If there’s one thing Nekrogoblikon knows how to do, it’s make a complete spectacle out of metal. On their Show Me Your Goblin tour, the California-based melodic death metal band brought their signature blend of brutality and absurdity to Pittsburgh’s Thunderbird Café & Music Hall. Armed with a recently released single sharing the same name as the tour and a stage show that doubles as a goblin-infested fever dream, this stop felt like a raucous celebration of chaos and community. Packed wall to wall with goblin shirts, pointed ears, and even a few green-painted die-hards, the venue pulsed with anticipation and sweat before the first riff even rang out.
Kicking off the shenanigans was Brat, the New Orleans hardcore outfit whose feral energy set the tone early. Blasting through their set like a runaway train, they had the early crowd moving with breakneck riffs and crushing breakdowns. Frontwoman Liz Selfish stalked the stage with unapologetic power, screaming with such force it shook the floor despite still recovering from being sick. The entire set, she was giving possessed cheerleader, with kicks and jumps and a bubbly personality paired with demonic growls and ungodly screams. Snippets of pop songs bleeding into their high-intensity death metal was a total vibe, and had everyone moving, grooving, and headbanging. There was no easing into the night, Brat made sure the room was on fire by their second song and didn’t let up for a second.
Ov Sulfur followed with a set that leaned heavily into their blend of deathcore and symphonic elements. Cloaked in smoky, moody lights, their performance added a dramatic weight to the evening. Frontman Ricky Hoover’s gutturals were inhuman, and the band’s tight stage chemistry made each transition feel massive. The crowd responded with a fresh wave of movement, and the temperature in the room climbed right alongside the intensity of the music.
Revocation brought the technical wizardry next, offering up a blistering display of precision and aggression. Their blend of thrash and progressive death metal created a different kind of chaos: sharper, faster, and laced with solos that left jaws on the floor. Guitarist and vocalist Dave Davidson shredded with surgical finesse, and even the most chaotic pit-goers paused briefly to watch him tear through leads. It was the kind of set that flexed pure musicianship without losing an ounce of energy, and it brought another flavour to a night already overflowing with variety.
Then came the goblin lords themselves. As Nekrogoblikon took the stage, the entire room seemed to snap into another dimension. Harsh vocalist Dickie Allen stormed out, grinning wildly, while everyone’s favourite hype goblin, John Goblikon, bounded around the stage in full goblin glory, hyping the crowd like a caffeinated gremlin. The set kicked off with pure speed and silliness, blasting into “Darkness” and “Dressed As Goblins” with reckless abandon. This wasn’t a show – it was a full-on goblin party.
Nekrogoblikon didn’t just play songs; they created moments, each one louder, funnier, and more intense than the last. Things started out tame enough with a little bit of Pittsburgh banter, with just a little bit of confusion regarding how many rivers Pittsburgh has. Some crazy soul in the pit was passing out Pokémon cards all night and gave some to John Goblikon who was absolutely enraptured, to the point that he decided they should become a Pokémon band. Nintendo probably wouldn’t be thrilled, but a goblin-Pokémon band would be funny as hell. And then the real magic of the night occurred. John Goblikon found someone in the pit dressed exactly like him. The pure beauty obviously couldn’t be ignored. And with chants of “Kiss!” egging them on, the two shared a brief beautiful moment together and everyone else lost their ever-loving minds. It was perfection.
“Show Me Your Goblin,” the new single and unofficial anthem of the tour, arrived towards the end of the set to thunderous approval. Fans screamed the words back as if it had been a setlist staple for years. Last year, Nekrogoblikon opened for Dethklok, and while the massive stages they played were certainly impressive, there’s a clear separation between band and crowd at such venues. But at smaller, club-sized venues, every note, every scream, every goblin antic is amplified ten-fold. The Thunderbird basically transformed into one massive, swirling pit. It didn’t matter if you were in the front, buying merch, or hanging near the back. There was no safe zone. Bodies moved in every direction while John Goblikon danced, taunted, and flipped off anyone lucky enough to get close.
As the night rolled toward its finale, Nekrogoblikon showed that their blend of humor and heaviness is more than just a gimmick. The musicianship was tight, the energy never dropped, and the sense of community in the room was undeniable. Everyone was in on the joke, but everyone also showed up to throw down. Whether it was the soaring chorus of “Powercore” or the pure mayhem of “The Many Faces of Dr. Hubert Malbec,” each note hit like a goblin-powered freight train. And whenthe very fitting final song “This Is It” ended, the crowd roared not just for the music, but for the wild, sweaty, unforgettable experience they’d just survived.
May 22nd, 2025
