Snowmageddon Be Damned: Lord of the Lost Devour The Danforth in Toronto

jaybroderick
5 minutes ago
5 min read

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 Toronto the coldest place on Earth that day. Then, as if Mother Nature wanted to double down, January 25th dumped 46 cm of snow, the most ever recorded in the city on a given day. A foot and a half of white chaos swallowed sidewalks, buried cars, and turned right‑hand lanes into snowbanks tall enough to dwarf Lost's guitarist Benjamin Mundigler.

The city literally shut down. As a result, the originally scheduled January 26th show was postponed. But metalheads are a stubborn breed. So on January 27th, with snow still piled like barricades and the streets barely passable, fans trudged, and slid their way to The Danforth for a night that absolutely lived up to the tour’s name: The Dark Winter Tour.

Fitting doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Wednesday 13

The night kicked off with Wednesday 13, a band we covered at Lee's Palace in April 2025. Right away it was clear this wasn’t your typical opening‑act setup. The drum kit sat at the back as would a headliner, leaving the entire front of the stage wide open, perfect for chaos, and chaos is exactly what they delivered.

The band tore into “Devils Command” with zero hesitation. Within seconds, the members were sprinting across the stage, vocalist Joseph Michael Poole (who's stage name is that of the band) leaning directly into photographers’ lenses, and the energy in the room spiked, instantly raising the temperature, making the fans forget about the frigid temperatures outside.

Despite the still‑growing audience for the opening act (I'll never understand this), the singer had no trouble pulling noise out of the room as he demanded volume, resulting in a roar as if the place were packed to the rafters. Then came the wonderfully unhinged theatrics as 13 pronounced "“Toronto, it’s time to get spooky!" as he producing a glowing pumpkin like some deranged Halloween Santa. He tossed “treats” into the crowd, later revealed to be tiny plastic spiders, that the fans were desperate to get their hands on.

For the finale, 13 asked the crowd the most important question of the night. “How many of you love to say fuck?” Middle fingers shot up. An umbrella decorated with the word itself and a giant middle finger pointed to the crowd. The crowd chanted, flipping the bird back with gleeful abandon.

Say what you will... Wednesday 13 knows how to rock and roll!

The Birthday Massacre

London, Ontario’s own The Birthday Massacre took the second slot, and the shift in atmosphere was immediate. Their six‑piece lineup brought an ethereal, dreamy darkness, as they kicked off their set with the instrumental, atmospheric "Night Shift". It was a perfect contrast to Wednesday 13’s chaotic swagger.

As they progressed through their set, the band never stopped moving. Members drifted from one end of the stage to the other, climbed up and down synth stands, headbanged in unison, and kept the energy flowing. The band's front lady Sara Taylor thanked the crowd for braving the treacherous weather, and the audience, now thicker, responded with warmth.

The highlight of a great set was when the band performed "Sleep Tonight". Taylor asked the crowd if they were still having a good time, and the band kicked into a heavier beat that had the crowd banging along with the music and the band.

The Birthday Massacre looked like they were having the time of their lives, smiling, waving, goofing around with each other, and feeding off the crowd’s energy.

Lord of the Lost

Then the lights went black. The room erupted. This was the moment everyone had braved the apocalypse for. An ominous intro rolled in, shadows moved across the stage, and one by one the band members emerged. Finally, vocalist Chris Harms stepped dead center as the lights snapped on, and The Danforth Music Hall detonated.

The difference in sound quality was immediate. Lord of the Lost came in clean, full, and thunderous, easily the loudest and richest mix of the night. Even with cheap foam earplugs (my own fault, as I left my regulars on the counter), the clarity was unreal.

As the band rolled through their opening songs "Bazaar Bizarre", "I Will Die in It" and "Damage", Harms worked the entire stage, moving from side to side, engaging every corner of the room. And then he addressed the crowd... “We made it through the snow… we were so lucky it worked out. And of course, when you come to Canada, you’re going to get snow. Thank you for being here, Toronto!” From there, the show became a masterclass in crowd control. On a riser at the front of the stage, he commanded, “Toronto, I’d like to see all of your hands. ALL OF THEM!”, and every arm shot up into the air as the band crashed into their 2016 track "Drag Me To Hell".

Benjamin Mundigler performs live in Toronto. Photo By: Jay Broderick

Ahead of “I Hate People”, Harms clarified that he hates ignorant people... the ones who try to redefine “freedom.” For the performance of the song, Wednesday 13 (the vocalist) joined The Lost for vocals, creating a killer crossover moment.

Throughout the band's set, Harms killed it with his interaction with the intense fans, with introductions like “We definitely need more heavy metal keyboards!” as the band rolled into "Blood for Blood". The crowd jumped in unison, and soon he had them circling like a whirlpool, fists pumping, bodies moving, the floor shaking. Later, he climbed onto the security barricade, pushing the crowd to scream louder and louder until the room felt like it might burst.

“Blood and Glitter” turned into a full‑venue sing‑and‑jump‑along, the soft intro of “Light Can Only Shine in the Darkness” turned into hands waving side to side as the band slammed back in with full force. Then the singer's robe came off. The band launched into a phenomenal cover of Roxette’s “The Look”. The entire crowd belting out the "nah‑nah‑nah‑nahs" at the end. It was one of those rare covers that feels both reverent and completely reimagined.

Before the final track, the singer explained that Lord of the Lost doesn’t do encores. They play their set straight through. He thanked the crowd again, urged everyone to drive home safely through the winter wasteland, and the band closed the night with one last blast of dark, triumphant energy with "The Things We Do For Love".

Set List

Intro OPVS NOIR

Bazaar Bizarre

I Will Die in It

Damage

Prison

Drag Me to Hell

I Hate People

Blood for Blood

Priest

On This Rock I Will Build My Church

Loreley

Blood & Glitter

Light Can Only Shine in the Darkness

The Look (Roxette cover)

The Things We Do for Love

Snowmageddon 2026 tried its best to stop this show from happening. It failed! What unfolded at The Danforth Music Hall was a celebration of resilience, and pure metal joy. Three bands, three distinct energies, one unforgettable night carved out of the darkest, coldest, snowiest week in the city’s history.

If anything, the brutal weather made the show feel even more legendary.

Because nothing says metal like fighting through a frozen hellscape to scream your lungs out with a room full of strangers.

Concert Photo Gallery (all photos by: Jay Broderick)