Metallica with Limp Bizkit and Ice Nine Kills At Rogers Centre

Metallica brought an ode to heavy metal like no other on their second night at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Touching down in Ontario’s capital on their M72 world tour in support of their latest album, 72 Seasons, they came stacked with a deadly lineup of openers, making for a unique sonic journey through different eras and sub-genres of metal.

Opening up the night in their classic ‘psycho’ style, horrorcore icons Ice Nine Kills delivered an ever-captivating set peppered with hits from throughout their vast repertoire. While thrilling, visually engaging, and sonically on point at every turn, the band’s horror-inspired behemoth of a theatrical performance was somewhat lost on the M72 stage. Such compelling visuals and theatre-heavy character work deserve fewer distractions, more room to co-exist, and a stage that is not a marathon to get across. Regardless, the band adapted to the size they were given and delivered a pleasantly gruesome set.

Coming out hot with The Silver Scream 2’s ‘Ex-Mortis’ & ‘Rainy Day’, and appealing to newer fans with ‘Meat & Greet’ and their out of the box cover collab with Reel Big Fish, the setlist hotspot had to be their biggest hit to date, ‘A Work Of Art’ ft. SHAVO of System Of A Down (no, he was not there). Transitioning into a personal favourite from there, Funeral Derangements gave the crowd their lethal injection of metalcore, led them through ‘Hip To Be Scared’ and ‘Wurst Vacation’ and into a finish line of bangers. Saving the essential fan favourites for last, the band closed out with their impossible not to sing along to smash hits, ‘Welcome To Horrorwood’, and ‘The American Nightmare’.

The middle children of the night, nu-metal legends Limp Bizkit didn’t waste a second showing the Rogers Centre that they’ve still got style, with Wes Borland forever outdoing himself and Fred Durst staying true to his ‘I don’t give a f***’ wardrobe. Walking in to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and kicking off their set with the Mission Impossible / Chocolate Starfish… hit, ‘Take A Look Around’, it wasn’t long before Fred Durst showed a softer side than he’s known for putting on display.

Humbly exclaiming that the next one was for the “few people in the stadium who know who we are,” the band was met with an unsurprisingly vivacious reception to their timeless fan-favourite, ‘Nookie’. We’d have to argue that this humble comment was a grand understatement and would like to remind Mr. Durst that Limp Bizkit’s legacy runs thick in the blood of 90’s & 00’s kids everywhere and our generation will always give a f*** about them, but it sure was nice to see that side of a man as famous for his tomfoolery as his music.

Largely making a reputation for themselves by being loud and proud, it’s no surprise that as the arena continued to flood with fans, the hype level ascended as they played their crowd-pleasing ‘Full Nelson’, a boisterous cover of Metallica’s ‘Master Of Puppets’, and blew the roof off with the indisputable anthem that is ‘My Generation’. A set packed with classics, the crowd got a bit of a breather before they brought out the big guns with ‘Break Stuff’, a highly controversial but absolute anthem of nu-metal and an epic display of one of heavy metal’s most feral and evocative eras. Not to mention, there’s absolutely no way to avoid getting amped up by this song – it was quite literally built to invoke a ‘Seek and Destroy’ mentality, making it the perfect track to preface Metallica’s set.

It goes without saying that Metallica paved the way for heavy metal’s mainstream integration and everything that comes along with it. Namely, forcing the ever-metal-challenged music award committees to give credit to the unbelievable talent that lives within the metal genre and making way for bands like Spiritbox to have their work commended within the broader music communities (notably still entirely failing to take off the blinders and give any true recognition to the VAST variety in the genre).

Metallica are legends that transcend generations and continue to awe and collect new fans well into their 11th studio album, and their back-to-back sold-out shows are yet another testament to that fact. However, the sets could use a bit of fine-tuning. While we love to spend hours with the band, the sets can feel drawn out. I love the mastery that every single member of the band brings to the stage as much as the next gal and a night without solos by each one of these individually fabled musicians would be a shame, but 1.5 hours vs. 2+ on a stage where the band was visible to all throughout the show would be a great thing to see next time around. That said, you can bet your bottom dollar that it’ll sell out regardless, and hell, it’s their show at the end of the night. They gave us tracks that our grandchildren’s grandchildren will know, so all the power to them for still having that stamina.

Also, with eleven studio albums, a set of that length isn’t too surprising, since it would be an impossible task to please everyone in your fanbase with a shorter one – especially with vast age differences in the crowd and as a consequence, attachments to separate eras and albums.

Aptly walking onto the stage to AC/DC’s enduring hit, ‘It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)’ is a sure fire way to get the crowd hyped up (if they weren’t already when they saw the lights dimming again) and the band never comes out slow. They come out fast and strong, reminding audiences across the globe that they did the same when they entered the scene with ‘Whiplash’ from their debut album, ‘Kill ‘Em All’.

Blasting through a setlist of classics, noodling, and epic musicianship, the band’s use of the jumbotrons was another highlight. They are well known for striking visuals, always putting forward stunning album art and merch, and on this tour, it extended to the enormous displays, showcasing everything from artwork and music videos to heartwarming compilations of photos of their past shows in Toronto.

If you are someone who likes to duck out early and miss the lines or don’t have the stamina the band maintains to stay at a show for that long, you may have made the right choice this time around. Personally feeling a bit shorthanded and jealous of night one’s final three tracks packing such a heavy punch, after making their way through the meat of the set, the band revived a fading night two crowd for a moment with ‘Moth Into Flame’ (paired with the essential pyro) before toning things back down with ‘One’. The jumbotron display during ‘One’ (a powerful, often tear-jerking ballad that may have been better placed mid-set) was one of the most captivating arena screen uses I have ever come across, however the irrefutably deadly tracks that they closed out night one with (Fuel, Seek & Destroy, Master of Puppets) were just not matched by the ballads (One, Enter Sandman) that closed out night two.

All of this to say, we will show up every time you come to us. Toronto loves you, too, Metallica. Stay metal, stay you.