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Concert Review – Kamelot (The Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON, 09/19/2026)

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And Toronto witnessed an astonishing night of frozen kings and queens, headbanging pirates, and horns raising knights, for the delight of all fans of Symphonic and Melodic Power Metal in the city.

OPENING ACTS: Frozen Crown and Visions of Atlantis

It was perhaps the coolest day of the season as temperatures dropped below +20oC in Toronto, but FROZEN CROWN, VISIONS OF ATLANTIS and KAMELOT brought their breathtaking Dark Asylum World Tour – North America Pt. I to Toronto to turn up the heat at The Phoenix Concert Theatre, resulting in another beyond successful event hosted by the one and only Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment. My buddy Blair Burch and I had the pleasure of witnessing the very first show of Frozen Crown in Canadian lands, as well as the usual killer performances by Visions of Atlantis and Kamelot, two of the most beloved bands in the city, and if it wasn’t for them I would have definitely gone full William “D-Fens” Foster in Falling Down on my way back home, because whoever thought it was a good idea to close two lanes of the Gardiner and QEW at 10 or 11pm on a Saturday night, with countless music and sports events in the city, deserves to be tied to one of those endless transit cones and stay there to “enjoy” the view for hours and hours and hours. Rant over.

Let’s get back to the music, because that’s what really matters in the end. The first attraction of the night, Milan, Italy-based Power Metal warriors FROZEN CROWN, hit the stage at 7pm for their first ever concert in Toronto, and they didn’t disappoint at all. Quite the contrary, the crowd was really impressed with their power, their energy, and of course with the striking vocals by frontwoman Giada Etro. She’s extremely talented and charismatic, making their whole concert even more enjoyable. Their setlist might have been short, but it was very effective in presenting their music to whoever wasn’t familiar with the band, blending songs from pretty much all of their albums with new songs from their upcoming opus The Legend of the Six Kings, those being The One, Who Wants to Burn in Heaven, and Reborn, all available on BandCamp and on Spotify. There was even a fast and heavy cover for Iris, the biggest classic by Goo Goo Dolls, with drummer Niso Tomasini kicking ass. Their guitar triumvirate also worked really well, with Federico Mondelli, Alessia Lanzone (very young, very talented, and a nonstop headbanger) and Alexandra Lioness shredding their axes nonstop for our absolute delight. Needless to say, I’m sure we’ll see those Italians back in town sooner than we can imagine based on how fun their show was.

Setlist
Kings
The One
Neverending
Who Wants to Burn in Heaven
Reborn
Iris (Goo Goo Dolls cover)
I Am the Tyrant

Band members
Giada Etro – vocals
Federico Mondelli – guitars, keyboards, vocals
Alessia Lanzone – lead guitars
Alexandra Lioness – lead guitars
Francesco Zof  – bass
Niso Tomasini – drums

It was then time for the most beloved pirates in the history of Melodic and Symphonic Power Metal, the unrelenting VISIONS OF ATLANTIS, to deliver yet another phenomenal performance for their Torontonian diehard fans. They played a similar (but of course shorter) setlist from the last time they invaded the city, with all songs being available in their excellent 2025 live album Armada (Live Over Europe), which is available on Spotify, but that didn’t mean the show was less enjoyable or anything like that. I personally think they selected beyond electrifying and spot-on songs, the perfect balance between melody, drama and pure fun, with everyone dancing to Clocks and Tonight I’m Alive, banging their heads to Hellfire, rowing (yes, rowing) to Pirates Will Return, jumping up and down nonstop to Melancholy Angel, and obviously raising their horns and fists, and slamming into a wild mosh pit, to their biggest hit Armada. Christian Douscha, Herbert Glos and Thomas Caser were on absolute fire, offering the second best duet in heavy music (because, you know, the reigning champions are, and will forever be, Michael Kiska and Andi Deris of Helloween), Clémentine Delauney and Michele Guaitoli, everything they needed to hypnotize us and entertain us from start to finish. Clémentine is from out of this world, a true metal diva with infinite talent, beauty and charisma, and seeing her singing is already alone worth the full price of the ticket. Please get back to Toronto as soon as possible, you headbanging pirates! We love you!

Setlist
Master the Hurricane
Clocks
Tonight I’m Alive
Legion of the Seas
Hellfire
Pirates Will Return
Melancholy Angel
Armada

Band members
Clémentine Delauney – female vocals
Michele Guaitoli – male vocals
Christian Douscha – guitars
Herbert Glos – bass
Thomas Caser – drums

KAMELOT

Tampa, Florida’s own Progressive/Melodic Power Metal institution KAMELOT is one of those bands that always attract a huge amount of people to their concerts in Toronto it doesn’t matter if it’s +40oC and extremely humid, or if it’s -20oC and snowing like hell. Toronto loves Kamelot, and that tight connection between band and fans gets even stronger when they hit any stage in the city like this Saturday night. Having just released the album Dark Asylum, available on any streaming service like Spotify, the band formed of frontman Tommy Karevik, guitarist Thomas Youngblood, bassist Sean Tibbetts, keyboardist Oliver Palotai, and drummer Alex Landenburg, with the support of Frozen Crown’s own Giada Etro on clean and harsh female vocals (and I honestly didn’t know she could do guttural so freakin’ well), and Visions of Atlantis’ undisputed diva Clémentine Delauney, put on another amazing concert for their avid fans.

The nonstop singing, screaming, horns raising, crowd surfing and mosh pitting were absolutely intense from the very first notes of Ashen World, and the band noticed the crowd was ready for total war, keeping the electricity flowing nonstop during their solid setlist. Songs like Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy), Godlike Alchemy and the title-track of their new album, Dark Asylum, sounded fantastic live, with Thomas Youngblood and Sean Tibbetts giving a lecture in how to properly treat the guitar and bass, not to mention their interactions with the crowd were also fantastic. However, and sorry Tommy for saying this, the songs with Giada and Clémentine were the top moments of the concert for several fans, including me. You did a great job as their frontman as usual, of course, but you must admit those two girls always steal the show wherever they go, right?

The last part of their set with Sanctuary and Veil of Elysium, plus the encore with March of Mephisto and Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife), was a pure sonic orgasm for the more avid followers of Kamelot, and their stage set added even more adrenaline and epicness to their performance. I simply love how they were capable of turning a relatively small stage like the one at The Phoenix Concert Theatre into something so special. Well, to be honest, when the band in question is as great as Kamelot, you can already expect a grandiose concert even on the smallest stages on earth. And lastly, as the tour was labeled Dark Asylum World Tour – North America Pt. I, I believe we’ll have a part II in the near future, and if the loud reaction from the fans in Toronto was any indication of how much the city loves Kamelot, I’m sure we’ll gladly be part of that second leg of such an excellent tour.

Setlist
Sanctorium
Ashen World
The Great Pandemonium
Rule the World
Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy)
Godlike Alchemy
Karma
Revolution
New Babylon
⁠Dark Asylum
⁠Ivy, My Dear
Drum Solo
One More Flag in the Ground
Keyboard Solo
Sanctuary
Veil of Elysium

Encore:
March of Mephisto
Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)
⁠Sanctum Requiem

Band members
Tommy Karevik – vocals
Thomas Youngblood – guitars
Sean Tibbetts – bass
Oliver Palotai – keyboards, orchestrations
Alex Landenburg – drums

Guest musicians
Giada Etro – clean female vocals & harsh screams
Clémentine Delauney – clean female vocals

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Concert Review – Kamelot (The Opera House, Toronto, ON, 08/22/2023)

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A memorable night of Symphonic and Power Metal in the city of Toronto where the women from all bands stole the show with their undeniable talent, energy, beauty and charisma.

OPENING ACTS: Xandria and Battle Beast

I’m sorry, all guys from the three bands that kicked some as last night at The Opera House in Toronto during the Awaken the World Tour 2023 with the bands XANDRIA, BATTLE BEAST and KAMELOT, but the girls absolutely stole the show. On a very pleasant summer night in the city, Ambre Vourvahis of Xandria, Noora Louhimo of Battle Beast, and Melissa Bonny of Ad Infinitum ( who’s taking care of the female vocals for Kamelot during this North American tour) were flawless on stage, exhaling talent, charisma and passion for heavy music, gaining nothing but respect and admiration from the crowd who turned the venue into a “metal sauna”. It was a very special night for me as it was my first time ever watching all three bands live (plus Melissa!), and they didn’t disappoint this extreme music fan here at all; quite the contrary, I only have good things to say about all bands and musicians responsible for a very special night in Toronto.

Precisely at 7pm, Bielefeld, Germany-based Symphonic Metal outfit XANDRIA kicked off the night’s metal ceremony with a short but extremely powerful and vibrant performance spearheaded by the Greek goddess Ambre Vourvahis, who was clearly very excited for playing in Toronto for the first time in her career, and visibly emotional for the warm and wild reception received from her Torontonian fans to the point she didn’t even know anymore if yesterday was Tuesday (something that made everyone laugh together with her, of course). Ambre was amazing not only during their setlist formed mainly of songs from their excellent new album The Wonders Still Awaiting, those being You Will Never Be Our God, Reborn and Ghosts (my favorite of their setlist, by the way), plus the fan-favorites Nightfall and Valentine, inspiring everyone at The Opera House to raise their horns, screams and dance together with her. It was a little weird seeing Xandria on stage without a bass player, as apparently Tim Schwarz had some issues to get his visa to Canada in time for the show (and I’ll never understand why our government gives a hard time to hardworking musicians to grant them their visas, while at the same time they easily allow a bunch of garbage into the country), but the four members who were there put on their hearts and souls into their performance, and I bet we’ll see Xandria in Canadian lands soon based on the total sync and endless energy flowing between the band and the crowd.

Setlist
You Will Never Be Our God
Reborn
Nightfall
Ghosts
Valentine

Band members
Ambre Vourvahis – vocals
Marco Heubaum – guitars
Rob Klawonn – guitars
Dimitrio Gatsios – drums

Right after a quick break, Finland’s own Heavy/Power Metal torchbearers BATTLE BEAST started their lecture in what can be labeled as “Dance Metal” for the delight of all fans at the venue, making everyone extremely happy (and I was beyond happy for finally seeing them live after an over 10-year wait) due to the level of electricity and power crafted by the band on stage. Still promoting their 2022 album Circus of Doom, those Finnish rockers put on a breathtaking show, with songs like Straight to the Heart, Wings of Light and Eden making everyone at the venue dance even if they didn’t want to. And what can I say about the incendiary performance by Noora Louhimo on vocals? That woman is a beast live, showcasing not only a flawless, jaw-dropping vocal performance, but her onstage presence, moves and charisma are way beyond awesome, and at least for me there’s no other woman in metal, rock or pop music capable of uniting all those qualities at the same time like her. Well, of course Noora’s striking performance is only that good because of the support she gets form her bandmates, in special bassist Eero Sipilä and drummer Pyry Vikki, and the result was a mesmerizing show that made every single person inside (and maybe some outside the venue) to keep their fists and horns high in the air nonstop. Thank you, Battle Beast! And please get back to Toronto soon for another “metal party of our lives”, like Noora herself said.

Setlist
Circus of Doom
Straight to the Heart
Eye of the Storm
Where Angels Fear to Fly
Wings of Light
Eden
Master of Illusion
King for a Day

Band members
Noora Louhimo – vocals
Joona Björkroth – guitars, backing vocals
Juuso Soinio – rhythm guitars
Eero Sipilä – bass, backing vocals
Janne Björkroth – keyboards, orchestrations, backing vocals
Pyry Vikki – drums

KAMELOT

There was a minor delay in the start of the atmospheric and cinematic show by Tampa, Florida’s own Progressive/Melodic Power Metal masters KAMELOT, but nothing that would take away the excitement from a jam packed venue. Blending songs from their newest album The Awakening, including Opus of the Night (Ghost Requiem), One More Flag in the Ground and NightSky, with some of their classics such as March of Mephisto and Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife), the band created back in 1987 by guitarist Thomas Youngblood was on fire throughout their entire set, inviting the crowd on a metal journey full of epic guitar solos, whimsical keys, and the classy vocals by Swedish frontman Tommy Karevik (who’s by the way married to Canada’s own Kobra Paige, the awesome frontwoman for Kobra and the Lotus), driving their loyal fans to ecstasy with each and every song played. There was even time for an excerpt of Queen’s classic “We Will Rock You” during one of the songs, led by Tommy, a tribute to Canada’s institution Rush during Alex Landenburg’s drum solo when he played part of the all-time hit “Tom Sawyer”, and a touching tribute by Tommy to everyone we lost due to the pandemic in the past few years.

As aforementioned, just like what happened in the past with several amazing vocalists the likes of Simone Simons, Charlotte Wessels, Elize Ryd, Alissa White-Gluz, Floor Jansen and Noora Louhimo, the female vocals on this tour were masterfully done by Melissa Bonny, known for her work with Ad Infinitum, The Dark Side of the Moon, Evenmore and Rage of Light, and let me tell you that the band couldn’t have chosen a better vocalist for the task as Melissa is simply fantastic with both her clean vocals and harsh growls. As a matter of fact, it was clear how much the crowd at The Opera House loved Melissa when she delivered her enraged roars in her stylish attire, turning the temperature up considerably during the show. I’m a huge fan of female growlers, and of course I was stunned every time she was a she-demon incarnate on stage. If you know nothing or have never heart of Melissa before, I highly recommend you go after all of her work because she’s by far one of the most talented singers of the new generation.

After the last few notes from Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy), the crowd kept screaming as loud as possible to thank Kamelot for their awesome performance, while the band couldn’t hide the huge smile on their faces for another truly successful concert. They promised they’ll return to Toronto sooner than later, and let’s be honest, as Tommy is married to Kobra Paige, why not having a Kamelot plus Kobra and the Lotus tour in Toronto and other Canadian cities in the near future? I’m sure all fans would love to see Tommy and Kobra singing together on stage, right? And speaking about females vocalists touring with Kamelot, after the concert was over my friend Keith Ibbitson of Lower Eastside Photography (responsible for all the amazing photos of this review) and I had the utmost pleasure of meeting Melissa in person (thanks to my friend Pedro, of A&P Reacts), and I must says she’s a really down-to-earth, humble and sympathetic person, apart of course form being a sensational vocalist and performer. Needless to say, she needs to return to Canada as soon as possible, but next time with Ad Infinitum to show the Canadian metallers everything she’s capable of. To be honest, all bands need to return to the city for a lot more concerts, and I’m sure that will happen really soon because Toronto needs more Melissa Bonny, more Xandria, more Battle Beast, and more Kamelot without a shadow of a doubt.

Setlist
Overture
Veil of Elysium
Rule the World
Opus of the Night (Ghost Requiem)
Insomnia
When the Lights Are Down
Vespertine (My Crimson Bride)
New Babylon
Karma
Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)
Song for Jolee
NightSky
Drum Solo
March of Mephisto
Keyboard Solo
Forever

Encore:
Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire)
One More Flag in the Ground
Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy)

Band members
Tommy Karevik – vocals
Melissa Bonny – vocals
Thomas Youngblood – guitars
Sean Tibbetts – bass
Oliver Palotai – keyboards, orchestrations
Alex Landenburg – drums

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