Artist: Dethklok Venue: Nokia Theater (New York, NY) Opener: Chimaira, Soilent Green Date: 6/25/2008 Label: Williams Street
Dethklok is a Heavy Metal band that is not all that easy to describe using conventional terms but I shall attempt to give it a go. For starters, one needs to realize that the overall power of the band is nothing short of legendary and the impact of their music on the Metal terrain of the imaginary world in which they walk borderlines on the extraordinary. This is pretty powerful stuff when you consider that we are speaking of an animated band from a far away future. Given that, one would have to wonder just how a real life invasion on this plane of existence would be able to come to pass. Fortunately for everyone inside the Times Square Nokia Theater tonight, there would be plenty of time to learn and enjoy just how this was going to be done and the show would find these juggernauts supported by Soilent Green and Chimaira. The popularity of the “Metalokalypse” show on Adult Swim that features Dethklok has proven to be so big that this particular show in New York had been sold out for many weeks in advance and what was interesting to me as an observer was all the wide varieties of Metal fan that were present for this event. You truly had a representation of all different genre fans and that just goes to show how many people this program is reaching. Soilent Green was coming up first and they are usually an interesting act so I made sure to get in place to check them out. Here is how the evening went down should you have missed it. Continue reading Dethklok @ Nokia Theatre Times Square (6/25/2008)→
Artist: Metalocalypse Title: “Metalocalypse: Season One” Label: Turner Home Entertainment Release Date: 10/3/2007 Genre: Death Metal Rating: 5/5
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. Continue reading “Metalocalypse: Season One” starring Dethklok→
Artist: Metalocalypse: Dethklok Title: “The Dethalbum” Label: Williams Street Release Date: 9/25/2007 Genre: Heavy Metal Rating: 4/5
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 spefically, and the bands positive message rings the loudest in “Go Forth And Die”. 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. Continue reading “Metalocalypse: The Dethalbum” by Dethklok→
