Metalocalypse stars Dethklok brought their Mutilation on a Spring Night Tour to Oklahoma City at The Criterion. They brought along Nekrogoblikon and DragonForce to round out this tour stop. Pulling up to the venue, it was easy to see this was going to be an outstanding night. The line of fans went down the block and started to wrap around the parking lot for this sold-out show. It was awesome seeing the age range of fans lined up and ready to see this line-up.
The five-piece melodic death metal band Nekrogoblikon was the first band to entertain the crowd, and entertain the crowd is exactly what they did. The band took the stage to the crowd roaring, and as soon as “John Goblikon” took his place on the riser at the front of the stage, we knew we were in for an absolutely crazy and absurd set. Mr. Goblikon kept the crowd engaged throughout the whole 30-minute set (which was not long enough in my opinion. From his joke telling, to his butt wiggling, he added visual entertainment to the already kick ass musical proficiency of the band. I can’t wait until the next time I get to catch a Nekrogoblikon show!!
Up next was the British power metal band DragonForce. As the stage was transformed into a nerdy paradise. From the blow-up dragons towards the back of the stage to the extra-large arcade games flanking the front of the stage. DragonForce is one of the most technically flawless bands I have ever seen. I always remember my son playing Guitar Hero and trying to nail “Through the Fire and Flames” on expert, and how excited he was when he finally did that. After watching guitarist Herman Li play it live, I can understand why.
I am a sucker for great vocals, and a singer unable to pull off a decent live show can completely ruin an experience for me. That was absolutely not the case here. Vocalist Marc Hudson hit all his notes with precision, and beauty. At one point during the set Hudson threw a large stuffed chicken into the crowd and said the only thing he asked was by the end of the song, the chicken make its way back to the stage in one piece. Apparently, the crowd the night before returned the stuffing as they tore the chicken apart. Oklahoma City was happy to oblige, and the chicken was returned unharmed. Having never seen DragonForce live before, I was completely in awe of their performance, and I will be making sure I don’t miss them again.
Last, but certainly not least, the band everyone came to see…Dethklok!!! I can say I have never been to a concert where you are actually not supposed to pay attention to the actual band playing on the stage. For a Dethklok show, you are supposed to watch the animation going on behind the band, duh. The show began with “Deththeme”, the theme song of Metalocalypse, and then we were introduced to the animated band members.
This was a whole new concert viewing experience for me, but it didn’t take long for me to become engrossed with the animation on the screen. With the mosh pit rolling and the rest of the crowd screaming and singing along, there was no doubt they were enjoying every single second of the Dethklok set. Creator, Brendon Small is a genius, and it appears all the time and effort that he has put into creating this band/show has totally paid off. For now, I am going to go watch more episodes of Metaocalypse and ready myself for the next time I get to see this band.
