Korn Brings “Kanada 2025 Tour” to Montreal, QC [Photos]

Nu-metal pioneers Korn decided to tour the Great White North this autumn. Their “Kanada 2025 Tour” stopped in Montreal this past weekend, and their fans sold out the Centre Bell for a loud trip down memory lane. Without a new album to promote, this became a greatest hits-style set. Always popular with fans who want to make sure that they get the chance to hear their favourite song.

A while back, I mentioned how I enjoy riding to the Centre Bell on the Metro for concerts. As is the usual case, there was once again a varied collection of piercings, haircuts and t-shirts. This time, I did get to add a new item to my list of observed items. As we exited the train, two fans in front of me pulled a couple of ears of corn. Not actual corn, but rather some novelty headgear. The kind found at costume shops for Halloween. Once firmly attached to their heads, a loud wave of cheers and laughter erupted behind us. Their clever act had been a success.

Along for the ride on this tour is France’s gift to the world of heavy metal, Gojira. Their performance during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games last summer was arguably one of the biggest moments for metal in years. They certainly brought some of their experience from that event on tour with them. Their pyro featured Olympic-sized flames that dominated the stage.

They also had a very cool stage setup with drummer Mario Duplantier on a riser above the rest of the band. He would stick his head out from behind his kit from time to time in order to get the crowd going. In addition to the flames, a video wall behind the group displayed all kinds of creative images, mixed in with shots of the band and the crowd.

We haven’t even discussed the music yet. Gojira opened their set with “Only Pain,” and it didn’t take very long for the stage to be engulfed in flames. Singer Joe Duplantier was a stoic presence behind his mic stand. Barely flinching as the towers of flame erupted around him. The band did their best to steal the show, and there might even be some out there who would say that they did. The roar from the crowd for “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça Ira!)” was unbelievable. Gojira came to kick some serious butt, and that is what they did.

From my spot on the side of the stage, I had a unique view of the arrival of our headliners. Though separated by a curtain, the crowd was getting more and more agitated with every note and flash of light. Behind the curtain, the band had taken their position and singer Jonathan Davis stalked the stage like an animal ready to pounce before asking if they were ready. Then, the curtain dropped and Korn went full blast into “Blind.”

For many, that lead single from Korn’s awesome self-titled debut album was their first introduction to the band. You could say that nu-metal was born with that track. Thirty years later, and it still gets the crowd going. After the short but powerful blast of “Twist,” the band played “Here To Stay.” They had a really cool lighting scheme for this one. Beams of light came down from the ceiling, boxing the band in.

All of the big hits got played, all the way up to a foundation-shaking version of “Freak On A Leash” that left the crowd sweating, exhausted, battered, and bruised.  And if you were to ask them, they would certainly do it all over again. Korn’s “Kanada 2025 Tour” continues into the month of October.

Korn (w/ Gojira) @ Centre Bell (Montreal, QC) on September 20, 2025

55 photos