Cartoon Network's Adult Swim series Metalocalypse follows the misadventures of the Death Metal band Dethklok who are explained to be the absolute biggest band in history – ever. The stories are loaded with Extreme Metal music and even more extreme levels of violence which is often directed at their often suicidal fan base. For example, the bands concert intro finds their stage falling from the sky, missing its mark and instead landing on top of thousands of the assembled fans. The ones who cleared this space celebrate and rock among the strewn bodies of the others. The audience doesn't care and all are shown signing waivers as they enter the shows which eliminate liability to the band for any action that they take. The band is led by singer Nathan Explosion who talks in the same gravelly Death Metal growl that he sings in and he seems Hell bent on having everything be as Metal as it can be. The perfectionist at all times with their music we find him deleting every recording because it wasn't heavy enough. He then decides that the band will record again inside a nuclear submarine in the deepest part of the ocean. The hilarious antics of the group are observed by a secret government group that seeks to thwart the bands growth and activities. From this cabal we learn that the band is among the highest earning economies in the world and every time they endorse a product or create one it drives the competitors out of business. They create coffee jingles and melt their fans with the stuff during a show – they create cell phones, or "Deth-Phones" which have night minutes that begin at 11pm. When Explosion learns this he states that it is totally Metal. The band leaves nothing less than chaos in their wake and while performing in Finland, their song which is based on some ancient writings is actually a summoning chant that awakens a Lake Troll who wreaks havoc and destruction everywhere. The band only decides to stop the troll when Explosion realizes that his DSL connection had been compromised by the demon. They don't always portray the group as being all that savvy and one of the hilarious exchanges comes from the scene of a band party where guitarist Swissgar tells Toki that the event is a real sausage fest. Toki replies that he really loves the sausage fest and from there Swissgar tries to explain that there is a difference which he just fails to comprehend. We also periodically find the band in discussions with their legal counsel as he informs them about what their actions had either caused or cost the band. He explains that they were often drunk while making these decisions and that they swore to kill him had he not let them do what they wanted. These highlights are only a brief example of the outrageous content that you will find when you watch this uncensored DVD collection.
The viewer gets all twenty episodes of the first season and they are of course unedited and commercial free. Every episode runs about eleven minutes and along with the shows themselves there is a bunch of hidden features that I have not yet managed to discover. These features include interviews and band bios as well as looks inside their headquarters. It's a show that is not for the timid or easily offended because there is so much in the way of over the top material but if you are like many of the Metal heads of today there is very little that fazes you. Diehard music historian fans or those who are up on Metal's not too subtle nuances will enjoy all the little tidbits to Metal around the years. For instance they play miniature golf on Marduk's course and another where Explosion dreams he works at "Dimmu Burger". While some of them stand out quite clearly, others are not too apparent so you would do well to pay attention. I found the whole show to be a lot of fun because while it spoofs the Metal world, the bands and its listeners it is done with lots of creativity and more intelligence than you would expect in something like this. Creator Brendon Small not only plays all the guitar parts and does the vocals, but he also voices a large number of the shows main characters. The drums are performed by monster skin basher Gene Hogland, formerly of Strapping Young Lad. The other core-creator of the show is Tommy Blacha. There are numerous guest stars on the episodes such as George "Corpsegrinder" Fischer, James Hetfield and even King Diamond. I am sure that this will become like a Heavy Metal Simpsons in some sense as bands from everywhere seek to be a part of the fun. After viewing the first season episodes it made perfect sense that a second season would be optioned and I am sure that the millions of fans this show has already made will be standing ready to spread the Dethklok word to even more people. This is a must have for fans of Heavy Metal as well as animation but remember it is for mature audiences based on some of the storylines and content that is delivered. Overall I found the whole Metalocalypse experience to be very Metal….. Check it out when you can.
Track Listing
- The Curse Of Dethklok
- Dethwater
- Birthdayface
- Dethtroll
- Murdering Outside The Box
- Dethkomedy
- Performance Klok
- Snakes 'n Barrels
- Mordland
- Fatklok
- Shwisklok
- Go Forth And Die
- Bluesklok
- Dethkids
- Religionklok
- Dethclown
- Girlfriendklok
- Dethstars
- It Has Begun
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