Metalocalypse
| Metalocalypse | |
|---|---|
| File:Dethklok2.jpg The characters of Metalocalypse in a promotional poster. From left to right: William Murderface, Skwisgaar Skwigelf, Nathan Explosion, Pickles the Drummer, and Toki Wartooth. | |
| Created by | Brendon Small Tommy Blacha |
| Starring | Brendon Small Mark Hamill Tommy Blacha Victor Brandt |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 20 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 11 minutes approx. |
| Original release | |
| Network | Cartoon Network |
| Release | August 4 2006 – present |
Metalocalypse is an animated television series on Adult Swim created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha. It has been described as "Spinal Tap meets Scooby-Doo meets Norway".[1] The series was originally pitched as Deathclock, but the name could not be used due to an existing trademark. The show and the main characters' band were then renamed Dethklok. The show's title was then extended to Death Clock Metalocalypse, although the starring band still retained the name Dethklok. The crew finally shortened the title to Metalocalypse because the extended show title was too complicated.
The show's first season consists of twenty eleven-minute episodes, the first of which premiered on the Adult Swim Fix on August 4, 2006, and on Adult Swim proper the following Sunday. According to Adult Swim, Metalocalypse has been renewed for a second season consisting of twenty episodes to begin airing in late 2007. The Metalocalypse premiere was the #1 rated show in its timeslot among males aged 18-34, and earned the network's best premiere delivery and ratings to date in 2006. Among the top ad-supported basic cable programs of the week, Metalocalypse ranked #12 among men 18-34 and #6 among men 18-24. The series premiere ranked #30 for the week among adults 18-34.[2]
Overview
Metalocalypse follows the exploits of the part-American/part-Scandinavian metal band Dethklok. Although the name is usually spelled "Dethklok," almost all of the band logos have it spelled as "Dëthkløk." Dethklok follows true-to-life metal styling, one example being their death metal-oriented song, "Mermaider," about "mermaid murder." They enjoy a popularity level unheard of in reality, being "the twelfth largest economy on Earth." They are so popular that their fans will do anything their songs tell them, even if it means death. If Dethklok endorses a company, it instantly becomes the only source for the product it happens to sell, as every competitor is quickly driven out of business. The band's unnatural popularity has attracted the attention of an Illuminati-style group, known as the Tribunal. Each episode sees this group attempt to covertly thwart the band, as they may be the objects of an ancient Sumerian apocalyptic prophecy. The band was actually named after a band that show creator Brendan Small saw in Denmark whose name literally translates to "arms and the man, I sing." (Which is the literal translation of 'arma virumque cano', the start of the Aeneid.)[citation needed]
The band's concerts are notoriously violent, often resulting in harm to a good portion of the crowd. Even their attempts at charity result in numerous deaths, such as the laser light show that butchered the London Philharmonic orchestra during a benefit concert. The premiere episode gives an example of this: a metal box that serves as the band's stage is airlifted and dropped on location, but misses the landing area and crushes a good portion of the crowd, both by virtue of its landing and by its subsequent opening. Several searing hot coffee and cream pitchers are also poured on the crowd, melting their skin off, to fit with the thrash metal styled coffee jingle being played by the band. Despite the obvious danger, however, people love Dethklok's concerts so much that they will sign "pain waivers"[3] at the entrance, signing their lives away and releasing the band from legal liability in the very likely case they are killed or dismembered. The band members reside together in a vast mansion called Mordhaus (German for "Murderhouse") in an unspecified mountainous region known as Mordland. According to the Dethklok MySpace page, Mordland is in the United States.[4] The members of Dethklok are portrayed as generally sociopathic and inept in all things non-musical except for negotiating their own contracts. Despite the band's immense success and talent, all of the members have self-esteem issues which surface to varying degrees during the show. Their monumental wealth allows them to get away with just about anything, including murder. The band members share an obsession with "brutality" and "metal-ness," often choosing whether or not to do something based on how "metal" they believe it to be.
Guest appearances
The series often has real-life musicians doing guest voices on the show. Among these are James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett of Metallica, Jeff Loomis, Steve Smyth, and Warrel Dane of Nevermore, Arch Enemy guitarist Michael Amott, King Diamond, and Cannibal Corpse frontman George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher. Additionally, every episode features several passing references to other real-world metal bands in the form of names, places, or general behavior on the part of the characters; for example, a grocery store in the first episode is named after the Finnish metal band Finntroll and in "Go Forth And Die" Nathan Explosion is an employee at a fast food chain named after Norwegian black metal band, Dimmu Borgir, called Dimmu Burger. Another reference is in the episode "Dethfam", when they go out to eat and talk, much to the band's dismay, at Burzums, referring to popular black metal band Burzum. In the episode 'Finntroll', Dethklok find themselves in Espoo, Finland. This is where Finnish band Children of Bodom are from, and the troll emerges from the lake, whis is a refrence to Lake Bodom. The store at which Murderface buys his grandfather an electric wheelchair is named Gorgoroth's, after the black metal band Gorgoroth. Nathan Explosion takes his GED at Carpathian Forest High, a reference to the Norwegian black metal band Carpathian Forest. In the episode "Dethstars" the head of the film studio is called James Grishnackh, a referrence to Varg Vikernes's (Burzum) pseudonym, Count Grishnackh. In the final episode the band play in Danzig, a polish city which is also the name of a metal band fronted by Misfits/Samhain front man Glen Danzig.
Endorsements
Dethklok, the in-show band, also endorses several real-world music products, including Krank Amplification, Gibson guitars, EMG pickups, and Line 6 gear. On Dethklok's MySpace page, an entry attributed to Nathan Explosion announced that the band is making a real album, called "DethAlbum," featuring drummer Gene Hoglan, which is said to be released in Summer of 2007 along with the DVD of the first season. According to the blog entry, the "DethAlbum" will feature songs from the show in full length, rather than the shortened versions released via the band's MySpace page. The DethAlbum will also feature never-before heard songs. One of these songs, entitled Hatredcopter, can be found on the European release of the Saw III soundtrack. According to the official Dethklok MySpace, the Gibson Guitar Corporation is also planning on making a Dethklok signature guitar.
Songs
| Name | Episode | Availability outside episode |
|---|---|---|
| "Deththeme Demo" | Never heard on show | MP3 available on Brendon Small's personal website |
| "Deththeme" | Intro to every episode | MP3 released on AdultSwim.com and on Dethklok's official MySpace |
| "Dethjingle" ("Duncan Hills Coffee Jingle") | "The Curse of Dethklok" | MP3 released on AdultSwim.com and on Dethklok's official MySpace |
| "Sewn Back Together Wrong" | "The Curse of Dethklok" | Limited MP3 on Dethklok's official MySpace |
| "Thunderhorse" | "Dethwater" | MP3 released on AdultSwim.com and limited release on Dethklok's official MySpace; featured as a bonus track in the Playstation 2 and Xbox 360 video game Guitar Hero II |
| "Dethwater Practice" | "Dethwater" | Never released |
| "Mermaider" | "Dethwater" | Limited MP3 on Dethklok's official MySpace |
| "Underwater Friends" | "Dethwater" | Never released |
| "Electric Eel Chair" | "Dethwater" | Never released (note: simply mentioned on the show as a song title, does not actually exist) |
| "Scaled and Gutted and Undercooked" | "Dethwater" | Never released (note: simply mentioned on the show as a song title, does not actually exist) |
| "Scuba Tank Filled With Farts" | "Dethwater" | Never released (note: simply mentioned on the show as a song title, does not actually exist) |
| "Birthday Dethday" | "Birthdayface" | MP3 released on AdultSwim.com and limited release on Dethklok's official MySpace |
| "Murder" | "Dethtroll" | Never released (note: mentioned as a song idea by Nathan Explosion, may or may not have been written) |
| "Awaken Mustakrakish" | "Dethtroll" | MP3 released on AdultSwim.com and limited release on Dethklok's official MySpace |
| "Death Metal Lullaby" | "Dethtroll" | Never released |
| "Killed by a Troll" | "Dethtroll" | Never released (note: mentioned as a song idea by Nathan Explosion, may or may not have been written) |
| "Hatredy" | "Dethkomedy" | Limited MP3 release on Dethklok's official MySpace, small clips used as intermissions |
| "Bloodtricuted" Blood Ocean | "Dethfam" | Limited MP3 release on The Duncan Hills Coffee Myspace |
| "Dethfam" | "Dethfam" | Limited MP3 release on Dethklok's official MySpace |
| "Inner Child Tied and Beaten in My Trunk" | "Performance Klok" | Limited MP3 release on Dethklok's official MySpace |
| "Water Horsey Blues" | "Snakes n' Barrels" | Never released |
| "Snakes n' Barrels Reunion Album" | "Snakes n' Barrels" | Never released (note: heard briefly during the credits, consists largely of guitar feedback and the violent grunts and screams of Snakes n' Barrels members, Nathan Explosion notes that it's "the most brutal album ever.") |
| "Blood Puke" | "Mordland" | Never released (note: simply mentioned on the show as a song title, may not actually exist) |
| "Fan Song" | "Mordland" | Limited MP3 release on Dethklok's official MySpace |
| "Dethharmonic" | "Fat Kid at the Detharmonic" | Limited MP3 release on Dethklok's official MySpace |
| "Crush My Battle Opponent's Balls" | "Skwisklok" | Limited MP3 release on Dethklok's official MySpace |
| "Briefcase Full of Guts" | "Murdering Outside the Box" | Limited MP3 release on Dethklok's official MySpace |
| "Go Forth and Die" | "Go Forth and Die" | Limited MP3 release on Dethklok's official MySpace |
| "Guts Punched, Balls Threw Up" | "Go Forth and Die" | Never released (note: drum part sung on the show only, may not actually exist) |
| "Murdertrain A-Comin'" | "Bluesklok" | Limited MP3 release on Dethklok's official MySpace |
| "Planet Piss" | "Dethkids" | Never released |
| "Happy Metal World Rainbow" | "Dethkids" | Never released |
| "I'm Just a Rock 'n' Roll Clown" | "Dethclown" | MP3 available on Dr. Rockso's official MySpace |
| "Castratikron" | "Girlfriendklok" | Never released |
| "Theme from 'Dating Penelope'" | "Dethstars" | Never released |
| "Blood Ocean" | "Dethstars" | Limited MP3 release on Dethklok's official MySpace |
| "Go Into the Water" | "The Metalocalypse Has Begun" | Never released |
| "Hatredcopter" | Never heard on show | DethAlbum |
Voice actors
- Brendon Small – Nathan Explosion, Pickles, Skwisgaar Skwigelf, Charles Ofdensen and others
- Tommy Blacha – William Murderface, Toki Wartooth, Dr. Rockso, and others
- Mark Hamill – Senator Stampingston, Jean-Pierre, Mr. Selacii, and others
- Victor Brandt – General Crozier, Cardinal Ravenwood, and others
Cameos
- Laraine Newman ("The Curse of Dethklok") – "News Reporter," "Grandma," "GMILF," ("Dethfam") – "Rose Explosion (Nathan's Mom)," "Pickles' Mom," "Serveta Skwigelf (Skwisgaar's Mom)"
- James Hetfield ("The Curse of Dethklok") – "Goat," ("Birthdayface" or "Happy Dethday") – "Sniper," ("Dethtroll") – "Mustakrakish," ("Dethkomedy") – "Lorkey" (the sailor)
- Kirk Hammett ("The Curse of Dethklok") – "Two-Fingered Fan," ("Birthdayface" or "Happy Dethday") – "Queen of Denmark," ("Dethtroll") – "Barkeep"
- Jeff Loomis ("Performance Klok") – "Murderface's Dad"
- Michael Amott ("Snakes 'n' Barrels") – "Antonio Tony DiMarco Thunderbottom"
- Steve Smyth ("Snakes 'n' Barrels") – "Snizzy Snazz Bullets"
- Warrel Dane ("Snakes 'n' Barrels") – "Sammy Candynose Twinskins"
- Jon Schnepp ("Birthdayface or Happy Dethday") - "Dr. Gibbits," ("Skwisklok") – "Video Director"
- King Diamond ("Skwisklok") – "Ronald Von Monoldburg," ("Murdering Outside The Box") – "Employee 421," ("Go Forth and Die") - "Dimmu Burger Manager," ("Bluesklok") - "The Devil"
- George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher ("Go Forth and Die") – "Dimmu Burger Customer," ("Bluesklok") – "Depressed Fool's Cap Hippie"; ("Dethkids") "Football Player"; ("The Metalocalypse Has Begun") "216's Brother/Metal-masked Assassin"
- Emilie Autumn ("Dethharmonic") – All violins (as "played" by the London Philharmonic Orchestra)
- Laura Silverman ("Girlfriendklok") – "Rebecca Nightrod," ("Dethstars") - Sitcom Actress
- Andy Richter ("Dethstars") – "J.F. Amarth"
References
External links
- Official Adult Swim Dethklok MySpace
- Tommy Blacha's MySpace
- IGN Interview with Dethklok
- Synthesis Radio interview with Brendon Small
- Synthesis Radio interview with Tommy Blacha
- MP3 audio interview with Brendon Small
- Brendon Small's website
- Gearwire interview with Brendon Small on creating Dethklok music
- Metalocalypse on adultswim.co.uk