Amon Amarth and Dethklok Storm The Union Event Center on The Amonklok Tour
May 26, 2026
Last week Salt Lake City got raided. The Union Event Center didn’t just play host to a metal show, it transformed into a roaring Viking longhouse crossed with an apocalypse, where mead horns (or beers) were raised in unison. The Amonklok Conquest Tour, which teamed up Viking metal titans Amon Amarth and animated overlords Dethklok, rolled through town and left a trail of sweat, tears and shattered eardrums in its wake.
Rising fantasy metal warriors Castle Rat opened the night with some serious theatrical energy right out of the gate. The medieval fantasy metal act brought some swords and sorcery to the stage straight which looked like it was straight out of a fantasy movie. Their fantasy aesthetic and doom-tinged riffs proved to be the perfect segway into the heavier waters that lay ahead. By the end of their set, the floor was buzzing and drinks were flowing and the crowd was ready for what was to come.
Then the actual Vikings invaded.
Amon Amarth stormed the stage like a fleet hitting shore. From the opening notes of “Raven’s Flight” The Union Event Center transformed into the deck of a Viking longship. The band kept building the energy in the venue moving on to “Shield Wall” and song after song before that energy was put to work in the crowd engaging “Put Your Back Into the Oar.” Thousands of metalheads synchronized the venue floor into a massive Viking rowing pit. Arms thrust and pulled in unison as if they were traversing the North Sea, all while Johan Hegg, commanded the act from the stage with the authority of a war hardened Jarl with his beard flowing and while the band kept the tempo.
Their set perfectly showcased their ability to walk a fine ling between crushing heaviness and sing along accessibility and when the band broke out into the closing number of “Twilight of the Thunder God” the venue roared back to life singing, thrusting fists in the air and giving their all on the battlefield. Salt Lake City didn’t just attend a show with Amon Amarth, they set sail with them.
After the battle was over and the stage tore down, Dethklok closed the night in true metalocalypse fashion, ridiculous, immersive and massive. The band played in front of their screen, backlit with their silhouettes standing out dramatically to their animated videos that accompanied each song. The atmosphere and setting almost gives it a feel of stepping into the videos themselves as the band plays, if the videos had a mosh pit, thousands of raging fans and fog thick enough to wash out the venue that is.
Their light show is second to none, explosions of green, red and white flashed throughout the set lighting crowd surfers up as they came across the floor in waves.
Dethklok has always understood that metal can be both brutal and fun and nowhere is that more clear than at one of their shows. Where else can you see thousands of adults checking off their murder lists? Swords? Check. Saws? Check. Anger? Check. Murder? Check. There’s something beautiful about seeing a roomful of adults having a blast and losing their minds to an animated cartoon shouting out in chaotic unison.
After the show was over and the final notes rang out and faded away the Union Event Center smelled like victory, beer and haze. The Amonklok Conquest Tour delivered exactly what it promised, a night of Viking Warriors, fantasy realm theatrics, and the cartoon apocalypse that followed the destruction.
Salt Lake City didn’t just get a show; we got invaded and we loved every minute of it.
