AMONKLOK TOUR: Castle Rat’s First San Antonio Show

The Amonklok Tour is here and traveling all around North America! A split headliner tour between two legends in metal – Amon Amarth and Dethklok – the tour made a stop in San Antonio the other night, nearly selling out the entirety of the Boeing Center at Tech Port. Just shy of three thousand fans gathered in high anticipation of the event this past Friday, and ZRockR Magazine is here with the full scoop and photos of all of the bands – including the electric performance of the highly anticipated opening band, Castle Rat!

The doom metal girls were in full swing as the anticipation for the New York heavy doom metal band, Castle Rat built tension slowly. There was just as much glamorous chainmail lingerie in the crowd as there were viking helmets that night. Fake torches adorned the stage at doors open, and as the photographers all collected by the media section, it was clear that everyone was most excited for that first set. Let’s give the run down on the band: CASTLE RAT, warriors of the realm, saviors of the kingdom, the only chance that our world has against the Rat Reaperess is this rag-tag team of ruthless doom-metal characters. Straight from a sword and sandal VHS tape, the influences of Castle Rat are clear to see; but it never get stale. From the stage theatrics of King Diamond to the sounds of Black Sabbath and the signature chain-mail accents of Red Sonja, the vision is clear, crisp, and incredibly refreshing. Those aesthetics have
existed for fifty years, and yet there’s something so perfect about the way that they execute it. To
play the Boeing Center as your very first San Antonio show is an incredible feat that no one
deserves more than Castle Rat.

Their set started with the general introduction and opening track, and later led into the theatrical between-song skits that they often include: A tale telling the lore of the characters, the appearance of the Rat Reaperess, a sword fight, a moment of blood-spitting action, and the new addition of the “castle rat” himself, a massive puppet creature that appears onstage and is sent away by the call of a druid as the band kicks off the song “SIREN”. Castle Rat had previously played a couple shows in Austin, and had made an appearance at the 2025 Hells Heroes VII music festival, which you can read about HERE.

Listen, Castle Rat is a hard act to beat for any band, so it makes sense that only the
legendary viking themed melodic death metal champions in Amon Amarth could top it. They got
pretty close with a massive setlist, an LED wall of impressive visuals, inflatable viking statues,
actors in armor, and that insane drum stage. Oh, and did we mention the rowing pit? You never
know the things you’ll see in a viking metal mosh pit. And check out this crazy setlist!

1. Raven’s Flight
2. Shield Wall
3. Live for the Kill
4. Cry of the Black Birds
5. Death in Fire
6. Asator
7. Hermod’s Ride to Hel – Lokes Treachery, Part 1
8. Put Your Back Into the Oar
9. We Rule the Waves
10. One Thousand Burning Arrows
11. War of the Gods
12. Raise Your Horns
13. Saxons and Vikings
14. Twilight of the Thunder God

Fourteen songs playing seven albums from the past thirty years, plus their newest 2025 single is an impressive feat for any band that not only showcases the bulk of their career within one set, but Amon Amarth knows how to cater to both their fans and to those only mildly familiar with them.

Dethklok finished the show by conjuring the memories, songs, and special gags that any fan of the Adult Swim show Metalocalypse will come to know. I never knew I needed to hear “Detheme” or “Bloodrocuted” live, but here we are and it was actually incredibly sick. Dethklok has only ever played San Antonio once before, so this may have been your best shot at seeing them if you’ve never seen them before. This set list will take you down memory lane if you grew up in the 2000s and spent time with the
Adult Swim world:

1. Deththeme
2. Awaken
3. Bloodtrocuted
4. Burn the Earth
5. Bloodlines
6. Tennant 4
7. Birthday Dethday
8. Aortic Desecration
9. Dethsupport
10. Black Fire Upon Us
11. Duncan Hills Coffee Jingle
12. The Duel
13. The Gears
14. Face Fisted
15. Andromeda
16. The Cyborg Slayers
17. Murmaider
18. Thunderhorse
19. Go Into the Water

When was the last time you heard the “Duncan Hills Coffee Jingle”? Listen, this show is a 10/10 experience, and you cannot miss it. Check out the remaining tour dates below and get over there fast. What are you waiting for? Put your back into the oar!

04.20 – Oklahoma City, OK | The Criterion
04.21 – Kansas City, MO | The Midland Theatre
04.22 – Chesterfield, MO | The Factory
04.24 – Minneapolis, MN | The Armory
04.25 – Waukee, IA | Vibrant Music Hall
04.28 – New York, NY | Brooklyn Paramount
04.29 – Boston, MA | MGM Music Hall at Fenway
05.01 – Toronto, ON | The Great Canadian Casino
05.02 – Montreal, QC | Centre Bell
05.05 – National Harbor, MD | MGM National Harbor
05.09 – Atlanta, GA | Coca-Cola Roxy
05.10 – Nashville, TN | The Pinnacle
05.12 – Johnstown, PA | 1st Summit Arena
05.13 – Detroit, MI | Fox Theatre
05.14 – Bethlehem, PA | The Wind Creek Event Center
05.16 – Milwaukee, WI | Landmark Credit Union Live
05.19 – Denver, CO | The JunkYard
05.20 – Salt Lake City, UT | The Union Event Center
05.21 – Las Vegas, NV | Planet Hollywood

PHOTO CREDIT: Live photos by Liam Tennant for ZRockR Magazine – @2026 – All Rights Reserved.