I had the absolute pleasure of catching the second night of The Babyklok Tour 2023. Accompanied by Jason Richardson & Babymetal, the acts gave all 4,000 fans the time of their life at South Side Ballroom. With it being one of the first shows since 2019 and first tour in about 10 years, fans were as ready as could be to headbang to some brutal metal.
Where to even begin with Dethklok. If you had access to cable and Adult Swim, I guarantee you saw commercials, episodes, & all the other promos for Metalocalypse. Between the animation style, the music, and the content, it was … it was definitely a show. For a lot of people, it was a fantastic introduction into the world of metal. One of the most amazing elements of the show & the band has to be how true to metal they are. Just take a look at their bio on Spotify:
The Mordland-based quintet consists of vocalist Nathan Explosion, who uses a death metal growl even when he's not singing; lead guitarist Skwisgar Skwigelf, the fastest string slinger alive; rhythm guitarist Toki Wartooth, the second-fastest guitar player alive; bassist and Civil War memorabilia collector William Murderface, and Pickles the drummer.
Mastermind Brendon Small truly is just that: a mastermind. From the creative aspects of the characters to the should-win-a-Grammy level of music mastery, everything about the band is astounding. You can disagree if you want, but you're wrong. Sorry. With several Dethalbum releases, the music speaks for itself.
The entire set was like an ocean of hands, horns, hair flying from headbangers, and bodies flying as they surfed to the barricade. I don't think I ever saw as many headbangers bang their heads for so long before! The band played for what felt like an eternity and some fans were moving and going insane the entire set! Not only that, but the brutalness was balanced perfectly with the videos playing behind the live band. How does a performance blend the concepts of metal and comedy so well? It's just criminal, but I. Am. Here. For. It.
This is just the beginning. If you have the opportunity to catch a show on The Babyklok Tour, you HAVE to go! It's that plain and simple. Take your phone out, look for the show in your area, punch that credit card number in, and call out of work the next day because you're going to be in the hospital from moshing and headbanging too hard.
