Amon Amarth + Dethklok + Castle Rat Hit A Homerun At The Armory
With this show haunting my mind for months, finally was time for Amonklok aka Amon Amarth and Dethklok. Double headliners are quite exciting, of course, tis an extra special one to me. Having been fans of both for decades, this show is even more special with Metalocalypse celebrating their twenty year anniversary this year. Seeing these two titans of metal together is a dream. A very seasoned lineup and extra fun with a contemporary twist of new-to-me Castle Rat opening up the show.
A slightly new band, 2019 Brooklyn, NY-based Castle Rat was a perfect choice to open the show. Whoever took the temperature of that booking, chef’s kiss, the crowd invested immediately into the storytelling and motifs. Costumed perfectly, attitudes on point, present in the moment. Every member was giving it their all. Drummer Primed and ready for a good time, audience participation was on an elite level. When the call was asked, the newly acquired fanbase (myself included) answered in kind. Joshua “The Druid” Strmic on drums was relentless with his dedication to keeping the beat, even with a billowing pesky curtain constantly attempting to smother him throughout the show. Franco Vittore known as "The Count" was shredding from the jump, got lost a few times watching him masterfully play. Bassist Charley Ruddell ("The Plague Doctor") knows his craft equally as well as his bandmates. Everyone is so well suited, the group is so tight. Fun, without any eyeroll, but plenty of grins.
What isn’t there to love about medieval fantasy metal? Lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and Rat Queen extraordinaire Riley Pinkerton is what the doctor ordered. Cool beyond cool, beautiful, talented, confident. No notes, I am all in. Besides the sick music being presented, a wonderfully playful and dark narrative was threaded throughout their set. A sultry Rat Reaperess stole everyone’s gaze, and left marks on hearts and bodies. That’s all I’ll say, can’t give the farm away. Seriously entertaining is an understatement. My first time seeing them Friday is just the beginning, will be there with my chainmail on next time.
After Castle Rat departed, the long boats came ashore carrying the mighty Amon Amarth. One of my favorite bands to see live of all time. Having seen them in small clubs and big venues, it doesn’t matter where, you will receive a top quality metal show. If I had to recommend a band to someone wanting to get into “metal,” an easy answer would be THE Swedish Vikings themselves.
Opening up their set with “Raven’s Flight” was a great choice, the audience fell quickly under the spell they cast. With their namesake referencing the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, which is a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, they have a tendency for the fantastical. Their visuals are always epic and on brand. Between large inflatable Viking statues, ships, dragons and armor-clad archers flanking both sides of the stage, they set a unique atmosphere. Not to forget the battle helmet that drummer Jocke Wallgren nestles himself on top of. Smoke constantly swirling the bandmembers as they shredded away, making sure to cover every inch of the stage so the fans can take every morsel in. Could see the band was having a great time as they crossed the stage back and forth, all smiles while eyeing up the crowd. Frontman Johan Hegg commanded with the presence of a Viking King, not forgetting he was in Vikings territory and shouting out “Skol” here and there!
Not to disappoint their most diehard dedicated concert attendee, the setlist cherrypicked songs from 8 albums in total. Albums represented included With Oden on Our Side, Jomsviking and the older Versus the World. They have enough of a catalog to make a good variety, and always choose some choice rare songs to play along with their heavy hitters. Of course they had to play “Put Your Back Into The Oar,” and the audience of course participated by popping down on the ground to row some ghost oars as a group. Not in totality as I’ve seen at past shows, but was a good showing of collaborative effort by the crowd. Gosh, they are great live. Seriously, if you have not gone to one of their shows yet, implore you to do so.
Finally getting to see Dethklok in a big venue, was so pumped to see what Brendan Small and guest musicians had in store for us. Dethklok, who’s home is the show Metalocalypse on Adult Swim, is the perfect blend of when a good idea and satire meets perfect talent to loft it into the atmosphere of greatness. With a crown made of purest metal and a halo of sarcasm to guide, they have stayed on repeat play on my computer and phone since launching in 2006.
Not needed but is of course tradition, they played the intro song aka “Detheme” to the show to make sure all the DethFans would be satisfied and then went right into “Awaken.” Some members are voiced by creator of the show Brendon Small. He was on-point in all aspects (musicianship and voice). Tommy Blacha who voiced characters like Murderface and Toki, but left to pursue other projects, was nodded to when it was time for them to talk. “The microphone was off” or “didn’t want to talk” being the go-to. Would love to see him join the tour next time. Having the whole gang would be great, but there were plenty of times when the characters broke out between songs giving the audience a little taste of that Metalocalypse humor. Even Facebones, a rotting floating animated version of the Dethklok logo came on to wish them a happy twenty years of Metalocalypse and to tell the old school fans they better watch out for erectile dysfunction since they are getting up there in years. The audiences drank it all in, giggling the entire time.
They performed so many of their bangers (18 songs in total) including “Facefisted,” “Murmaider,” “Bloodlines,” and even The Duncan Hills Coffee Jingle, which was played at breakneck speedrun pace, turning the minute or so song into a 40 second fever dream. I don’t think my horns or fists came down for more than a moment the entire set. Amazing energy. Fantastic sound. The band was backlit for the whole set, creating an ambience of mystery as only black silhouettes could be seen lurking on the stage . They were highlighted by very high quality visuals on a very large screen displaying the comical, violent and moody animations Dethklok fans are familiar with. Everything flowed well, top marks all around. 11/10 show. After ending with “Go Into the Water” the band emerged from the darkness, giving us a group bow to end the evening. It was great to see legendary metal drummer Gene Hoglan still as Brendan Small’s left hand man on the drums.
William Murderface, Skwisgaar Skwigelf, Nathan Explosion, Pickles, and Toki Wartooth. Those are the names you must never forget.
