Interview by Kris Peters
Often life imitates art, but seldom in the way it has with melodic death metal band Dethklok who were literally given life via an animated television series when their popularity transcended the medium for which it was created, resulting in the forming of an actual band of the same name to continue the legacy that was growing rapidly before them.
Basically, Dethklok is a fictional melodic death metal band featured in the Adult Swim animated television series Metalocalypse, known for its satirical or parodic lyrical themes. Having transformed from a screen sensation into a real-life dynamic force, these mind-blowing shows will display the unique blend of savage instrumentation and comedic genius that has captivated audiences across the globe.
Live, DETHKLOK is a multi-media powerhouse that showcases animation, comedy and brutality, excellently recreating the popular albums and animated visuals in a live atmosphere, with Australian fans of the band and/or show getting the chance to witness the band in a live setting for the first time when Dethklok descend upon this country for the Awaken Australia Tour this April.
HEAVY had the pleasure of catching up with musician and show co-creator Brendon Small ahead of the shows to delve deeper into the life, birth and sustainability of Dethklok.
"Our show is a really exciting show," he enthused. "It's not like any other heavy metal show. We play to picture, meaning we bring in a giant movie theatre screen into the venue and every down beat coincides with a cut because we're honouring the ouvre of the entire piece of Metalocalypse. I've got Gene Hoglan on drums - a legendary metal drummer - who is the perfect guy for this gig because he is driving the entire piece. It's a complicated show for us to do as musicians. We don't look anything like the animated band (smiles) and we're not meant to. But as it turns out we sound exactly like them. So what you'll see on stage is a bunch of shadows but you're going to be attracted to the big star of the show, which is the animated piece that we show you."
In the full interview, Brendon takes us behind the scenes of the performance in greater detail, explains the moving parts that come together to make it work, gives us a history on the band and animated series and how they fit together, talks about some of the guest stars they have had on the show, reveals his early vision behind the project and how it changed over the years, the dynamics between portraying a character and actually performing, future plans and more.
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