Review and photography by Alex Stojanovic

(C) 2025 All rights reserved by MetalMasterKingdom.com

BLIND GUARDIAN
w/ Ensiferum and Seven Kingdoms
@ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Toronto, ON, Canada
November 29, 2025

​We're at the end of 2025, which is insane to think about, and that also means that the concert season is winding down too as we all prep to reflect and gather with our friends and loved ones for the Christmas holidays.  Speaking of Christmas, a rather nice gift that us Toronto metalheads received this year was the quick return of Blind Guardian after only a year.  Normally, Blind Guardian comes back to Toronto every 4-5 years with the exception 2015-2024, but this was the quickest return they ever made to our city ever, and fans were beyond ecstatic.  The band's North American tour hit the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on November 29 with Ensiferum and Seven Kingdoms as special guests, and for me, 2025 marks 10 years since I first saw Blind Guardian at the Danforth Music Hall with Grave Digger.  It was also my first time back to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre since 2017 for the UFO/Saxon Tour.

Review and photography by Alex Stojanovic

(C) 2025 All rights reserved by MetalMasterKingdom.com

DARK ANGEL
w/ Hirax and Void
@ Phoenix Concert Theatre
Toronto, ON, Canada
September 28, 2025

Presented by Inertia Entertainment
Watch our interview with Gene Hoglan here

​For a band, especially one that hasn't released a record in a long time, but is still able to go out and do short tours and festivals, it must be a great feeling when you release a new record after a long time, then you find yourselves doing longer tours again.  There have been many bands over the years that have experienced that, and one of the latest bands to have that experience this year was Dark Angel.  ​Since reforming back in 2013, the band have been playing sporadic shows and short tours, but also working on the follow-up to Time Does Not Heal, and after over 10 years of working on it, Extinction Level Event was released this year, and they are currently on their first North American tour in 30 years.

Review and photography by Alex Stojanovic

(C) 2025 All rights reserved by MetalMasterKingdom.com

POWERWOLF
w/ DragonForce
@ Rebel
Toronto, ON, Canada
September 17, 2025

There's a good amount of bands from Europe that have gotten really successful and have had a long career, but in their career, have never toured North America, and stuck primarily with Europe.  Powerwolf was one of those bands for a really really long time.  Fans in North America have been BEGGING them to come play here for years and years, and from what I heard, they passed on every opportunity including one-off festivals (that's just my speculation).  However, that changed in 2023, when they did their first ever shows in North America, and the same goes for their fans in South America as well.

Written by Alex Stojanovic

THREE DAYS GRACE / VOLBEAT
w/ Wage War
@ Budweiser Stage
Toronto, ON, Canada
June 19, 2025

Presented by Live Nation

​Summer's finally here and that means the big outdoor shows are too, and they're out in full force.  It's also not too often that you see the big established touring bands doing full-blown tours of Canada, but two bands that teamed up for a full tour of Canada just now were Three Days Grace and Volbeat, with Wage War serving as special guests, bringing three countries (Canada, Denmark & USA) and three different styles to form one epic night.  This double-bill hit several major markets across the country and Toronto got to witness this combo on a rather windy Thursday night on June 19 at the Budweiser Stage.  When I say three different styles, I mean that Wage War brought the metal edge, Three Days Grace brought the hard rock edge, and Volbeat was middle ground of the two.

Written by Alex Stojanovic

THE POISONED ASCENDANCY TOUR 2025
TRIVIUM / BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
w/ August Burns Red and Bleed From Within
@ Great Canadian Casino Resort
Toronto, ON, Canada
May 4, 2025

​If you wanna talk about feeling old, just know that 2005 was 20 years ago.  At that time, metalcore was the dominant new force in metal that was trending, and a ton of killer bands of that scene were just starting out and releasing their signature albums.  Of all those bands, many have gone on to great heights, but at the time, two bands and albums in particular stood out, and those were Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine when in 2005, they released their juggernauts with Ascendancy and The Poison.  Both albums have joined the ranks of Master Of Puppets, Rust In Peace, Reign In Blood, Number Of The Beast, British Steel and so on, as classic albums that have inspired many bands of the current generation coming up now.

Written by Alex Stojanovic

METALLICA
w/ Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies
@ Rogers Centre
Toronto, ON, Canada
April 24, 2025

​Every year has a bunch of tours going on all across the world, but when the mightiest metal band of all time comes through town, and even if you have to fork out a mortgage for tickets, you somehow always need to find a way to witness the majestic live spectacle of Metallica.  It should almost be a law.  Having already cemented their place as the leaders of the pack after Black Sabbath decades ago, Metallica still contain the magnetic power of attracting new fans of all ages with timeless music.  Even if they didn't get the new extension of life, thanks to Stranger Things, they'd still have all the power in the world to attract massive amounts of people to the giant stadiums and fill them up without issue.

Written by Alex Stojanovic

DISTURBED (THE SICKNESS 25th ANNIVERSARY TOUR 2025)
w/ Daughtry and Nothing More
@ Scotiabank Arena
Toronto, ON, Canada
April 7, 2025

OH-WAH-AH-AH-AH!!!  That right there has become one of the most; if not the most, iconic and recognizable vocal hook of the 2000s.  It was the time when nu metal was the new dominant force in heavy music, and people were primed and ready for the angry attack that was to come from a little debut album that is now an absolute classic called The Sickness by a little band from Chicago called Disturbed.  As we sit here now in 2025, that album is finally getting its chance to be celebrated in style with a 25th anniversary tour where the band play the album in its entirety.  

Written by Alex Stojanovic


VORTEX OF VIOLENCE TOUR 2025
Warbringer / Allegaeon
Skeletal Remains / Summoning The Lich
@ Garrison
Toronto, ON, Canada
March 31, 2025


Presented by Inertia Entertainment

​
Watch our interview with John Kevill HERE

Written by Alex Stojanovic
Photography by Taita Vlakoff

(C) 2024 All rights reserved by MetalMasterKingdom.com

THE BATTLE OF '24
EXODUS / HAVOK / CANDY / DEAD HEAT
@ Phoenix Concert Theatre
Toronto, ON, Canada
November 19, 2024

Presented by F7 Entertainment

​Can you believe that the end of 2024 is upon us?!  We've seen a bunch of great tours come through this season as we always do, but the fall concert season is still in full swing with some more to go.  One of the most anticipated tours that's capping off this year is Exodus' first headlining tour in several years across North America dubbed The Battle Of '24, with dates in both the U.S and Canada.  The last time Exodus did a full headline tour of their own across the continent was in 2010 when Rob Dukes was fronting.  The co-headline tours they did with Testament and Obituary don't count.  

Written by Alex Stojanovic

KLASH OF THE TITANS TOUR 2024
TESTAMENT / KREATOR / POSSESSED
@ History
Toronto, ON, Canada
October 3, 2024

Presented by Inertia Entertainment & Embrace

​Since last year, the Klash Of The Titans Tour has done quite a few tours across the globe, with Kreator being the mainstay of the bill, and having shared that bill with bands like Testament, Sepultura, Death Angel and In Flames around North America, South America, Asia and Australia.  For the latest edition, Kreator teamed up once again with Testament for an extensive run across North America, with Possessed as special guests.