''Metalocalypse'' is an American
adult animated
An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...
television series, created by
Brendon Small
Brendon Small (born February 15, 1975) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, animator, writer, director, producer, and musician known for co-creating the animated series ''Home Movies'' (1999–2004, with Loren Bouchard) and '' Metalocalypse'' ...
and
Tommy Blacha
Thomas Blacha (born August 25, 1962) is an American voice actor, writer, and producer. He is known working for shows such as ''Metalocalypse'', ''Da Ali G Show'' and ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''.
Career
Blacha started as a local Chicago Co ...
, which premiered on August 6, 2006, followed by a musical one-hour special, ''
Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem'', on October 27, 2013 on
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim
Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...
and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...
. The television program centers on the larger-than-life
melodic death metal
Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavines ...
band
Dethklok
Dethklok is a fictional melodic death metal band featured in the Adult Swim animated television series ''Metalocalypse''.
The first official Dethklok album was released on September 25, 2007, entitled '' The Dethalbum''. The album debuted at n ...
, and often portrays dark and macabre content, including such subjects as violence, death, and the drawbacks of fame, with
hyperbolic
Hyperbolic is an adjective describing something that resembles or pertains to a hyperbola (a curve), to hyperbole (an overstatement or exaggeration), or to hyperbolic geometry.
The following phenomena are described as ''hyperbolic'' because they ...
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
. The show was widely heralded as both a
parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
and a
pastiche
A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...
of
heavy metal culture
Fans of heavy metal music have created their own subculture that encompasses more than just appreciation of the style of music. Fans affirm their membership in the subculture or scene by attending metal concerts (an activity seen as central to th ...
.
The music, written by guitarist/creator Brendon Small, was credited to the band and featured in most episodes. The animation was often carefully synced to the music with the chord positions and fingering of the guitar parts shown in some detail. The show was cancelled in 2013. In 2021, Adult Swim announced a
direct-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
film has been greenlit.
Overview
In the series,
Dethklok
Dethklok is a fictional melodic death metal band featured in the Adult Swim animated television series ''Metalocalypse''.
The first official Dethklok album was released on September 25, 2007, entitled '' The Dethalbum''. The album debuted at n ...
is a death metal band that enjoys a popularity level unheard of in reality, ranking as the seventh-largest economy on Earth by the end of the second season. Series creator Small described them as "like
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
, just a thousand times more dangerous and a billion times more stupid".
The
fictional band members are Nathan Explosion, Skwisgaar Skwigelf, Pickles, William Murderface and Toki Wartooth. Their manager is
Charles Foster Offdensen.
If Dethklok endorses a product or service, competitors are quickly driven out of business. Organizations worldwide, ranging from governments to businesses, go out of their way to avoid hindering Dethklok, to the point that the band is allowed to maintain its own police force and can get away with any crime imaginable with virtually no repercussions, although the band is often too oblivious to even notice that they are committing illegal acts.
The members of Dethklok tend to cause disaster wherever they travel, and anything remotely associated with them likewise attracts chaos. Dethklok concerts are so notoriously dangerous that those attending are required to sign "pain waivers" at the entrance, releasing the band from legal liability in the very likely case attendees are killed or maimed. The band is shown to have a callous disregard for the safety of their fans, as shown in the first episode where they pour scalding hot coffee over concertgoers.
The band's popularity is such that impressionable fans will do anything for them, even if that means death, which is usually the case. In the episode "Dethgov", fans of Dethklok lynch the
governor of Florida
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
after he refuses to establish a holiday for lead singer Nathan Explosion (to be named "Nathan Explosion Day"), whom they then proceed to elect as governor in a landslide write-in victory (despite the fact Nathan had no interest in the job and let the rest of Dethklok run the state into the ground).
The band's unnatural popularity and trail of destruction has attracted the attention of an
Illuminati
The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...
-style group, known as
The Tribunal, dedicated to monitoring Dethklok's activity and plans. Typically, episodes involve the Tribunal attempting to maintain and perpetuate public ignorance and rampant
consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...
whenever Dethklok's antics inadvertently threaten to upset the
status quo
is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...
. The Tribunal, led by a mysterious character named "Mr. Salacia", works off the premise that Dethklok's unusual powers are the result of an ancient
Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
ian prophecy about an "
Apocalypse
Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...
of Metal". General Crozier, the military leader in the group, appears to desire either the death of the band's members or the dismantlement of the band itself, but Mr. Salacia consistently overrules him to prevent this from happening. Most episodes show the Tribunal attempting to covertly thwart the band by calling in various "specialists", such as "military pharmaceutical psychotropic drug manufacturers", "celebrity
depression experts", or various legally compromised characters who attempt to infiltrate the group.
Development
Brendon Small
Brendon Small (born February 15, 1975) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, animator, writer, director, producer, and musician known for co-creating the animated series ''Home Movies'' (1999–2004, with Loren Bouchard) and '' Metalocalypse'' ...
's show ''
Home Movies
A home movie is a short amateur film or video typically made just to preserve a visual record of family activities, a vacation, or a special event, and intended for viewing at home by family and friends. Originally, home movies were made on ph ...
'' ended its run in 2004, which freed Small to spend time with writer friend
Tommy Blacha
Thomas Blacha (born August 25, 1962) is an American voice actor, writer, and producer. He is known working for shows such as ''Metalocalypse'', ''Da Ali G Show'' and ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''.
Career
Blacha started as a local Chicago Co ...
. They went to
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
shows around the same time they were both trying to pitch shows to different networks. This was how they came up with the idea of doing a show about a metal band that was vastly more popular than
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
had been. They came up with the storyline, wrote a theme song, and had a friend
Jon Schnepp
Jonathan David Schnepp (May 16, 1967 – July 19, 2018) was an American producer, director, voice actor, editor, writer, cartoonist, animator, and cinematographer.
Schnepp was known for the documentary film '' The Death of "Superman Lives": What ...
design the characters. The series was originally called ''Deathclock'', but the name could not be used due to an existing trademark. The show and the main characters' band were then renamed ''
Dethklok
Dethklok is a fictional melodic death metal band featured in the Adult Swim animated television series ''Metalocalypse''.
The first official Dethklok album was released on September 25, 2007, entitled '' The Dethalbum''. The album debuted at n ...
''. The show's title was then extended to ''Dethklok Metalocalypse'', although the starring band still retained the name Dethklok. The title was finally shortened to ''Metalocalypse'' because the extended show title was too complicated. They pitched the show to
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim
Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...
and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...
, which
greenlit
To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead".
Film industry
In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...
it in 2005 with a 20-episode contract.
In developing the series, Small looked at the budget for what he considered to be the cheapest show to produce at the time on Adult Swim, ''
Tom Goes to the Mayor
''Tom Goes to the Mayor'' is an American adult animated series created by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim for Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim. It premiered on November 14, 2004 and ended on September 25, 2006 with a t ...
''. On asking
Tim and Eric
Tim & Eric are an American comedy duo consisting of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. They are the creators and stars of the Adult Swim television series ''Tom Goes to the Mayor'', ''Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'', '' Check It Out! wit ...
, who produced the show, Small discovered that their budget was $110,000 per episode. Small then went to Titmouse and asked if they could do ''Metalocalypse'' for under $110,000 per episode while still maintaining Small's vision. Titmouse responded they could do it for $109,099 per episode averaged over the entire season.
Broadcast history
The show's first season consists of 20 11-minute
episode
An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption.
The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning t ...
s, the first of which premiered on the
Adult Swim Video
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
on August 4, 2006, and on
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim
Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...
and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...
proper the following Sunday. ''Metalocalypse'' was renewed for a second season consisting of 19 episodes which began airing on September 23, 2007, two days before the CD release of ''
The Dethalbum
''The Dethalbum'' is the debut album by virtual band Dethklok, from American animated sitcom ''Metalocalypse''. It was released on September 25, 2007. The album features full length songs from the TV series, as well as previously unreleased track ...
''. The second season also introduced an updated version of the show's opening theme (officially titled "Deththeme"), which had been rerecorded for ''The Dethalbum''. The ''Metalocalypse'' premiere was the #1 rated show in its time slot among males aged 18–34 and earned the network's best premiere delivery and ratings in 2006. Among the top ad-supported
basic cable
Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million U.S. households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. with Data by SNL Kagan shows that about 58 ...
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.
At
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
Comic Con
A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at con ...
2008,
Tommy Blacha
Thomas Blacha (born August 25, 1962) is an American voice actor, writer, and producer. He is known working for shows such as ''Metalocalypse'', ''Da Ali G Show'' and ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''.
Career
Blacha started as a local Chicago Co ...
confirmed that the show would be renewed for a third season which premiered on November 8, 2009. The episodes of season three are 21 minutes long (30 minutes including commercials).
The fourth season returned to the original 11 minute run-time. Season four premiered April 29, 2012, and consisted of 12 episodes.
Actor Mark Hamill stated in 2013 that the fifth season of the show was currently in production. Brendon Small later denied this, stating that it had not yet reached production.
On May 10, 2013,
Brendon Small
Brendon Small (born February 15, 1975) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, animator, writer, director, producer, and musician known for co-creating the animated series ''Home Movies'' (1999–2004, with Loren Bouchard) and '' Metalocalypse'' ...
and
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim
Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...
and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...
announced that a ''Metalocalypse'' one-hour
rock opera
A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...
special, ''
Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem'', was in the works. This special aired on October 27, 2013.
In April 2014, in an interview on ''
Steve Agee
Steven Douglas Agee (; born February 26, 1969) is an American comedian, actor, writer and musician, known for roles including Steve Myron on the Comedy Central series ''The Sarah Silverman Program'' and as John Economos in the 2021 superhero fil ...
: Uhhh'' podcast, Brendon Small stated that a fifth and final season was in pre-production and that he was waiting on a budget from Adult Swim.
Small has since stated that he has begun exploring other ways of concluding the show, which may take the form of a special or a film, and that he was in the early stages of planning.
Cancellation
In March 2015, Brendon Small issued a statement saying that he had approached Adult Swim with the idea to do the finale as a "big mini-series," but was turned down by the network. It was later revealed that ''Metalocalypse'' had been canceled; however, Small tweeted that he has plans "to service a final story and music—but not in way fans are used to".
In October 2015, Small announced a month-long social campaign, called "Metalocalypse Now", to have fans of the show contact
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
and
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim
Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...
and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...
to convince them to co-fund the series finale to ''Metalocalypse'', entitled: ''Metalocalypse: The Army of the Doomstar – The Final Chapter''. As a result of the campaign, financial backers stepped forward to fund a final season, but Adult Swim declined to pick up the series. In a May 2016 interview, Small said he is "all but finished making Dethklok records".
In May 2021 it was announced that a
direct-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
film is in production; it was later announced that the film would also be released on
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
.
Voice cast and characters
Main cast members
Guest stars
Musicians
*
Michael Amott
Michael Amott (born 28 July 1969) is a Swedish guitarist, founding member of the metal bands Arch Enemy, Spiritual Beggars and Carnage, as well as a former member of Carcass. He is the older brother of Christopher Amott.
Amott was ranked No ...
*
Asesino
Asesino (Spanish for "assassin" or "murderer") is an American deathgrind supergroup and a side project of Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares. The band has featured members of Brujeria, Fear Factory, Sepultura, Sadistic Intent, Possessed, Min ...
*
Jack Black
Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), ''Shallow Hal'' (2001), ''Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ''E ...
*
Richard Christy
Thomas Richard Christy Jr. (born April 1, 1974) is an American drummer and radio personality, best known for being the former drummer for several heavy metal bands since the early 1990s, most notably Death, and his tenure on ''The Howard Stern ...
*
Brann Dailor
Brann Timothy Dailor (born March 19, 1975) is an American musician, best known as a member of heavy metal band Mastodon, in which he is the drummer and one of three vocalists.
Career
Dailor first started playing in a band called Eviscerati ...
*
Warrel Dane
Warrel Dane (born Warrel George Baker; March 7, 1961 – December 13, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead singer for the heavy metal bands Sanctuary and Nevermore. He was a natural baritone; though he was known for his high-pitched ...
*
Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* Ex ...
*
George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher
George Fisher (born July 8, 1970), better known by his stage name Corpsegrinder, is an American death metal vocalist who is the lead singer of Cannibal Corpse, Paths of Possession and the supergroup Serpentine Dominion. He recorded two al ...
*
Ace Frehley
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician, best known as the original lead guitarist and co-founding member of the hard rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. Space Ace) and played wit ...
*
Marty Friedman
Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 until ...
*
Billy Gibbons
William Frederick Gibbons (born December 16, 1949) is an American musician who is the guitarist and lead singer of the rock band ZZ Top. He began his career in the band the Moving Sidewalks, which recorded a full-length album entitled, ''Flas ...
*
Angela Gossow
Angela Nathalie Gossow (born 5 November 1974) is a German vocalist, best known as the former lead singer for the Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy. Her other previous bands include Asmodina and Mistress.
Early life
Angela Gossow was b ...
*
Dave Grohl
David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...
*
Kirk Hammett
Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Before joining Metallica, he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, ...
*
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder and a main songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his intricate rhythm playing, but occasionall ...
*
Brent Hinds
William Brent Hinds (born January 16, 1974) is an American musician best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares guitar duties with Bill Kelliher and vocal duties with Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor.
Hi ...
*
Gene Hoglan
Eugene Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967) is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his pla ...
*
Scott Ian
Scott Ian (born Scott Ian Rosenfeld, December 31, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the thrash metal band Anthrax. Ian is the guitarist and a founding member of the crossover thrash band Stormtroo ...
*
ICS Vortex
*
Ihsahn
Vegard Sverre Tveitan (born 10 October 1975), better known by his stage name Ihsahn (), is a Norwegian multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and composer, best known for his work with black metal band Emperor. Tveitan is also a founding member of Tho ...
*
Arve Isdal
Arve Isdal (born 28 August 1977, Bergen, Norway), also known as Ice Dale, is a Norwegian musician and producer, best known as lead guitarist for the progressive black metal band Enslaved.
Career
Isdal was initially influenced by hard rock ba ...
*
Mike Keneally
Michael Joseph Keneally (born December 20, 1961) is an American session guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist and composer.
Early years and musical influences
Keneally started playing music at the age of 7 when he received an electric organ for h ...
*
King Diamond
Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto s ...
*
Grutle Kjellson
Kjetil Tvedte Grutle, better known as Grutle Kjellson (born 24 December 1973 in Sveio, Hordaland, Norway), is the bassist and vocalist of the Norwegian progressive black metal band Enslaved. Together with Ivar Bjørnson, they are the founding an ...
* Herbrand Larsen
*
Jeff Loomis
Jeff Loomis (born September 14, 1971) is an American musician, best known for his role as lead guitarist in the progressive metal band Nevermore during its existence from 1991 to 2011, as well as brief tenures in its precursor, Sanctuary (band) ...
*
Marco Minnemann
Marco Minnemann (born 24 December 1970) is a German drummer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist.
Career
Marco Minnemann has released over a dozen solo albums as drummer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist, and performed on over 100 studio alb ...
*
Mike Patton
Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, producer, film composer and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band Faith No More. Noted for his vocal proficiency, diverse singing techni ...
*
Matt Pike
Matt may refer to:
*Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt
*In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance)
*Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...
*
Cam Pipes
Cam Pipes is a Canadian musician who performed as the lead vocalist and bassist in the heavy metal band 3 Inches of Blood. He performs a falsetto vocal style reminiscent of Udo Dirkschneider and King Diamond. Pipes was the only member of 3 Inch ...
*
Samoth
Samoth (born Tomas Thormodsæter Haugen, 9 June 1974) is a Norwegian guitarist and multi-instrumentalist in the country's black metal scene. He is well known for his distinct guitar work and drumming in the band Emperor, as well as his formatio ...
*
Troy Sanders
Troy Jayson Sanders (born September 8, 1973) is an American musician, best known as a member of heavy metal band Mastodon, in which he plays bass and sings alongside guitarist Brent Hinds and drummer Brann Dailor. He is also active in Killer ...
*
Joe Satriani
Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his ...
*
Ben Shepherd
Hunter Benedict Shepherd (born September 20, 1968) is an American musician, best known as the bassist of the rock band Soundgarden from 1990 to 2019. Shepherd has won two Grammy Awards as a member of Soundgarden.
Early life
Shepherd was bo ...
*
Silenoz
Silenoz (born Sven Atle Kopperud, 1 March 1977) is a Norwegian guitarist who is a founding member, along with Shagrath and Tjodalv, of the Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir of which he is the primary songwriter. He is also guita ...
*
Slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash ...
*
Steve Smyth
''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen
Notable people with the name include:
steve jops
* Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people
* Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people
* Steve ...
*
Kim Thayil
Kim Anand Thayil (born September 4, 1960) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he co-founded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984. Cornell and Thayil ...
*
Trym Torson
Kai Johnny Mosaker (born 1974), known professionally as Trym Torson or just Trym, is a Norwegian drummer, formerly with Zyklon. Torson started playing in the Viking metal band Enslaved and was later invited to play in black metal band Emperor. ...
*
Devin Townsend
Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also ...
*
Steve Vai
Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for ...
*
Dweezil Zappa
Dweezil Zappa (born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa; September 5, 1969) is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Dweezil deve ...
Other guest stars
Besides the metal and rock musicians above, other celebrities have also contributed to this show, including:
*
Samantha Eggar
Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar (born 5 March 1939) is a retired British-American actress. After beginning her career in Shakespearean theatre she rose to fame for her performance in William Wyler's thriller '' The Collec ...
*
Chris Elliott
Christopher Nash Elliott (born May 31, 1960) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He appeared in comedic sketches on '' Late Night with David Letterman'' (1982–1988), created and starred in the comedy series '' Get a Life'' (1990–1992) ...
*
Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Marie Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on the now-defunct Air America Radio's ''The Majority Report''.
Garofalo began her career as a stand-up comedian and became a cast member on ...
*
Jon Hamm
Jonathan Daniel Hamm (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Don Draper in the period drama television series ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Televisi ...
*
Pat Healy Patrick Healy, Pat Healy, Patrick Healey or Pat Healey may refer to:
* Felix Healy (Patrick Joseph Healy, born 1955), former Northern Irish football player and manager
* Pat Healy (actor) (born 1971), American actor, writer, and director
* Pat H ...
*
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with un ...
*
Frankie Ingrassia
Francesca "Frankie" Ingrassia is an American actress of Sicilian-Italian origin. Raised in Los Angeles, she is known for her role in Alexander Payne's ''Election.'' Her first directed feature film is '' Vampire Dad'' which was released in June ...
*
Marc Maron
Marcus David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' and has appeared more than forty ...
*
Christopher McCulloch
Christopher "Chris" McCulloch (born September 14, 1971), also known by the pseudonym Jackson Publick, is an American voice actor, writer, director, producer, and storyboard artist. He is known for his work on several ''Tick'' properties and fo ...
* Byron Minns
*
Laraine Newman
Laraine Newman (born March 2, 1952) is an American actress, writer and comedian. She was part of the original cast of NBC's ''Saturday Night Live''. She took an interest at improv in high school. After graduating, she studied mime with Marcel M ...
*
Patton Oswalt
Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is known as Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and for narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–present) as ...
*
"Dr. Drew" Pinsky
*
Brian Posehn
Brian Edmund Posehn (; born July 6, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, musician, and writer. After numerous appearances as a television guest star, Posehn acquired his first major recurring role in HBO's '' Mr. Show wi ...
*
Andy Richter
Paul Andrew Richter (born October 28, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and talk show announcer. He is best known as the sidekick for Conan O'Brien on each of O'Brien's talk shows: '' Late Night'' and ''The Tonight Show'' on NBC an ...
*
Laura Silverman
Laura Jane Silverman (born June 10, 1966) is an American actress and the older sister of actress and comedian Sarah Silverman. She acted in '' Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic'' and ''The Sarah Silverman Program'' portraying a fictionalized versi ...
*
Amber Tamblyn
Amber Rose Tamblyn (born May 14, 1983) is an American actress and writer. She first came to national attention in her role on the soap opera ''General Hospital'' as Emily Quartermaine at the age of 11. She followed with a starring role on the pr ...
*
James Urbaniak
James Christian Urbaniak (born September 17, 1963) is an American character actor. He is best known for his roles as Simon Grim in three Hal Hartley films: '' Henry Fool'' (1997), '' Fay Grim'' (2006) and '' Ned Rifle'' (2014), Robert Crumb in ...
* Raya Yarbrough
Episodes
International broadcast
In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, ''Metalocalypse'' previously aired on
Teletoon
Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and " cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts ...
's
Teletoon at Night
Teletoon at Night (stylized as TELEToON AT NiGHT and formerly known as Teletoon's Adult Block, The Detour On Teletoon and Teletoon Detour) was a Canadian English language late night programming block that aired on Teletoon, which is owned by Tel ...
block and later
G4's
Adult Digital Distraction
Adult Digital Distraction (ADd) is a block airing on G4 Canada. Similar to Adult Swim and Teletoon at Night, Adult Digital Distraction airs mature comedies. It parallels the American counterpart's ''Midnight Spank'' block. Its programming consist ...
block. The series currently airs on the
Canadian version of Adult Swim.
Music
The show includes music written under the name Dethklok by Brendon Small, often in the form of incidental music, and songs about the subjects of the episode in which they are featured, although three albums have since been released compiling full songs from the show. An EP titled ''
Adult Swim Presents: ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead on Tour with Dethklok'' was released in 2007.
''The Dethalbum''
''The Dethalbum'' was released on September 25, 2007, in both standard and deluxe editions. The album is a combination of full-length tracks from the series and completely new songs. The album debuted at #21 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart with nearly 34,000 copies sold in its first week. ''The Dethalbum'' was also streamed 45,000 times when it went live on AOL Music during the week of its release.
''Dethalbum II''
''Dethalbum II'' was released on September 29, 2009, in both standard and deluxe editions. The album includes many songs from the second season of the series and completely new songs. The deluxe version includes a DVD containing music videos for all the songs played during Dethklok's 2008 tour with
Soilent Green
Soilent Green is an American extreme metal band formed in 1988 in Chalmette/ Metairie on the suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana. Described as a sludge metal and grindcore band, the group blends elements of death metal, black metal, hardcor ...
and
Chimaira
Chimaira () is an American heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in August 1998, the group was a member of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal scene. The band's name is derived from the word Chimera, a monstrous creature in Greek myth ...
.
''Dethalbum III''
''Dethalbum III'' was released on October 16, 2012. The album features Brendon Small, Gene Hoglan and Bryan Beller.
Ulrich Wild co-produced and mixed the album.
''The Doomstar Requiem''
''The Doomstar Requiem'' was released on October 29, 2013. It is the soundtrack album to the ''Metalocalypse'' special ''
Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem''. The album features Brendon Small, Bryan Beller, Gene Hoglan, a 50-piece orchestra and, for the first time on a Dethklok album, live Dethklok guitarist
Mike Keneally
Michael Joseph Keneally (born December 20, 1961) is an American session guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist and composer.
Early years and musical influences
Keneally started playing music at the age of 7 when he received an electric organ for h ...
. The series has been made available for on-demand streaming on Hulu Plus, as part of a deal made with Hulu and Turner Broadcasting.
Endorsements
Dethklok
Dethklok is a fictional melodic death metal band featured in the Adult Swim animated television series ''Metalocalypse''.
The first official Dethklok album was released on September 25, 2007, entitled '' The Dethalbum''. The album debuted at n ...
, the in-show band, also endorses several real-world music products, including
Marshall Amplification
Marshall is a British company that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, speaker cabinets, brands personal headphones and earphones, drums and bongos. The company also owns a record label called Marshall Records. It was founded in London ...
,
Gibson guitars
Gibson may refer to:
People
* Gibson (surname)
Businesses
* Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment
* Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based
* G ...
,
EMG pickups
EMG, Inc. is the current legal name of a company based in Santa Rosa, California that manufactures guitar pickups and EQ accessories. Among guitar and bass accessories, the company sells active humbucker pickups, such as the EMG 81, the EMG 85 ...
, David Eden Amplification, Universal Audio, M-Audio, Dunlop Manufacturing/MXR, and Line 6 (company), Line 6 gear.
Originally endorsing Krank Amplification, Brendon Small and Dethklok began an arrangement with Marshall Amplification, Marshall in 2009.
According to the official Dethklok MySpace, the Gibson Guitar Corporation was also planning on making a Dethklok signature guitar. During the 2008 NAMM Convention, a special edition Epiphone Gibson Explorer, Explorer was unveiled to a select few. Pictures of show creator
Brendon Small
Brendon Small (born February 15, 1975) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, animator, writer, director, producer, and musician known for co-creating the animated series ''Home Movies'' (1999–2004, with Loren Bouchard) and '' Metalocalypse'' ...
holding the guitar can be seen on the internet. Small later confirmed that Gibson, not Epiphone, would be releasing a Dethklok Explorer. A ''Dethklok "Thunderhorse" Gibson Explorer, Explorer'' has been released by Gibson Guitar Corporation, Gibson; it would later become Skwisgaar's main guitar on the show. In May 2012, Brendon Small revealed a prototype for the new ''Brendon Small "Snow Falcon" Gibson Flying V, Flying V'', it now serves as Toki Wartooth's primary guitar on the show. The guitar was released in December 2013 by Gibson. In December 2016, an Epiphone version was released.
At NAMM 2013 Brendon Small revealed that an Epiphone version of the ''Dethklok "Thunderhorse" Explorer'' was in production. It was released in April 2013 as the ''Brendon Small "Thunderhorse" Explorer''.
On October 25, 2014, Brendon Small premiered the prototype of the Gibson Dethklok "Snow Horse" Explorer, a silver burst Gibson Explorer modelled after one of Skwisgaar's guitars.
In 2007, Shocker Toys produced a limited run of statues of William Murderface and Nathan Explosion. In 2008 and again in 2009, Shocker Toys made a boxed set of vinyl figures with limited articulation of all 5 of the band members.
Kid Robot produced unarticulated figures of Murderface and Toki as part of an Adult Swim blind boxed mini figure line. At the 2009 San Diego Comic Con, Shocker Toys released an exclusive limited edition Dr. Rockso Shocker Toys#Mallows, Mallow.
The song "Thunderhorse" is featured in the game ''Guitar Hero II'' by Harmonix and RedOctane as a bonus song. In early 2010, Adult Swim released a "Dethklok Fountain" for sale on their website for $40,000. In January 2010, "Laser Canon Deth Sentence" became a downloadable song for ''Guitar Hero 5''. "Bloodlines" is on the main setlist in ''Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock''.
Dethklok was featured in Soundgarden's video for "Black Rain (Soundgarden song), Black Rain", which Small directed. Dethklok's 2009 tour with Mastodon was sponsored by ''Brütal Legend'' and the song "Murmaider" was featured in the game. The song "The Cyborg Slayers" was featured in the soundtrack for the game ''Saints Row: The Third''.
There are guitar tablature books for all three Dethklok albums, which were released through Alfred Publishing. A bass tab anthology containing tablature from the first two albums was also released through Alfred Publishing. The production of these books has subsequently led to the removal of all Dethklok tabs from websites such as Ultimate Guitar.
On August 17, 2012, a two-minute animated short aired on Adult Swim featuring Dethklok and Death from ''Darksiders II'', in promotion of the game.
On September 25, 2013, an animated short featuring Dethklok, entitled "'Tallica Parking Lot" (a reference to ''Heavy Metal Parking Lot''), premiered at Fantastic Fest.
On April 28, 2015, the Dethklok songs "Awaken", "Go into the Water" and "Thunderhorse" became available for download in the video game ''Rocksmith 2014'' as part of the "Dethklok 3-Song Pack". Small appeared in an advert for the game in 2016 along with comedian
Steve Agee
Steven Douglas Agee (; born February 26, 1969) is an American comedian, actor, writer and musician, known for roles including Steve Myron on the Comedy Central series ''The Sarah Silverman Program'' and as John Economos in the 2021 superhero fil ...
playing the song "Go into the Water". Later, on April 3, 2018, the songs "Black Fire Upon Us", "Bloodlines" and "Murmaider" were added as part of the "Dethklok II" song pack.
Touring history
Dethklok does have a touring band, although there are no actual human counterparts to the characters on the show. The band consists of show co-creator, vocalist/guitarist
Brendon Small
Brendon Small (born February 15, 1975) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, animator, writer, director, producer, and musician known for co-creating the animated series ''Home Movies'' (1999–2004, with Loren Bouchard) and '' Metalocalypse'' ...
, who writes and sings most of the music for the show, alongside drummer
Gene Hoglan
Eugene Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967) is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his pla ...
, bassist Bryan Beller, and second guitarist
Mike Keneally
Michael Joseph Keneally (born December 20, 1961) is an American session guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist and composer.
Early years and musical influences
Keneally started playing music at the age of 7 when he received an electric organ for h ...
.
Home media release
The series is also available on
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
since May 27, 2020.
Video games
In 2009 the UK Adult Swim site released two flash games titled ''Deth Toll'' and ''Deth Toll II''. The games are played in a similar fashion to Guitar Hero or Rock Band (video game), Rock Band except with Dethklok songs.
A video game based on the series, titled ''Metalocalypse: Dethgame'', was revealed at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con. The game was to be published by Konami and be available for download on both the PlayStation 3's PlayStation Network and Xbox 360's Xbox Live Marketplace. Players would have played as one of The Gears, and the game was to be set in Mordhaus, where the player would fight mutant fans. The game would have included music taken from Dethklok's albums. The game has been canceled, because "the creative direction of the game would not live up to the high standards...set for the project".
The Dethklok songs "Thunderhorse" and "Bloodlines" are featured in the video games ''Guitar Hero II'' and ''Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock'', respectively. Additionally, the Dethklok song "Laser Cannon Deth Sentence" was added to ''Warriors of Rock'' as downloadable content. The song "Murmaider" was included in the soundtrack to the 2009 video game ''Brütal Legend''.
Comic book
The ''Dethklok vs. The Goon'' (One-shot (comics), one-shot) was issued by Dark Horse Comics on July 23, 2009. Written by Brendon Small and Eric Powell (comics), Eric Powell. Dethklok is sent into the same universe as The Goon, who seeks to kill them.
The next day, Dark Horse announced a forthcoming short-run Dethklok series in collaboration with Adult Swim, which appeared the next year.
*Dethklok #1, October 6, 2010. Written by Brendon Small, Jon Schnepp and Jeremy Barlow. Dethklok decides to venture into the frozen food market with Dethklok frozen dinners, though after many setbacks, the band releases lethally poisonous food on their fans.
*Dethklok #2, December 15, 2010. Written by Brendon Small, Jon Schnepp and Jeremy Barlow. Dethklok returns to Finland to apologize for their last visit when they awakened a troll, while a cult of troll worshippers plan to use the band to unleash end times through the trolls once again.
*Dethklok #3, February 23, 2011. Written by Brendon Small, Jon Schnepp and Jeremy Barlow. Dethklok builds a cross-country train to help blues legend Mashed Potatoes Johnson get out of his deal with Satan over his soul, while a ghost of a train-riding murderer is about to send things off the rails.
All four comics appeared with Variant cover, variant cover art by Eric Powell and Jon Schnepp. The ''Dethklok HC'' deluxe hardcover collected the four comics and was released June 15, 2011.
See also
*
*
References
External links
*
*
Official tumblrOfficial MyspaceOfficial Adult Swim with Metalocalypse section YouTube
Metalocalypse on Adult Swim UK (Archived URL)Original link
{{Williams Street
Metalocalypse,
2000s American adult animated television series
2000s American black comedy television series
2000s American musical comedy television series
2010s American adult animated television series
2010s American black comedy television series
2010s American musical comedy television series
2006 American television series debuts
2013 American television series endings
American adult animated comedy television series
American adult animated musical television series
Anime-influenced Western animated television series
American flash adult animated television series
English-language television shows
Adult Swim original programming
Heavy metal television series
Television series by Williams Street
Television series created by Brendon Small