By Alitzia Tyminski
Toronto’s Rogers Centre transformed into an imperial star destroyer in hyperspace with Metallica performing their greatest hits for the 2025 M72 World Tour “No Repeat Weekend” on their second night flanked by imperial warriors Limp Bizkit and Ice Nine Kills.
Hardcore fans waited since early dawn before doors opened at 4 PM outside the Rogers Centre in blast winds of up to 55km/h to secure their spot close to the stage.
Ice Nine Kills opened with Ex-Mortis amongst a zombie apocalypse where carnage ensued.
“Toronto! Are you fucking ready!” as lead vocalist Spencer Charnas raised a chainsaw to a heavy rendition of Katrina and the Waves cover of “Walking On Sunshine” drawing inspiration from the classic film American Psycho.
A literal work of art with horror-inspired theatrics and dark humour, Ice Nine Kills performed their latest release “A Work Of Art” acclaimed for its feature in the film, “Terrifier 3”.
Charnas asked the crowd, “Are we ready for Limp Bizkit! I said are we ready for Limp Bizkit! How about the almighty Metallica! We have a few more songs, let’s see what you got Canada!” closing the bloodbath with “Welcome To Horrorwood”.
Fred Durst walked onto the stage, “Looks like we made it across the border!” asking Toronto, “Who came here tonight to have a party! I know that’s why I’m here motherfuckers!” as they opened with “Take A Look Around”.
Snippets of tracks mixed by the legendary DJ Lethal paved the crowd from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama”, “Proud Mary” during “Rollin” to Pantera’s “Walk” transitioning between songs made you feel as if you were invited to a house party hosted by Limp Bizkit.
Durst was a natural in his element as he riled up the stadium with his cheeky banter and trying to soak it all in, “I cannot believe we’re opening for Metallica, it’s a dream come true!” Many dreams were fulfilled by Metallica’s grace on that very night.
“Ladies and gentleman, this is Limp Bizkit, it’s an honour to be here and have a little party with you right now and I would like to introduce you formerly to this sick motherfucker Mr. Wes Borland (Guitarist) as they launched into “Hot Dog”, “3- 2-1-Get the fuck up!”.
Guitarist and chameleon Wes Borland, bassist Sam Rivers and groove master drummer John Otto did a quick intro cover of Metallica’s “Master Of Puppets” and Durst commented afterwards, “Respect! You know why we’re here – the greatest band on planet earth – Metallica!”
Witnessing “Dad Vibes” performed live in a stadium is a vibe as Durst asked, “How many people have to go to work tomorrow?” and proceeded, “How many people do NOT have to go to work tomorrow?” with a massive ripple of devil horns, Durst enthusiastically responded, “That’s right ya’ll – fuck it!”
While Borland strummed the instantly recognizable guitar riffs for “Faith”, Durst said “Loves me some George Michael!” as he started singing and then screamed “Gotta have faith” inciting the crowd into mayhem, “Yo Metallica fans get the fuck up!”
“You know what’s up! Metallica’s up next! Can you feel it!” with a lasting impression of “Break Stuff” where the audience jumped and sang along to every word.
“Goodnight everybody! Thank you so much! I can’t wait to see Metallica!” while Journey’s, “Don’t Stop Believin’” serenaded the stadium as Limp Bizkit walked off the stage.
Opening for Metallica elevated Limp Bizkit in the consciousness of the fans with a large number seeing Limp Bizkit for the first time. With a career spanning 30 years, Limp Bizkit are reaching fans under 30 and they’re here for it!
The growing monstrous crowd were already drenched in sweat from the mosh pits after Limp Bizkit, fans preserving their energy for a second onslaught of Metallica.
As AC/DC’s iconic, “It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll)” aired throughout the stadium followed by the ceremonial, “The Ecstasy Of Gold”, Metallica entered the stadium and walked through the entire barricade encircling the stage meeting with eager fans exchanging high fives.
Metallica took over Toronto for the week raising the vibration of the city hosting various events strategically located within walking distance to the stadium for Torontonians and international fans visiting Toronto from Mexico to Germany.
An exclusive M72 pop-up shop opened before their first Toronto date with hundreds of fans lining up well before the 10am opening on a Wednesday morning.
Metallica brings the community together wherever they roam across the planet like one giant family. You could feel their anticipated arrival in the streets of Toronto with fans wearing Metallica shirts on every corner.
Renowned philanthropists, Metallica created “Metallica’s Foundation – All Within My Hands” in support of the global fight against hunger and many other services. With hearts of gold, they collaborated with blood donor banks run by the Red Cross where fans can receive a limited edition t-shirt for their donation and organized food bank volunteer opportunities with local food banks in select cities on their 2025 M72 tour.
Beloved by Toronto for performing an unforgettable concert in 2016 with all proceeds given to the Daily Bread Food Bank which continues to run services today and in high demand with nearly 3.5 million Torontonians affected by food insecurity in 2024. After performing two sold-out nights on the No Repeat Weekend Tour in Toronto, Metallica donated $40K to the Daily Bread Food Bank.
The Rogers Centre, the largest stadium with a capacity of over 50,000 in Toronto is home to the Toronto Blue Jays. A blue cast painted over the audience and surrounded the members of Metallica with its symbolic colour reminiscent of the blue jay’s characteristic of a tight family bond.
Metallica opened the second night with “Whiplash” and Toronto thrashing all around!
Witnessing the stage glow in a ring of neon green to golden yellow surrounding Metallica with an extensive lightshow overlooking the stadium was a sight to behold on its own.
In talking with fans who were on the inside of the snake pit and close to the stage was a deeper spiritual experience, the band members interacted with the fans during the entirety of their set and made them feel like they were not watching a YouTube video at home from a faraway back seat.
The concept of the snake pit originated from the Black album tour era and inspired by a restaurant owner having the best seats in the house for their guests.
Regardless of whether an attendee was within reach of Metallica or from afar, you still felt their impact under one roof and immense gratitude to be a part of the dreamlike experience.
Many felt the sound overall was better than the first night.
The Kirk and Robert Doodle was a homage to Toronto’s very own Rush as power duo guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo performed, “La Villa Strangiato”. A classic choice and beautifully orchestrated closer to our hearts.
Kirk Hammett appeared at an exclusive sold-out event at the TIFF Lightbox before night two with Gibson Guitars. One of Hammett’s guitars during the set was a custom ESP guitar with a striking painting of Boris Karloff as the Mummy a part of Hammet’s extensive guitar collection of universal movie monsters.
You know you’re at a Metallica concert in Canada when fans stepped outside their seats where the food court was stationed inside the stadium to pause and watch the Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs game on the plastered television screens with Metallica blaring in the background as the soundtrack.
As Metallica closed the evening with “Enter Sandman”, Lars had a handful of his signature drumsticks for fans.
Metallica are set to release a digital download and cd of the No Repeat Weekend Tour recorded live in Toronto for fans to revisit available on livemetallica.com in June.
James Hetfield roared to fans, “Thank you for coming tonight and helping us feel good. We hope you feel good, please be safe getting home; if you have been drinking give your keys to your buddy. We need you alright! We’ll see you next time! We love you Toronto!”
Hammett screamed into the mic, “Thank you so much Toronto for two great nights, it was really really really really fantastic! Thank you so much! Yeah!”
Trujillo wearing a Toronto Fire t-shirt with respect to the first responders of Toronto said, “We had the best time here! It’s so hard to leave we love you so much!” and revved the stadium one last time, “Yeahhhhh!”
Lars Ulrich said before the final bow, “Two nights, two fucking nights right here in Toronto! Toronto, Canada Metallica fucking loves you, thank you for your support, thank you for your love, we will see you not soon enough thank you!”
Fans reluctant to leave right away and return to reality stayed behind to watch the tear down of the majestic screen towers and stage setup at the Rogers Centre that took a week prior to build for the two day assault.
Toronto loves Metallica!
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