We Came As Romans Brings 'Bad Luck' to Toronto

It was an honour for Toronto to be the first stop on Michigan metalcore 5-pieces We Came As Romans’ Bad Luck tour. After a week-long heatwave, WCAR, alongside with Currents, After The Burial and Johnny Booth, vowed to keep the temperature soaring inside the Danforth Music Hall, with the mix of brand new songs and devoted fans’ favourite hits.

Johnny Booth opened the night and frontman Andrew Herman exploded into action with “2040” — a short but brutal opener driven by raw screams, dissonant guitar riffs and furious blast beats. Andrew’s stage presence was undeniable as he spun, leapt, and stormed across the stage, radiating energy that lit up the entire crowd.

After The Burial then emerged with crushing anthems like “In Flux,” “Exit, Exist,” and “Lost in the Static” — my go-to songs at the gym. Their signature guitar works like pinch harmonics in “Behold the Crown” and intricate djenty riffs unleashed tidal waves of mosh pits and crowd surfing.

Currents are easily one of today’s most exciting names in the modern metal scene. Their set was packed with emotional singalong moments during “Remember Me,” “Better Days,” and “Kill the Ache.” Even the slightly sloped venue floor couldn’t stop the audience from throwing down in the mosh pit.

A Tour Born for Tragedy and Rebirth

Finally came the moment everyone had been waiting for. Behind the stage was a giant WCAR logo, flanked by an array of LED light tubes. As the head-banging intro track blasted through the hall, frontman Dave Stephens stepped into the spotlight and welcomed everyone to the Bad Luck tour, kicking things off with the title track “bad luck” — a meaningful song that marks a new chapter following their previous album Darkbloom (2022), written in honour of original vocalist Kyle Pavone, who tragically passed away in 2018. “bad luck” reflects WCAR’s journey through grief, hardship and adversity. It’s a statement of perseverance — choosing to wear scars with pride rather than hide them as Dave sings, “They’re all my scars, my bad luck to keep. And you can’t take that from me.”

We Came As Romans kept the momentum going with a powerful sequence of tracks, including “Plagued,” “red smoke” and “culture wound.” Midway through the set, Dave paused to speak from the heart, offering a heartfelt tribute to Kyle Pavone, setting the stage for the sorrowful “Carry the Weight.”

I’ve found myself thoroughly enjoying the Darkbloom (2022) era, where WCAR incorporated modern metal elements into their sound from the glitchy electronica textures of “Black Hole” to the radio-friendly singalong chorus of “Darkbloom.” The crowd shared that same passion, fully committed and energized. As the set progressed, the pits grew larger and wilder, with fans immersing themselves into the total chaos.

Prior to the release of their upcoming album, All Is Beautiful… Because We’re Doomed (out August 22), We Came As Romans will continue the tour across North America until wrapping up in Detroit on August 23. Afterwards they will bring bad luck to Europe, joined by Brand of Sacrifice. Now behold and celebrate the latest era of We Came As Romans.