Live Review: Dethklok + Amon Amarth + Castle Rat @ Coca-Cola Roxy, Atlanta, GA - May 9, 2026

May 11
4 min read

Bearded man in black sings passionately on stage with red lighting; Viking statues and drums in background create an intense atmosphere. — Amon Amarth photo by Chris Collett

Some tours feel massive before you even walk through the doors, and The Amonklok Conquest Tour absolutely had that feeling hanging over The Battery all night. Long lines wrapped around the Coca-Cola Roxy before doors, battle jackets everywhere, and a crowd that was clearly there for the full experience from start to finish. Between Viking metal, animated chaos, and medieval doom theatrics, this lineup never really slowed down once the lights dropped.

Castle Rat opened the night with what felt less like a standard opening set and more like stepping into a full medieval fantasy world. The Brooklyn band builds its performances around “The Realm,” with Riley Pinkerton leading as The Rat Queen alongside Franco Vittore as The Count, Charley Ruddell as The Plague Doctor, and Joshua Strmic as The All-Seeing Druid. From the second they walked on stage, every member fully committed to their role, making the set feel theatrical without losing the heaviness behind the music.

Rock musician with flowing hair plays guitar, wearing a gold outfit. Pink light casts a dramatic mood. Blue text glows in the background. — Castle Rat photo by Chris Collett

Another standout part in the performance was The Rat Reaperess, the band’s arch nemesis, who stalked around the stage throughout the set and became central to the sword-fighting and theatrical storyline unfolding between songs. Instead of feeling random or gimmicky, the whole thing played like a live fantasy tale about The Rat Queen defending “The Realm” against death itself. The staged battles, dramatic resurrection sequence, and constant interaction between the characters gave the set an actual backstory that pulled the crowd deeper into Castle Rat’s world as the performance went on.

Riley completely controlled the room as The Rat Queen, balancing dramatic stage presence with heavy doom riffs and commanding vocals, while the rest of the band gave the performance the feeling of a real cast of characters instead of musicians just wearing costumes. Between the smoke, cloaks, swords, and giant winged rat running around the Roxy stage, Castle Rat managed to turn a short opening set into one of the most memorable parts of the night. By the end of the set, the crowd was shouting “Now! Is Forever! In! This! Realm!” back toward the stage like they had already been recruited into Castle Rat’s world.

Three musicians perform energetically with guitars on stage under purple and blue lights, creating a lively and vibrant atmosphere. — Castle Rat photo by Chris Collett

If you do not know Castle Rat yet or have not spent time listening to them, you are seriously missing out. Go follow them right now. You will not be disappointed, and if you ever get the chance to see them live, do not even give it a second thought. The band completely understands how to turn a concert into an experience instead of just playing songs on a stage.

Amon Amarth hit the stage next and immediately shifted the energy inside the venue. The second the giant Viking helmet drum riser lit up, the floor exploded. Johan Hegg walked out looking every bit the larger-than-life frontman people expect, and from there the band basically steamrolled through the set with almost no wasted movement. Songs like “Shield Wall,” “Put Your Back Into the Oar,” “Raise Your Horns,” and “Twilight of the Thunder God” turned the floor into one giant moving sea of fists, horns, and rowing motions.

Bassist performs on stage with red lighting, flanked by large Viking statues. Dramatic atmosphere with instruments and intense energy. — Amon Amarth photo by Chris Collett

What made the set even more impressive was Johan mentioning early on that he was battling a cold, but was not going to let it slow him down because “we are Vikings.” Honestly, you never would have known. His vocals still sounded massive throughout the night, and the crowd seemed to rally behind him even harder after that moment. Even in a venue the size of the Roxy, Amon Amarth carried themselves like they were headlining a giant outdoor European festival. The crowd participation during “Raise Your Horns” was one of the loudest moments of the night, while “Twilight of the Thunder God” felt like the knockout punch to close their set.

Then Dethklok came in and somehow pushed the night into an even stranger level of chaos. Once the massive video screens kicked on and “Deththeme” started, the entire room felt locked in. Even though the band comes from Metalocalypse, the show never felt like a novelty act. The crowd treated every song like a true headlining metal set, and the energy stayed high from start to finish.

Brendon Small and the band sounded ridiculously tight all night while the giant animated visuals behind them kept the entire room constantly engaged through songs like “Awaken,” “Bloodlines,” “The Duel,” “Face Fisted,” and “Thunderhorse.” The mix of live performance and synchronized animation somehow felt even bigger inside the Roxy than it probably would have in an arena. One second the crowd was headbanging through “Murmaider,” and the next everyone was screaming along to the “Duncan Hills Coffee Jingle” like it was a real anthem. That weird balance between brutal musicianship and complete absurdity is exactly why Dethklok works so well live.

This was one of those tours where every band brought something completely different, but it somehow all connected. Castle Rat brought the theatrical fantasy doom. Amon Amarth delivered pure Viking metal spectacle. Dethklok closed the night with animated insanity and nonstop energy. For a few hours, the Coca-Cola Roxy basically turned into its own strange fantasy world, and the Atlanta crowd fully bought into every second of it.