Dethklok is a show/band that you either hate or you love that has never been more apparent than with the release of The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera (BS Records). Brendon Small’s rock opera is something that needs to be seen to be believed. I don’t say that because it is a masterpiece, but because the soundtrack falls flat without our favorite animated metal band’s shenanigans.
The Doomstar Requiemtakes everything great about Metalocalypse, its humor, metal, and kooky hijinks, and tries to turn them into a tale larger than life itself. In doing so, the musical misses the mark. The television show’s toilet humor doesn’t mix well with the sound of a fifty piece orchestra and feels as though it is trying entirely too hard at times. The storyline itself is also nothing to write home about. Time that could have been spent developing it further is instead devoted to elaborate musical numbers. This works out well for a few scenes, most notably the flashback detailing Toki’s guitar duel with Skwisgaar and his subsequent recruitment into the band.
Musically, the album leaves much to be desired. Dethklok is marketed as a metal band and this production is more of a taste of Broadway with some electric guitars thrown in. There are a few interesting riffs that I would have liked to see pan out but it is primarily filled with softer ballads. That’s not necessarily a bad thing in the right context, I was just expecting something decidedly more brutal than what was delivered.
Having the visuals to accompany the music definitely makes the soundtrack far more tolerable than it would be on its own. Listening to The Doomstar Requiem album sans animation is actually pretty boring unless you’ve seen it at least once. I wouldn’t bother with the soundtrack unless you have seen the special a few times and can’t live without it. That being said, the scene featuring the song ‘Partying Around the World’ should be a national treasure.
Stand Alone Soundtrack – 6.5/10
Musical Special – 7/10
Aleida La Llave
According to legend, or Facebook, Wilson is not an internet band. No, they’re a real band from Detroit. They’re five guys in a van and they’re bringing the party, and their beards, back to your place with their debut album Full Blast Fuckery (Easy Killer/New Damage Records). I keep hearing them get called hard rock but that just doesn’t sit right with me.
I survived a twelve hour drive from Massachusetts to Virginia, the B4BQ the previous evening, and taking over the Clarion Central hotel with some of my fellow bohabs. Now, on the morning of August 17th, I found myself wandering around Hadad’s Lake for my first GWAR-B-QUE, also known as the Bohab Family Reunion, since 2010. Although there were plenty of vendors, the lake itself, a pool, and the Spew ‘O’ Lympics, my main focus was the music. This year’s lineup was nothing short of drool worthy featuring Wilson, Kung Fu Dykes, Volture, Loincloth, Cannabis Corpse, Mobile Deathcamp, Battlecross, Warbeast, Corrosion Of Conformity, Municipal Waste, Pig Destroyer, the reunion of the legendary X-Cops after seventeen long years, and, of course, our lords and masters…GWAR!