Dethklok
is both a fictional death metal band featured in the Adult Swim animated program Metalocalypse
, created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha, and a virtual band [1] created to perform the band's music in live shows. [2] The band is sometimes cited as an example of "comedy rock" on par with bands such as GWAR and Spinal Tap. The first Dethklok album was released on September 25 2007, entitled The Dethalbum
. The music heard on Metalocalypse is performed by Brendon Small, with others as needed. Small and drummer Gene Hoglan performed on the album. [3] The album debuted at #21 on the Billboard Top 200 list. [4] According to the band's official MySpace blog, as well as Brendon Small's MySpace blog, Brendon has finished recording The Dethalbum II
, to be released September 29th, and is busy establishing the live line-up for the next tour.
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EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
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Fictional background
In the
Metalocalypse
series, Dethklok is depicted as an extremely popular and successful death metal band, described by their adversaries, the
Tribunal, as the "world's greatest cultural force." The band's fan base includes millions of
metal fanatics, who frequently endanger themselves to watch the band perform live.
[5] [6] With their widespread commercial success and lucrative
sponsorship contracts, Dethklok is ranked as the world's seventh largest economy (by the end of the second season).
[7]
The members of Dethklok are often portrayed as incompetent at almost everything not related to their profession. The band struggles to perform everyday tasks, including shopping for
groceries, preparing food, and maintaining proper social relationships. They are often assisted by their manager and lawyer, Charles Foster Ofdensen, who frequently attempts to prevent the band from making poor decisions. The band's actions and uncanny misfortune have caught the attention of an
Illuminati-style council, known as The Tribunal. The Tribunal is portrayed as Dethklok's antagonist throughout the series, and secretly monitor their actions in almost every episode.
Fictional members of the band
Nathan Explosion
Nathan Explosion (voiced by
Brendon Small) is the
frontman,
lead vocalist and "
lyrical visionary" of Dethklok. Portrayed as a tall figure, with long black hair and green eyes, Nathan always speaks in a deep, gravelly voice, even when not singing. He is apparently the lead
songwriting force in Dethklok, and uses violent imagery or plot elements when writing and composing song material.
Small described Nathan as a "
quarterback", and based his character's appearance and performance style on
Cannibal Corpse vocalist
George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher.
[8]
Skwisgaar Skwigelf
Skwisgaar Skwigelf (voiced by
Brendon Small) is Dethklok's
lead guitarist. He is described as, "a handsome guy who thinks he's the greatest thing in the world", with a little bit of
Yngwie Malmsteen in his attitude.
He has long blond hair and blue eyes, and plays a
Gibson Explorer, which he often carries around even when not playing. He is known to be the fastest guitar player in the world. Hailing from
Sweden, Skwisgaar possesses a heavy
Swedish accent. He is responsible for the majority of the
arrangement of Dethklok's songs, writing the guitar lines as well as Murderface's bass lines.
Toki Wartooth
Toki Wartooth (voiced by
Tommy Blacha) is Dethklok's
rhythm guitarist and
keyboardist. He typically plays a
Gibson Flying V. A native of
Norway, he has a distinct whisker-like style of mustache known as the
Fu Manchu, long brown hair and very pale
blue eyes.
Small explained Toki's relationship with Skwisgaar as "...Norwegian to Skwisgaar's Swedish, pompous attitude. And, again, a second-class citizen in the same band."
, and compared his guitar playing style to that of Iron Maiden.
Mikael Åkerfeldt of
progressive death metal band
Opeth told
Ultimate-Guitar.com
that he received an email from Toki, which confirmed that his character borrowed Åkerfeldt's likeness.
[9]
Pickles
Pickles (voiced by
Brendon Small) is Dethklok's
drummer. He was raised in
Tomahawk, Wisconsin and speaks with a
Yooper dialect. He refers to himself as "very
Irish American" and has
red hair, styled into
dreadlocks and a
comb-over skullet, and green eyes. He is depicted as having an average build with a slight
beer belly. Describing the character, Small said, "I thought the drummer should be able to do a bunch of stuff, like
Roger Taylor in
Queen. Even though it's not based on his personality, it's what he can do in the band and what parts of the songs he does contribute to."
William Murderface
William Murderface (Full name "William Murderface Murderface Murderface") (voiced by
Tommy Blacha) is Dethklok's
bassist. He plays a
Gibson Thunderbird Studio 5-string. He has brown hair, green eyes, a heavy
lateral lisp and a
diastema. Murderface's father killed his wife with a chainsaw before turning it upon himself in front of Murderface in a grisly
murder-suicide. Murderface is "a self-hating bass player who's always trying to act like he's more important than he is," in part because his bass playing is usually mixed out completely.
Brendon Small describes Murderface as "thin-skinned and incredibly sensitive and just wants to be accepted constantly but can’t get that because he’s such a dick and pushes people away".
[10] Murderface's voice was originally achieved by Tommy Blacha putting paper towels inside his mouth when voicing the character, but he has since refined his technique to avoid the paper towels.
[11]
Actual band
Current members
- Brendon Small — vocals, guitars, bass guitar, keyboards
- Gene Hoglan — drums (2007–present)
Touring members
- Mike Keneally — guitar, backing vocals (2007–present)
- Bryan Beller — bass, backing vocals (2007–present)
Tour
In late 2007, Adult Swim organized a promotional tour featuring Dethklok and
…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead.
[12] The tour was comprised performances at twelve college campuses, with tickets available to students only (except for 50 tickets set aside for the UCLA show in the Los Angeles area). The band featured
Brendon Small, guitarist
Mike Keneally, bassist
Bryan Beller and drummer
Gene Hoglan. Tour information was made available on October 15, through Adult Swim's promotional site, http://www.adultswimpresents.com .
[13] In an interview with Ultimate Guitar, Brendon Small described the tour as being "like
Gorillaz, with the animated characters" with Small's ensemble of musicians performing visibly.
[14]
During a February 10, 2008 interview on California radio station Indie 103.1 with Full Metal Jackie, plans for a summer 2008 tour were announced. Brendon Small described the tour as being like "a Disney ride but with murder." Dethklok toured the U.S. in June and early July with
Chimaira and
Soilent Green. 27 dates were released on April 11, 2008.
[15]
During the June 5th show at the
Fillmore in San Francisco, CA, an electrical fire broke out during
Soilent Green's set. The concert was immediately halted and the building was evacuated. Many of the fans resisted leaving the club, thinking it was a hoax which created a potentially dangerous and deadly situation
should the fire have spread. After the fire department came it was made official that due to fire damage to the buildings electrical systems that the club was to be closed. The concert goers were not allowed back into the building and the show was rescheduled for the following Monday, June 9, minus the opening bands.
A third tour for
The Dethalbum II will start on October 2nd, 2009, and tour dates can be found on their official myspace. Dethklok will tour fall 2009 with
Mastodon,
Converge and
High on Fire [16].
[17]
Discography
Studio albums
- The Dethalbum
(2007)
- The Dethalbum II
(2009)
Music videos
Year
| Song
| Director(s)
| Album
|
2007
| "Bloodrocuted"
| Jon Schnepp & Brendon Small
| The Dethalbum
|
2008
| "Murmaider"
| Jon Schnepp
|
2009
| "Bloodlines"
| Jon Schnepp
| The Dethalbum II
|
References
- The Virtual Death Metal Stars Of "Metalocalypse" Check In From The Road
- allmusic.com
- "Strapping young lad's Gene Hoglan laying down tracks for Dethklok album" December 23, 2006.
- "Dethalbum Debuts At #21 On Billboard Top 200" October 9, 2007
- "The Curse of Dethklok". ''Metalocalypse''. No 1, season 1. (August 6, 2006) "Reporter: They are called pain waivers. Fans are signing their lives away releasing Dethlok from any and all liability."
- Interview: Dethklok
- Seen Your Video: Dethklok, “Mermaider”
- Metalocalypse Now
- "Opeth: 'The Band Will Continue For As Long As There's Good Material In Us'", interview by Duncan Geddes. Retrieved November 22 2007.
- http://www.synthesis.net/music/interview/item-7111/2008-07-17-metalocalypse
- http://emusician.com/interviews/metalocalypse_now_bonus/
- "[1]" September 18, 2007.
- adult swim - dethklok tour
- Dethklok's Brendon Small: 'This Show Is For Guitar Geeks' | Interviews @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com
- Dethklok, Chimaira, Soilent Green tour // News // Lambgoat
- [1] Babbermouth.net 2009 Tour Annoucement
- Des Moines Register Music notes: July 30