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Near Deth Experience

June 19, 2008 12:15 am

BY SAM KRIEG

"Our goal is to make everything metal. Blacker than the blackest black, times infinity."

Thus spoke Nathan Explosion, frontman for Dethklok, the death-metal band on which the "Adult Swim" cartoon series "Metalocalypse" is centered.

In "Metalocalypse," Dethklok is the world's most famous band--on its own, the group is the 12th largest economy in the world.

The show follows the lives and (mis)adventures of Dethklok's five members: Explosion, drummer Pickles, rhythm guitarist Toki Wartooth, lead guitarist Skwisgaar Skwigelf and bassist William Murderface--men literally able to do nothing right except play metal, who somehow have won the admiration of most of the world's population. While its subject matter is hardly mainstream, and it doesn't exactly have a prime-time slot (11:45 p.m. on Sundays), "Metalocalypse" has made waves during its brief life.

Currently, the show is nearing the conclusion of its second season. In between the first two seasons, though, Brendon Small--the show's co-creator, along with Tommy Blancha--got together with famed heavy-metal drummer Gene Hoglan and released "The Dethalbum," a full-length album, mainly comprising songs sampled in show's episodes. "The Dethalbum" debuted at No. 21 on the Billboard charts, making it the highest charting death-metal album of all time.

In between writing, producing and recording character voices for his show, Small has taken Dethklok on the road, along with Hoglan, bassist Bryan Beller and guitarist Mike Keneally (both former partners of six-string master Steve Vai). Dethklok is currently touring the country with metal-core rockers Chimaira and the New Orleans-based Soilent Green.

It seems like such a large number of vocations would make it difficult to explain what one does. However, in a recent phone interview, Small quipped that his super-hectic schedule pretty much prevents any social occasions where he would have to explain himself.

SCREEN AND STAGE

It's nothing short of amazing that Small is able to juggle so many different things at the same time. Things haven't always gone off hitch-free, though. For example, there was a conspicuously large gap in the middle of the now-closing second season. Coincidentally, this gap fell during the Hollywood writer's strike responsible for temporarily shelving primetime favorites like "The Office."

However, when asked about it, Small was quick to state that "It wasn't a writer's strike thing Somebody in marketing booked a college tour for us and I got kind of locked into it," he said.

"[The tour] ate up my production schedule, my season."

But, like so many of the bands that "Metalocalypse" pays homage to, Small was able to turn that difficulty into a positive thing: "All the animators had to stop what they were doing and start working on the live show. It was good that I did that [tour], for this live show to sound as tight as it does."

Not only was the first-ever Dethklok tour pulled off, but the groundwork was laid for their current, larger tour. And the second season of the show has continued without any further interruptions.

So, now the question arises: How do you transfer a cartoon band to a live setting? What should be the focus--some kind of cartoon rendition, like those found on the show, or the real people playing the music?

While there have been other cartoon bands in the past, the comparison that comes to mind quickest is the eclectic, bouncy Gorillaz. For their tours, Gorillaz focus exclusively on the cartoon aspect of the band. Cartoons play across a giant screen, and the real musicians remain hidden from view. Small, however, is not content with such a one-sided emphasis.

"If you can't see the guys playing, it's kind of boring. Especially with metal [because] it's not that easy to play." The result? A "live animated show." The live band has rehearsed the songs to coincide perfectly with cartoons that play across a giant movie screen behind them. "It's like a big, stupid Disneyland ride with murder," is how Small poetically describes the whole affair.

A DIFFERENT LENS

All the corpse paint, the constant use of the word "brutal" and the abundant band-name "Easter eggs" (hidden metal jokes within the shows like "Dimmu Burger" and "Finntroll's" grocery store) have the potential to make "Metalocalypse" a very "in-crowd" kind of show, appealing to a very specific group of people. However, according to Small, there's much more going on than just metal: "There's the circus of the show, then there's what it's really about. Our show isn't about metal we're making fun of celebrities."

Such an explanation might initially upset some metal-heads, angry that their little piece of land might not be getting the respect it deserves. However, they should look more closely at things before they jump to conclusions. Throughout its history, heavy metal has always conveyed messages that were hidden from people who couldn't get past the scary imagery or strange vocal deliveries.

Whether it's the multinational-corporation protesting of Napalm Death or anti-war anthems of Slayer, the satirical look "Metalocalypse" takes at personality-revering culture has a rich heritage. The show tackles the cult of the celebrity from all angles, including public appearances, crossover musician-actors and attempted tax evasion. The general lack of common sense from the Dethklok members makes viewers scratch their heads and wonder how such dimwitted folks got famous in the first place.

There are already famous shows that mock celebrities though; that "Metalocalypse" does it within the context of heavy metal helps make it special, said Small. "In my opinion, the fun thing about the show is it gets to have metal involved in it."

Looking at the world through a lens still relatively unfamiliar to most of the public gives the show a new feel for first-time viewers. Perhaps more importantly, it gets cries of joy from already existing fans of heavy metal, overjoyed that their favorite things are being well represented.

If you're not already a long-haired, black-band-shirt-wearing metal-head, "Metalocalypse" is worth checking out. You'll find a hardworking, intense and humorous world.

If you are a metal-head and you don't already follow this show, run out to Best Buy and pick up the first season DVD, thanking the metal gods all the way that they haven't already struck you down for such a grave mistake.

Sam Krieg is a student at the University of Mary Washington.