Concert Review: Dethklok, Amon Amarth & Castle Rat at MGM Music Hall in Boston, MA

Mark Kurtzner
Apr 30
5 min read

The "AmonKlok" co-headline tour featuring: Dethklok, Amon Amarth & Castle Rat performed at the MGM Music Hall in Boston, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, April 29th. This 21-date US/Canadian run started on April 15th in Arizona and ends on May 21st in Las Vegas.

April 29 saw a building-shaking triple-bill of theatrical metal at the MGM Music Hall in Boston, Massachusetts, in the shadow of Fenway Park, home of the almighty Boston Red Sox. The Sox, however, were in Toronto that night, and Lansdowne Street was shaken by the metal instead of the bats of Abreu and Contreras.

The MGM is one of my favorite music venues, though I don't visit it often. It's a great place to see a show, featuring a large floor, bars on each side with video screens plus video screens in the bathrooms. The stadium section has two levels with a very nice VIP level just above the floor that includes a private bar, lounge and bathroom. Plus, the surrounding area is filled with bars and restaurants making for a one-stop destination.

Opening the show is Castle Rat who hails from Brooklyn, NY. They formed in 2019 and are known as a "medieval fantasy doom metal" band. I really like their sound, and I was excited to see them. They played a quick opening set of five songs, featuring tracks from their two released albums "Into the Realm" & "The Bestiary," plus their newest single, "Siren." They are a 4-piece band featuring Riley Pinkerton (vocals) as "The Rat Queen," Franco Vittore (guitar) as "The Count," Charley Ruddell (bass) as "The Plague Doctor," and Joshua Strmic as "The Druid," with stage performer Madeline Wright as "The Rat Reaperess. They performed two different rituals; a sword fight and a giant rat creature emerged on stage. They sure knew how to make the most of their 30-minute set leaving the crowd wanting more!

There's a great live video on YouTube on KEXP - this is an excellent showing of this band and you can see many of their stage antics. They put on a great entertaining show and if you get a chance to see them, definitely do so!

Next up was the Swedish Viking-metal band Amon Amarth, who co-headlined and brought a big percentage of the crowd. The MGM erupted like Mount Doom, Tolkien’s Middle-Earth volcano (which the band is named after).

Amon Amarth is a Swedish melodic Viking metal band formed in Tumba, Sweden, in 1992. They've released 12 full-length albums to date! The band consists of three founding members and two newer members: Johan Hegg on vocals, Olavi Mikkonen on lead guitar, Ted Lundstrom on bass, and recent additions Johan Soderberg on rhythm guitar and Jocke Wallgren on drums. For this tour they again used a Viking battleship as the drum riser, flanked by two Viking statues on each side of the stage. On this night Johan Hegg was celebrating his birthday, and the crowd was fully engaged with him and the band. The crowd on the floor often formed a giant circle with plenty of crowd surfing to keep your attention, especially in the photo pit during my 3 songs. It reminded me of the late 80's shows I photographed, when you needed to keep an eye on both the band and the crowd.

They played a high-energy 14-song set of true Viking Metal, featuring the songs their fans have come to love. I loved that they used Biff Byford's recorded vocals during "Saxons & Vikings", they got the crowd on the floor to row to "Put Your Back into the Oar". Ending with a giant dragon slithering around on the stage during "Twilight of the Thundergod". Amon definitely knows how to deliver a show that their fans loved, myself included. I sure hope that they release a new album soon; they are surely due for some new music!

Headliner Dethklok celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2026, marking two decades since Metalocalypse premiered on Adult Swim. The show combined the animated band with a live metal juggernaut, with Metalocalypse mastermind/co-creator Brendon Small on guitar and vocals, backed by a top-notch band of all-star players: drummer Gene Hoglan (legendary for his hammering work with Dark Angel, Testament, Death, Strapping Young Lad and a host of other bands), bassist Pete Griffin (Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, Zakk Wylde), and guitar shredder Nili Brosh, an Israeli guitarist who in her time has played with Danny Elfman, Steve Vai, Tony MacAlpine, Paul Gilbert, DragonForce, and The Iron Maidens, among many others.

DETHKLOK show characters are:

Nathan Explosion – Vocals

Skwisgaar Skwigelf – Lead Guitar

Toki Wartooth – Rhythm Guitar

William Murderface – Bass

Pickles – Drums

Finally Dethklok takes the stage. After a minor technical issue with the video screens during the show's beginning, they were ready to deliver & they did. They sounded great and the band was super tight. When this show was 1st announced I was excited and looking forward to it. Although I never watched the original cartoon or knew much about it, I listened to their music and was excited to see them. I knew that the band was full of stellar musicians so that alone was going to make for a great show.

I really enjoyed the overall show, the music and the video screens made it interesting to watch. However my only drawback as a professional photographer was the lack of frontal lighting, which made photo opportunities almost impossible, especially when shooting from the soundboard at ground level. As a photographer I take great pride in my work, always wanting to release the best possible images for the fans to remember the show. This show wasn't going to be one of those. I just wish I could have seen them better... but that's my point of view only. Clearly I'm in the minority because the packed crowd loved the show and if you're not a photographer you will love the show too!