The Babyklok Tour Brings the Brutality to Coca-Cola Roxy (Atlanta)!
When Brendon Small announced that he would release not one, but two Dethklok LPs this year and finally close out the Metalocalypse saga with the release of Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar, it felt bittersweet knowing that this would be the last hurrah for Nathan and the boys. In April 2023, it was announced via Dethklok’s socials that Babymetal would join forces and co-headline with Dethklok on the Babyklok Tour (with opening support from Jason Richardson) starting August 30th in Houston, Texas, and concluding October 12th in Los Angeles, California. The fourth stop on The Babyklok Tour would land in Atlanta, Georgia at Coca-Cola Roxy in the area known as the Battery near Truist Park. The Roxy is one of my favorite larger venues in Atlanta to do photography because of the wide-open views in the mezzanine area and the always friendly staff. This would be my first time seeing both Dethklok and Babymetal, so I was excited to hear what they would play for the fans at this sold-out event at the Roxy in Atlanta.
It has been a wild ride since August 6, 2006, when Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha created an adult animated television series on [adult swim] that would be centered around a melodic death metal band named Dethklok. The show featured fictional band members: Nathaniel Explosion – voiced by Brendon Small (vocals), Skwisgaar Skwigelf – voiced by Brendon Small (guitars), Toki Wartooth – voiced by Tommy Blacha and Mike Keneally (guitars), Pickles – voiced by Brendon Small (drums), and William Murderface voiced by Tommy Blacha (bass).
The music for the show was written by Brendon Small and would serve as fundamental moments in many of the animated scenes throughout the show’s groundbreaking history. Over a year later, Brendon (with the help of some veteran metal artists) would release The Dethalbum on September 25, 2007. Currently, the touring band consists of Brendon Small (guitar/lead vocals), Gene Hoglan (drums), Bryan Beller (bass/backing vocals), Nili Brosh (guitar), and Pete Griffin (bass/backing vocals). Dethklok as a band has released four LPs in total with their latest release, Dethalbum IV, which was released on August 22, 2023, by Water Tower Music. Before the show, I was hoping that Dethklok would play “Murmaider” and “S.O.S” in their set list for this evening. I was pleased that I got to see “Murmaider” live as it was the third song in their setlist. Although, “S.O.S” was not included in the set list for this evening, it was still chock full of bangers from their discography. If this would be my only time getting to see Dethklok perform live, I have to say that it was definitely a journey that I will never forget.
Check out the brutal setlist from this show at Coca-Cola Roxy below:
· “Deththeme”
· “Dethsupport”
· “Murmaider”
· “Awaken”
· “Fansong”
· “Birthday Dethday”
· “Duncan Hills Coffee Jingle”
· “Hatredcopter”
· “Thunderhorse”
· “The Gears”
· “Briefcase Full of Guts”
· “I Ejaculate Fire”
· “The Duel”
· “Aortic Desecration”
· “Bloodlines”
· “Go Into the Water”
Co-headliner Babymetal is a Kawaii metal/J-pop/Power metal/alternative metal band from Tokyo, Japan that formed back in 2010. After some lineup changes over the years, the band now consists of Suzuka Nakamoto a.k.a. Su-metal (vocal/dance), Moa Kikuchi a.k.a. Moametal (scream/dance), Momoko Okazaki a.k.a. Momometal (scream/dance), Takayoshi Ohmura (guitar), Leda Cygnus (guitar), Isao Fujita (guitar), Boh (bass), Hideki Aoyama (drums), Anthony Barone (drums), Chris Kelly (guitar), CJ Masciantonio (guitar), and Clint Tustin (bass). They have released four (4) LPs with The Other One being their latest release (March 24, 2023). The band is produced by accomplished music producer Key Kobayashi a.k.a. Kobametal from the Amuse Talent Agency, who is also known for forming the Japanese idol group Sakura Gakuin.
As stated before, this would be my first experience seeing Babymetal perform live as one of our colleagues here at Concerthopper.com, Richard Davenport (@metalprophecymedia), has covered Babymetal a couple of times for this publication. Besides doing the research before the event, I did not listen to anything recorded as I wanted to have my first impression come solely from their live performance. I felt the honesty and pure experience of Babymetal live would be the best way to experience this cultural phenomenon. Granted this is not my normal style of metal, but I am not a gatekeeper of metal or any genre for that fact. I want to be fully transparent here at this juncture. My first impression came from the loyal legion of Babymetal fans who came to see them perform at the Roxy.
The age range of their fans ranged down to little metal heads and up to elder metal heads alike. As a fan of all music, this devotion to a musical act speaks volumes i n regards to their historic success. I’ll be honest once again; I was impressed with their choreography and presence on stage that night. And their fans showed their admiration and love for the band throughout the set. I can see the appeal of Babymetal as an act that bridges metal fans to the genre of Kawaii metal. And vice versa as Kawaii metal fans may branch out into the vast, subgenre categories of metal music.
Check out Babymetal’s crowd-pleasing setlist for this evening’s performance below:
· “BABYMETAL DEATH”
· “Gimme Chocolate!”
· “PA PA YA!”
· “Distortion”
· “BxMxC”
· “Mirror Mirror”
· “Monochrome”
· “METAL!”
· “Megitsune”
· “Headbangeeeeerrrr!!!!!”
· “Road to Resistance”
Opening the evening was Jason Richardson who is also known for his guitar work with bands Born of Osiris, Chelsea Grin, and most currently All That Remains. Jason’s discography includes three (3) LPs with Born of Osiris (1) and Chelsea Grin (2) plus three (3) LPs as a solo artist. Jason has also been a featured artist in releases by bands such as Polyphia, Purge of Filth, Veil of Maya, and August Burns Red. Jason is currently an official member of All That Remains as of February 2019. This was my first time seeing Jason Richardson play live as a solo artist, I first got to review Jason while playing with All That Remains back in 2019 for Imprint Entertainment.
You can check out Jason Richardson’s setlist below:
· “Tendinitis”
· “Ishimura”
· “Sparrow”
· “Titan”
· “Retrograde”
· “Upside Down”
· “Hos Down”
You can read previous reviews featuring both Dethklok and Babymetal by following the links below:
· Babymetal: A Japanese Sensation Prepares to Invade America (by Richard Davenport) & Atlanta Takes a Trip to the Metal Galaxy with Babymetal (by Richard Davenport).
· The Last Chapter of the Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar (Or How the Great Reuniting Matters to Dethklok) (by Xerxes Tzolis) & Dethalbum IV: Last Call with Dethklok (by Xerxes Tzolis).
Don’t miss DETHKLOK on The Babyklok Tour with BABY METAL!
THE BABYKLOK TOUR 2023:
Wed-Aug-30-23 - Houston, TX- 713 Music Hall
Thu-Aug-31-23 - Dallas, TX - South Side Ballroom
Sat-Sep-02-23 - Orlando, FL - Orlando Amphitheater
Sun-Sep-03-23 - Atlanta, GA - Coca-Cola Roxy
Tue-Sep-05-23 - Nashville, TN - Nashville Municipal Auditorium
Wed-Sep-06-23 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre
Fri-Sep-08-23 - Pittsburgh, PA - UPMC Events Center
Sat-Sep-09-23 - Wallingford, CT - Toyota Oakdale Theatre
Sun-Sep-10-23 - Alton, VA - Blue Ridge Rock Festival
Tue-Sep-12-23 - Philadelphia, PA - The Mann Center
Thu-Sep-14-23 - Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway
Fri-Sep-15-23 - New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom
Sun-Sep-17-23 - Sterling Heights, MI - Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre
Mon-Sep-18-23 - Toronto, ONT - RBC Echo Beach
Wed-Sep-20-23 - Grand Rapids, MI - GLC Live at 20 Monroe
Thu-Sep-21-23 - Chicago, IL - Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
Sat-Sep-23-23 - Louisville, KY - Louder Than Life Festival
Sun-Sep-24-23 - Milwaukee, MN - The Rave/Eagles Club
Mon-Sep-25-23 - Minneapolis, MN - The Fillmore
Wed-Sep-27-23 - St. Louis, MO - Saint Louis Music Park
Thu-Sep-28-23 - Omaha, NE - Steelhouse Omaha
Sat-Sep-30-23 - Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium
Sun-Oct-01-23 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
Tue-Oct-03-23 - Vancouver, BC - PNE Forum
Wed-Oct-04-23 - Seattle, WA - WaMu Theater
Sat-Oct-07-23 - Sacramento, CA - Aftershock Festival
Sun-Oct-08-23 - Las Vegas, NV - Pearl Theater at Palms Casino Resort
Tue-Oct-10-23 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Financial Theater
Wed-Oct-11-23 - Los Angeles, CA - YouTube Theater
Thu-Oct-12-23 - Los Angeles, CA - YouTube Theater
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