Track Listing:

1. Murmaider
2. Go Into The Water
3. Awaken
4. Bloodrocuted
5. Go Forth And Die
6. Fansong
7. Better Metal Snake
8. The Lost Vikings
9. Thunderhorse
10. Briefcase Full Of Guts
11. Birthday Dethday
12. Hatredcopter
13. Castratikon
14. Face Fisted (aka New Phrygian Song)
15. Dethharmonic
16. Deththeme – hidden track

Artist:   Metalocalypse: Dethklok
Title:    ”The Dethalbum”
Label:    Williams Street
Release Date:    9/25/2007
Genre:   Death Metal

Rating:    4/5

Written By:   Ken Pierce (copyright 2007) for PiercingMetal.com

I think that I am one of the select few in the legions of Metal heads who has NOT seen more than about ten minutes of Adult Swim’s animated series “Metalocalypse”. When I finally did I was as hooked as they were so if you are one of those readers who are in the same boat as I was please allow me a moment of explanation about the cartoon. “Metalocalypse” focuses on a fictional band called Dethklok and follows their Metal misadventures in the manner that is most befitting of a band who epitomize the absolute extremes that one expects to find in a band of this type. Musically their style is Thrash Metal meets Death Metal and they are labeled as “the biggest band in the world”. The episodes of the cartoon follows them long into their storied career and with their being a “virtual” band that does not exist in the real world with us, who are we to argue with their title. The members of Dethklok are Nathan Explosion (vocals), Skwisgaar Skigelf (lead guitars), Toki Wartooth (rhythm guitar), Pickles (drums), and William Murderface (bass). Explosion sings in a Dark Grunts sort of voice, and actually talks like this in the world that Dethklok walks as well. The “Dethalbum” comes to us care of a real musician in Brendon Small who plays guitar, bass and vocals and is the creator of the show itself. The drums are handled by the one and only Gene Hoglan, who many in Metal know as the percussive destruction behind Strapping Young Lad and Dark Angel. The songs might ring as familiar to fans of the show, but during the short time of the broadcast you only get a taste of them in excerpt form – until now. This CD is happy to offer you the complete and unedited versions and let me tell you there are actually some solid Metal goings on here but you should be aware that like the show itself, the lyrical content and themes of the tunes are very tongue in cheek and as violent as the show depicts. You find this in “Hatredcopter” and “Birthday Dethday” or “Briefcase Full Of Guts” most specifically, and the bands positive message rings the loudest in “Go Forth And Die” and "Murmaider" (a song about murdering Mermaids). Overall this is a really fun album to listen to because beyond the lyrics the Metal pounding is strong throughout and I don’t think any of the fans of the show will be disappointed with it when the pop it into their PC or stereo. My own favorite songs on the release are “The Lost Vikings” and “Go Into The Water”. There is a booklet included that features some artwork and the lyrics to all of the songs so you can be sure that next time the show airs you can sing along.

You might wonder why an actual full-length album was released by a fictional band and besides the obvious aspect of capturing a promising market the other reason is to celebrate the release of the shows first season on DVD. Yes, every menacing Metal moment is all in one place and allows you to watch in the relative safety of your own home far from where the Hatredcopter can reach you. It’s uncut, unedited and uncensored – just the way that Dethklok wants you to see them. The announcement was also made that the world can expect an extensive tour for both releases which will feature Small and Hoglan along with other musicians. How we will see the guys in Dethklok themselves will probably be through the miracle of jumbo screens on the stage. I can hardly wait for that since it’s so different from the usual Metal fair we all attend.

Special Edition Features: I didn’t have a copy of this to review, but the Special Edition of the release features a Red as opposed to Blue cover and includes seven more tunes for the Dethklok diehard to enjoy. The additional tracks are as follows: Duncan Hills Coffee Jingle, Blood Ocean, Murdertrain ‘a Comin’, Pickles Intro – Kill You, Kill You, Hatredy, Dethklock Gets In Tune. There is also some video content on this one.

Official Web Site:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalocalypse

Official Web Site:   http://www.adultswim.com/shows/metal