NEKROGOBLIKON BRINGS THE DARKNESS TO MINNEAPOLIS

CONCERT REVIEW :: NEKROGOBLIKON
Varsity Theater - Minneapolis, MN
May 18, 2025
Photos and Review by Brett Zisler

You just never know what to expect when the extremely internet famous podcast host, author and frontman, John Goblikon, and metal titans, Nekrogoblikon, make their way into your town. This past Sunday night, Minneapolis fans were treated to an onslaught to their ears and eyes Nekrogoblikon headlined the Varsity Theater.

With an inflatable replica of John Goblikon’s head center stage, Nekrogoblikon opened their 13-song set with their always popular song “Darkness” whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Dickey Allen & John Goblikon leading the charge commanded the stage as guitarists Alex Alereza and Joe Nelson provided the footprint of riffs for the night. It’s been amazing to see the rise of this band over the past few years. Fresh off their performance at Milwaukee Metal Fest, Nekrogoblikon proved they are most than just a band with Goblin and his stunning good looks.

Nekrogoblikon weaved their way through fan favorites “Dressed as Goblins” “Fiend” and “Show me Your Goblin.” John even entertained the crowd in between songs with his quick wit and impressive knowledge of Minnesota Twins baseball, maybe more than some fans…….

With the night coming to a close, Nekrogoblikon started their encore out with “The Magic Spider” complete with beautiful choreography by the band members. To watch the crowd sing along to every word and then only to go crazy as John announced “This Is It,” you can see why the popularity of this band has grown so much. While they entertain you visually, this band is no joke with it comes to their music. The future is green and bright for Nekrogoblikon!

SEE MORE OF BRETT'S PHOTOS FROM NEKROGOBLIKON HERE!

MAKE THEM SUFFER throw the "Doomswitch"!

CONCERT REVIEW :: MAKE THEM SUFFER
Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, MN
Feb 20, 2025
Photos by Brett Zisler
Review by Nick

MAKE THEM SUFFER kicked off their 2025 U.S. Tour in Minneapolis, MN at a sold out Varsity Theater. The crowd was packed in excitement for the return of the Australian metal band who released perhaps their career defining self titled album back in November. An album that has not left constant rotation personally since it’s release almost 5 months ago.

The opening melody of “Epitaph” plays as the band takes the stage. The stage goes black and silent just as the song should pop off, giving the crowd a moment to have their voices heard. The band kicks out a blast of sound as they officially launch in to the track starting a frenzy. Not letting up, the band rolls right in to “Bones”, a stand out track from How to Survive a Funeral. Guitarist Nick McLernon, bassist Jaya Jeffery and drummer Jordan Mather throw down a wall of sound for keyboardist and vocalist Alex Reade to weave in and out while lead vocalist Sean Harmanis powerful screams lead the charge.

“Mana God”, “Ghost of Me”, “Oscillator” and “Weaponized” come one after the other showcasing the new album in style and providing many sing along moments with the crowd during the choruses. While they didn’t play most of the back half of the new album, they made sure to play at least one song from every album previous.

Closing the main set was the 1-2 punch of “Erase Me” into “Doomswitch” which was a pretty perfect way to leave the crowd wanting a little more before going back to the Neverbloom record for the encore of “Widower” complete with Alex wielding a keytar! This was exactly what you would want from the band. A mostly bare stage leaving the band plenty of room to roam with a solid light show to go with the frantic breakdowns and melodies that would crush the hour long set.

Jet lag and illness be damned, the band powered thru and left it all on the stage accomplishing a solid set equally enjoyable for new fans just coming on board and old fans that have been around awhile. MAKE THEM SUFFER left the fans wanting more and hopefully a return visit is in the cards where they can play more of the new album live.

SEE MORE OF BRETT'S PHOTOS OF MAKE THEM SUFFER HERE!

JOYOUS WOLF and DOROTHY deliver at the Varsity

CONCERT REVIEW :: DOROTHY, JOYOUS WOLF
Varsity Theater in Minneapolis
May 2, 2022
Photos by Brett Zisler
Review by Nick

It’s been a minute since Dorothy and/or Joyous Wolf has been back to MN and it’s been awhile since I’ve been to the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. All 3 were overdue.

JOYOUS WOLF played a rowdy 40 min set that saw vocalist Nick Reese all over the stage barely standing still long enough to take the pictures you see included here. Matched with an incredibly tight rhythm section of Greg Braccio on bass and Robert Sodaro on drums creating a massive sound for guitarist Blake Allard to riff all over. This band has seriously spent time perfecting their music to come across loud and proud live. You could tell they were traveling with their own sound guy who had everything dialed in perfect to make the band sound the best they could be.

Opening with “Quiet Heart” from their Place in Time record, the band was firing on all cylinders and never let up until the 40 min set was over. They came with a mission to make new fans and they definitely accomplished that. Reese’s outgoing personality on stage doing cartwheels including parting the crowd down the middle to jump down and do one from the floor made for a show you couldn’t take your eyes off of. Add in that you want to watch Braccio, Sodaro and Allard playing just as intensely and you’ve got yourself a hard act to follow.

Half the set seemed to be made up of songs from a forthcoming record including a very memorable “Get Myself Right” that should prove to be a stunner on record as it was live. I definitely was bummed that they didn’t have a CD or any vinyl at the merch booth, I’m guessing they would’ve sold big after that set. Keep an eye on this band - they are one big song away from becoming huge!

DOROTHY came out with a new band that was equally as talented as JOYOUS WOLF that came out making “Down to the Bottom” a little more heavier to make the song’s catchiness making it a great show opener. DOROTHY was in fine vocal form with the tracks like “Gun In My Hand” and “Raise Hell” from Rockisdead and did incredible versions of the new songs “Rest in Peace” and “Beautiful Life”.

The band had plenty of time to shine, making the songs in the set larger than their recorded counterparts. The show went by super quick with DOROTHY performing 11 songs from her 3 albums. My only minor gripe was that DOROTHY ended the show with “Flawless” and “Freedom” from 28 Days in the Valley and ended the show on an awkward note. The show just ended after those two songs with no encore. No “Raise Hell”, no “Whiskey Fever”, no “After Midnight” or no “Kiss It” all which would have been excellent show closers, let alone set additions.

In the end, it was fantastic to see DOROTHY live again with such a great band behind her to let her really deliver some powerhouse performances during the set. I’m betting that this was just an appetizer for the main event coming soon. Check out DOROTHY’s new record “Gifts from the Holy Ghost” as it is a fantastic listen. Dorothy could definitely come back and just play the new record and I’d walk out a happy fan!

SEE MORE OF BRETT'S PHOTOS OF DOROTHY and JOYOUS WOLF HERE!

REVIEW : HELLYEAH / NONPOINT @ Varsity Theater

REVIEW :: HELLYEAH, NONPOINT, SLEEP SIGNALS
VARSITY THEATER in MINNEAPOLIS, MN
08/07/19

Photos by Brett Zisler

HELLYEAH brought their A Celebration of the Life of Vinnie Paul tour to the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, MN and it was as much of a celebration of life as it was a statement for Hellyeah. These 4 guys have been thru a lot in the past year and have persevered. HELLYEAH was on fire, playing with not just something to prove but with a whole new meaning behind what they're doing. Let's face it, this tour could easily not be happening nor could the album coming out next month.

HELLYEAH came out swinging with "X" into the brand new track "Oh My God" which sounds even better live! Roy Mayorga is an excellent addition to the band doing Vinnie proud. These are shoes 99.5% of drummers could not fill and Roy is doing it with absolute precision and delicacy. Chad is in amazing shape sounding phenomenal on the vocals dominating the stage as he always does. Tom, Christian and Kyle are insanely tight getting the crowd revved up on songs like "333" and "Say When".

The packed crowd was enjoying the new material just as much as the old material as evident during the sing alongs on "Love Falls" and the new track "Welcome Home". We also got to hear another new song that hasn't been released yet with a very touching video with a lot of behind the scenes footage of Vinnie Paul called "Sky and Water"

It's not easy to go out and do some Pantera songs. That's a catalog that's held near and dear to a lot of metal head's hearts. Hellyeah proved they can rise to the occasion with no problems whatsoever. The band ripped thru "I'm Broken" and "Walk" to a frenzied Varsity Theater. Even the bartenders couldn't resist getting in to it singing along to "Walk" as they poured drinks. Finishing up with "Hellyeah" a lot of people went home extremely happy with the show they just saw. HELLYEAH is tighter than they have ever been and that's because they have a new energy, a new fire to keep Vinnie's music and memory alive for years to come. You know Vinnie is up there with Dime smiling.

NONPOINT did an amazing job being direct support to HELLYEAH. NONPOINT came out with "Breaking Skin" and going right in to "Chaos and Earthquakes". The band kept the set to their singles that you would hear on the radio adding in a vicious "Dodge Your Destiny" and a nice deep cut from their latest album X with "Milestone". NONPOINT made the most of their 40 minute set which flew by. "Fix This" sounded perfect along side "That Day" and "What a Day".

Elias is one of the most underrated frontmen out there. Getting down into the crowd standing on the barricade and whipping the crowd around with "Bullet with a Name" before exiting the stage so Hellyeah could dominate. This band has only gotten better since Rasheed, B.C. and Adam have been in the band. I probably shouldn't point this out but this is the first show I've seen since Statement came out that Robb wasn't playing drums sitting parallel to the audience. I really missed it.

HELLYEAH and NONPOINT are text book definitions of an amazing live band. While I would've loved to hear some of the heavier songs in the Nonpoint catalog, you can deny the set they picked out. They were definitely looking forward to grabbing some Hellyeah fans who might not have heard of them even though these two bands have been touring together in some form for many, many years. This tour gave fans a dynamic pairing giving the fans their money worth!

Unfortunately, I missed SLEEP SIGNALS' set but I heard great things from random people in the crowd. Even though this was a hometown show for them, there was a lot of new fans for them to gain. Congratulations to Sleep Signals for getting on this tour and check out their album At the End of the World! If you missed this show, don't sleep on them when they come back thru again. HELLYEAH's new album Welcome Home comes out Sept 27 on Eleven Seven. NONPOINT's X is out now on Spinefarm. I look forward to a proper headlining set from NONPOINT in the future!

SEE MORE OF BRETT'S HELLYEAH PICTURES HERE!

SEE MORE OF BRETT'S NONPOINT PICTURES HERE!