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Concert Review – Lord of the Lost & The Birthday Massacre (The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON, 01/27/2026)

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***Review and photos by Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi***

OPENING ACT: Wednesday 13

Not even the worst snow storm of the past 180 years in Toronto (with over 50cm of snow falling within hours) was capable of stopping LORD OF THE LOST and THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE, with very special guests WEDNESDAY 13, to bring their Dark Winter Tour US + Canada 2026 to The Danforth Music Hall this Tuesday night. Well, the concert was rescheduled from Monday to Tuesday, and because of that I couldn’t make it to the show, plus the city is still a big fuckin’ mess with the snow blocking pretty much all parking lots, sidewalks and even some roads, but fortunately our buddy Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi was there not only to take some amazing photos of the show, but to also take care of the review this time. Even if I was able to attend the show I would have missed the first two bands, so it was going to be Keith anyway.

The Danforth Music Hall didn’t just host a concert on a cold Tuesday night – it became a gothic metal sanctuary, and Lord of the Lost stood at the altar, ready to convert anyone who walked through the doors. Before the headliners even hit the stage, the night was already stacked with atmosphere. Having released the album Mid Death Crisis in 2025 (available on any platform like BandCamp and Spotify), Wednesday 13 (aka Joseph Poole) and his henchmen, collectively known as United States-based Heavy Metal/Horror Punk outfit WEDNESDAY 13, came out swinging, bringing horror-punk swagger and full-throttle attitude. There’s something timeless about watching a crowd bounce, shout, and throw horns to songs that feel like they crawled straight out of a midnight movie marathon. It was raw, loud, and unapologetically fun – exactly the kind of chaos a metal crowd thrives on. It was the kind of opener that doesn’t warm a room up – it haunts it into readiness.

Setlist
When the Devil Commands
Rotting Away
197666 (Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13 cover)
In Misery
Summertime Suicide (Murderdolls cover)
Haunt Me
I Walked With a Zombie
Bad Things
I Love to Say Fuck (Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13 cover)

Band members
Wednesday 13 (Joseph Poole) – lead vocals
Roman Surman – lead guitar
Jack Tankersley – rhythm guitar
Ashes – guitars
Troy Doebbler – bass
Mike Dupke – drums

THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE

After a quick break, one of the co-headliners of the tour, London, Ontario’s own Electronic Rock/Darkwave ensemble THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE, kept the energy flowing onstage with a highly entertaining performance as well, bringing the Canadian pride to The Danforth Music Hall. Spearheaded by frontwoman Sara “Chibi” Taylor, and armed with their 2025 new album Pathways (available on both BandCamp and Spotify, as well as on any other streaming platform), the band set the tone with their signature blend of darkwave shimmer and industrial edge, bathing the crowd in glowing synths and shadowy melodies that felt both nostalgic and futuristic. By the time the lights finally dropped for Lord of the Lost, the room was primed and restless.

Setlist
Counterpane
Blue
Stars and Satellites
Superstition
The Vanishing Game
One
Sleep Tonight
All of Nothing
Dead
Crush
Destroyer
Video Kid
Happy Birthday
In the Dark
Pins and Needles
Red Stars

Band members
Sara “Chibi” Taylor – lead vocals
Michael Falcore – lead guitar, programming
Michael Rainbow – rhythm guitar, programming, backing vocals
Brett Carruthers – bass, backing vocals
Owen Mackinder – keyboards, keytar
Philip Elliott – drums

LORD OF THE LOST

And last but certainly not least, Hamburg, Germany’s own LORD OF THE LOST returned to Toronto after two long years with their fusion of Neue Deutsche Härte, Gothic Rock and Metal, Industrial Rock and Metal, and even Glam Rock and Metal for the delight of everyone who braved the nasty roads of the city this Tuesday night. Blending songs form their entire discography with their latest albums Opvs Noir Vol. 1 and Opvs Noir Vol. 1, both released in 2025 (and stay tuned for Opvs Noir Vol. 3 in 2026, plus you can check their full discography on BandCamp and on Spotify), Chris “The Lord” Harms, Pi “π” Stoffers, Benjamin “Benji” Mundigler, Gerrit “Gared Dirge” Heinemann, and Niklas Kahl were phenomenal as expected, deliveribg exactly what their fans were waiting for.

Chris Harms stepped onto the stage like a ringmaster for the beautifully damned, dressed in a way that blurred the line between metal frontman and dark cabaret icon. From the first note, the band didn’t just play – they commanded. This wasn’t a run-through of a setlist. It was a full production, a carefully crafted ritual of sound, light, and emotion. Musically, the band delivered a powerful balance of industrial grit, gothic atmosphere, and modern metal punch. Guitars cut through with cold precision while the rhythm section drove everything forward like a mechanical heartbeat. Harms’ vocals moved effortlessly between commanding growls and soaring, emotional cleans, giving the songs a depth that hit as hard in the chest as it did in the ears.

From behind the lens, what stood out most was the connection. This wasn’t a passive crowd. Fans reached toward the stage, screamed every word back, and locked eyes with the band like they were part of the show itself. Faces flashed in red and white strobes, sweat and smiles catching the light in moments you can’t plan – only capture. The Danforth Music Hall proved to be the perfect setting: intimate enough to feel personal, but big enough to let the spectacle breathe. The lighting turned the stage into a shifting cathedral of shadow, steel, and romance – a visual extension of Lord of the Lost’s dark, theatrical identity and a dream scenario for any concert photographer chasing that one perfect frame. By the final song, voices were wrecked, the floor was soaked in sweat, and nobody in the room wanted it to end. Lord of the Lost didn’t just leave Toronto entertained – they left it marked. This was metal as theater. Metal as a community. Metal as something you carry with you long after the house lights come back on.

Setlist
Bazaar Bizarre
I Will Die in It
Drag Me to Hell
Prison
Raining Stars
Loreley
Priest
On This Rock I Will Build My Church
I Hate People (with Wednesday 13)
Blood for Blood
Damage
Light Can Only Shine in the Darkness
Blood & Glitter
The Look (Roxette cover)
The Things We Do for Love
Heaven is a Place on Earth

Band members
Chris “The Lord” Harms – lead vocals, guitars, cello
Pi “π” Stoffers – guitars, backing vocals
Benjamin “Benji” Mundigler – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
Gerrit “Gared Dirge” Heinemann – piano, keyboards, percussion, guitars, theremin
Niklas Kahl – drums

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Concert Review – Cradle of Filth (The Opera House, Toronto, ON, 03/27/2019)

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One year after storming Toronto with their Cryptoriana World Tour for the first time, the one and only Cradle of Filth returned for another fantastic round of blasphemy, darkness and seductiveness.

OPENING ACT: Raven Black

First of all, I would like to ask anyone to explain to me why WEDNESDAY 13, the Hollywood-based Gothic/Dark Metal band led by Murderdolls’ frontman Joseph Michael Poole (aka Wednesday 13), didn’t open for the almighty Cradle of Filth last night at The Opera House like they’ve been doing together with Los Angeles-based Gothic/Dark Metal unity RAVEN BLACK during this second round of the Cryptoriana North American tour, nicely named CRYPTORIANA WORLD TOUR 2019 – THE SECOND COMING OF VICE. All websites showed Raven Black scheduled for 7pm, Wednesday 13 for 7:45pm and Cradle of Filth for 8:55pm, but what actually happened last night in Toronto was a huge (and tedious) delay that ended up with Raven Black playing at 7:45pm and Cradle of Filth at 8:55pm, with no sign of Wednesday 13 at all nor any communication from the venue or the organizers. Unless they played at 5pm when no one was there to watch them, or if they wanted to make a very bad joke with their own name saying they were “late” two weeks (as yesterday was Wednesday 27), there’s no official reason for their absence. Can anyone out there explain to me what happened, please?

Anyway, without Wednesday 13, Raven Black was left with the always demanding duty of warming up the fans at The Opera house for another night of wicked, sulfurous and dark metal music. Comprised of the stunning, talented and very sympathetic Raven on lead vocals, The Doctor on lead guitar and backing vocals, Stitches on bass and Muppet on drums and harsh vocals (plus another mysterious, unnamed guitarist who would go on and off stage depending on the song played), Raven Black put on a great show, entertaining the fans avid for the more extreme music by Dani Filth and his horde. Still promoting their 2018 album 13, Raven Black played a fairly different setlist from the ones of this same tour, either by changing the order of the songs or by adding new ones, such as their brand new single named Carnival (a very good song, by the way), probably due to Wednesday 13’s cryptic absence. And it was impossible not to keep your eyes turned to the darkly, darkly sexy Raven, who delivered a very entertaining performance impersonating an evil doll with a special artifact per song, including a hula hoop, handcuffs and a giant teddy bear. My favorite songs of their concert were Dollhouse and Twinkle Twinkle Little Scars, and if you also enjoy this type of freakish, circus-inspired metal music, go take a look at their BandCamp page not only to purchase those two songs but their entire (short but already solid) discography.

Band members
Raven – lead vocals
The Doctor – lead guitar, backing vocals
Stitches – bass
Muppet – drums, harsh vocals

CRADLE OF FILTH

After a short break it was time for British Extreme Metal warlocks CRADLE OF FILTH to haunt The Opera House once again for our total delight, still promoting their 2017 album Cryptoriana – The Seductiveness of Decay, almost exactly one year after their 2018 concert in the city, coincidentally also on a Wednesday night. The setlist was very close to their previous one, with a few changes to some of the songs such as the removal of Beneath the Howling Stars and The Death of Love and the inclusion of Nemesis and Honey and Sulphur. I love all those songs, so I was more than fine with those changes as it’s always a pleasure to see a fantastic band like Cradle of Filth playing different songs live, but there was one huge “mistake” made by the band, which was NOT closing the show with the all-time classic From the Cradle to Enslave. Sorry, Dani, but I can’t forgive you for that even after seeing your Instagram post where you say you were quite sick last night (so sick he said they dropped Saffron’s Curse instead of From the Cradle to Enslave). Just kidding, of course.

Anyway, I can’t get tired of watching Dani growling like a demonic beast (even when he’s under the weather) while his bandmates make sure the atmosphere remains as obscure, devilish and aggressive as possible, with one of the nicest keyboardists in the world, Lindsay Schoolcraft, and the unstoppable guitarist Richard Shaw providing an extra touch of delicacy and madness to the show, respectively. Richard didn’t stop jumping up and down, spinning around, spitting and urging the crowd to go crazy into the circle pit, and all that while at the same time he was flawless with his riffs and solos. That’s what I call a true metalhead, my friends, providing Dani some effective support and relief due to his illness. If you were there, I bet their performance during the unparalleled 10-minute infernal beast Bathory Aria left you completely disoriented. That says it all.

In the end, although we didn’t have Wednesday 13 for some unknown reason, it was indeed another amazing night of Extreme Metal, with Raven Black and specially Cradle of Filth, of course, showing Toronto everything they got. When all was said and done (and after all the devastation the fans were promoting inside the endless circle pit in the center of the venue), everyone had a huge smile on their faces, and not even an exhausting day at work (like the one I had) could stop the crowd from enjoying the concert to its fullest. Furthermore, there were several amazing Cradle of Filth shirts being sold by their crew or worn by the fans as usual, but there was a guy wearing a very specific one that caught my attention, where in the back it said “DANI FILTH LOVES YOU”’. Well, how can we argue with that? He surely loves Toronto, and Toronto loves him and his iconic band back. That is pure, mutual respect and admiration that makes them come back to the city again and again. Hence, it’s been just less than a day after the concert was over, but I’m already eager to see the mighty Cradle of Filth possessing our souls once again here in our beloved Toronto.

Setlist
ACT I
Ave Satani (Intro)
Gilded Cunt
Nemesis
Right Wing of the Garden Triptych
Heartbreak and Seance
Bathory Aria: Benighted Like Usher / A Murder of Ravens in Fugue / Eyes That Witnessed Madness
Wester Vespertine
Dusk and Her Embrace
You Will Know the Lion by His Claw
Creatures That Kissed in Cold Mirrors (Interlude)

ACT II
A Bruise Upon the Silent Moon (Intro)
The Promise of Fever
Saffron’s Curse
Nymphetamine (Fix)
Honey and Sulphur
Her Ghost in the Fog
Blooding the Hounds of Hell (Outro)

Band members
Dani Filth – lead vocals
Richard Shaw – guitars
Marek “Ashok” Šmerda – guitars
Daniel Firth – bass
Lindsay Schoolcraft – female vocals, keyboards
Martin “Marthus” Škaroupka – drums