisher has done a superb job here! Physically, Infinite Dreams is a Beast, as formidable as Eddie