For just one weekend the Banc of California Stadium was transformed into a carnivalesque outdoor funhouse for the Adult Swim Festival. The stadium was alive with colorful distorted animations reminiscent of children’s cartoons and claymation scenes warped and hyperbolized beyond the mind’s comprehension, while a giant Meatwad dome sat across an even larger inflatable slide shaped like Morty’s head vomiting a rainbow.
Dethklok reunited and performed live for the first time in five years last night as the headline act of Adult Swim Festival at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, California! Ghost Cult was on hand for the festival and review will be up on the site next week. The band performed a 19-song set-list of hits and deep cuts, as well as two new premieres. Dethklok, which emerged from the metal fan favorite and pop culture hit Metalocalypse, has not performed live since their 2012 tour to promote Dethalbum III, although they released The Doomstar Requiem soundtrack in 2013, but never toured behind it. That episode concluded the show, on October 27th 2013. Series co-founder and band leader Brendon Small has been working on other series and his other band, Brendan Small’s Galaktikon, which released a new album in 2017, Galaktikon II: Become The Storm. Joining Small (vocals/guitar) in the band last night was Gene Hoglan on drums, Nili Brosh on second guitar and Pete Griffin on bass. Watch fan-filmed footage of their set right now! Continue reading
Metal fans have mourned the loss of Brendon Small’s Metalocalypse television series and the real-life metal band that represented the music of the show Dethklok. The band will make its triumphant return and play its the first show in five years at the play the second annual Adult Swim Festival. The two-day event at Los Angeles’ Banc of California Stadium. Tickets for the fest — scheduled for Friday, November 15th and Saturday, November 16th — will go on sale to the public today at 12 p.m. PST. Tickets start at $49 and up.Continue reading
In a terrible loss to the metal world, as well as the overlapping areas of film, video, and comics, Jonathan Schnepp – best know to metalheads for his work co-creating Metalocalpse/Dethklok has passed away following a stroke. He was 51. He suffered a stroke and passed away following a hospital stay in which he lapsed into a coma. Schnepp was a longtime music video director, writer and comic book artist, which led him to help create the Dethklok metal parody show with Brendan Small. Their work is currently exhibited in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Schepp also acted in and directed countless music videos, mostly metal, co-created the Slayer comic series, and directed films and animated series such as his acclaimed work on The Black Panther. Later he was the host of Collider’s YouTube channel. Collider helped break the news of his passing, along with his partner Holly Payne. We send our sympathies out to Jon’s family, friends and loved ones, and his legion of fans at this time. Continue reading
When it comes to rock and heavy metal, The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame often comes up lacking as far as diehard fans are concerned. In a case where they got it 100% right, their new exhibition Stay Tuned: Rock On TV is all about the history of music told through the lens of television and video, and features the much-missed Metalocalypse – Dethklok show in it. As reported by co-creator, director, artist and author Jonathan Schnepp on his Twitter account last week and on his Collider Video show yesterday, Schnepp shared the news that Dethklok original artwork and other collateral was included in the exhibit launched on May 26th .
Well this is a bummer. Metalocalypse fans have been campaigning and hoping for one final season on Adult Swim, but according to creator Brendon Small, it’s not going to happen. Continue reading
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