'Music for outsiders': Metallica draws heavy metal fans to downtown Toronto

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 24, 2025 9:04 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Heavy metallic fans person descended connected downtown Toronto this week for the instrumentality of the set Metallica.

The band, which past played successful Toronto astir 8 years ago, was acceptable to execute connected Thursday nighttime and again connected Saturday nighttime astatine the Rogers Centre. Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies were to unfastened for the set connected Thursday, portion Limp Bizkit and Ice Nine Kills are acceptable to unfastened connected Saturday. 

The shows are portion of the band's M72 World Tour.

Toronto resident Doug Brown, who calls himself a Metallica ace fan, said the set has a peculiar quality to link to fans.

Brown said Metallica was the archetypal set helium got into astatine the property of 8 and helium has been collecting Metallica memorabilia ever since. He was featured by the set successful a YouTube video in 2017.

"Metallica is this 1 halfway love," Brown says.

"I've been to Atlantic City to spot Metallica. It's thing to bash beyond the music. When you're with a full clump of radical that stock thing successful common, nary substance what the benignant of euphony it is, it does consciousness similar a spot of a family. These monolithic bequest bands, they thin to gully that retired of people."

Brown said the set combined punk and metallic euphony successful its early days and continues to produce "music for outsiders."

Big sanction bands boost economy, adept says

Kelly Jackson, vice-president of destination improvement for Destination Toronto, said concerts featuring big names successful the euphony manufacture person a immense interaction connected the city's section economy.

"When idiosyncratic comes to sojourn the metropolis to spell to a concert, they bash truthful overmuch much than conscionable be the show. They often spell retired to devour astatine a section restaurant, they mightiness enactment successful a hotel, they mightiness partake successful shopping, they mightiness spell and spot immoderate of the different attractions successful the city. There's a immense economical payment to our businesses."

The set has besides been hosting assorted events, called the "Toronto Takeover," successful the downtown core to observe its return.

These see a pop-up store featuring set merchandise astatine The Well until Saturday.

On Friday, pb Guitarist Kirk Hammett volition big a unrecorded speech astatine the TIFF Lightbox and the set volition provide a sneak peek of its latest movie project at the Scotiabank Theatre.