Metalocalypse

...& a very dark sense of humor. I have not a clue as to how Brendon Small's "Home Movies" went on for 5 years, but apparently, people liked it enough. Metalocalypse is the opposite. Instead of life lessons learned, we usually wind up with lessons on death. Instead of generic characters, we have evil, war like creatures and the most eccentric characters this side of hell. Drugs, decapitations, and much dismemberment is just a slice of what goes on in a typical 11 minute episode of it. It's very adult, and if a 5 year old watches 1 minute of this, they will grow up to kill you. Ha.

Clever writing exists here, as it fills in generous amounts of the life & times of a Death metal band, Dethklok. It's kind of like "This Is Spinal Tap", but with blood, an Illuminati type group that wants to stop them, the coolest manager you have ever seen, clowns and cocaine, & lots and lots of more blood. Likewise, the humor is hard, but absolutely hilarious. Hell, even the music is good. Amid the mesmerizing, sometimes repetitive nature of the visuals, it is like a train wreck that you can't peel away from. Or, more precisely, an airplane that's caught in a storm, loses it's engines and about to crash into a train, somewhere over a gas line, and very close to a very large crowd of people all gathering for some useless cause. That's a lot of death. And that is a very good thing.

I've read some pretty bad comments of this show and I've gotta say, I definitely don't agree. In no way shape or form is this show trying to cash in on the randomness of jokes like Chuck Norris or ninjas or pirates or whatever. And this show doesn't make fun of metal. Trying to make it a broad of view of Brendon Small downing metal bands is a terrible accusation. The show has some of the funniest dialog on Adult Swim. Sure the show has a lot of randomness in the first episode, but it's a friggin' 11 min. show. Send out your own message in 15 minutes and I'll send you a delicious cookie. The two Norweigins in the show are freakin hilarious, Nathan Explosion rules, Pickles, unfortunately seems to be the brains of the group and William Murderface Murderface Murderface is a nihilist. So before you listen to these clowns, saying the show sucks, watch the show decide for yourself before any of these other guys tell you what you think of the show. Besides that, the music kicks ass. Keep it Harsh.

This show kicks ass. If you are a fan of metal, then you'll like this show. Its very random, but funny as hell. I read other comments saying it was dumb because its funny, and because its "poorly" created. I'm sure Brendon Small realizes its "poorly" created. I highly doubt its a matter of how much it costs, but to make it funnier to watch. The music is brilliant. Even more knowing Brendon Small does it all. Its about time there was a show about metal. This is probably the best turn Adult Swim has ever made. And for everyone who says its dumb, its a god damn cartoon. Shut the hell up. If you don't like it so much, don't watch it. The only way you would be able to point out all these "mistakes" was if you watched more than one episode, considering its only a 15 min show.

First of all, in regards to the comment about how the show sucks....The show doesn't make fun of metal...the writer of the show writes and plays the songs, members of nevermore, arch enemy, and other bands do voice overs, they even got Kind Diamond, the show is supported by Gibson guitars and Krank amps, this show doesn't bash metal, its a fiction show about metal, and how brutal and bad ass this band is, this band is how every metal band wishes they could be, i mean you say the show is all about gore and violence but isn't that what death metal is about? i mean listen to the lyrics of death metal bands like Cannibal Corpse, Necrophagist, Children of Bodom, etc. the lyrics aren't about rainbows and showering the world with puppies. its brutal and about death and hate and isolation and pain. This show captures all that is metal. The songs are amazing, so is the animation, i mean they even make the animated guitar playing accurate to how the song is played in real life, you can't even bash the animation. The songs have awesome riff, good solos, sweet drumming, and killer vocals. This show makes me want to be in a brutal metal band. You can bash it all you want but this show isn't making fun of metal its trying to raise metal up. This show rocks.

Adult Swim has added a number of new shows in the last two years, and people have had all sorts of reactions. Regardless of whatever reaction a person may have to Metalocalypse, you have to admit that it will get your attention once or twice.

Without parroting the same praise others have given the show, I'll say that the reason it's so intensely hilarious is because it takes five very well defined characters illustrative of classic metal personalities and brings them down to earth, readily accessible, and just waiting to screw up horribly in everything else they do. No matter how well or ill intended they are in their non-metal deeds, they invariably amplify the horror of the every day human experience. When we sit down and watch, we're just dying to see what the death-toll will be.

Some people have said that the humor in Metalocalypse is "too simple", or "too tasteless"; I can't really argue much with the latter because gore is a running gag, but I'd hardly dismiss it as "simple". Granted, unless you're aware of metal archetypes and racial stereotypes of Scandinavians, you're going to miss a lot of the "inside jokes" and things may get boring. Nevertheless, if you watch from the beginning and keep each previous episode in mind as you watch the next, it'll all make sense. That's one of the reasons I'm absolutely enamored with Metalocalypse. The prevalent attitude coming from its creators is not smug or exclusive or stuck-up, and it doesn't feel like they're trying too hard to be funny. Everything strikes me as being quite innate and not at all forced or deliberate.

If you ask me, metal itself is a pretty pretentious genre. Like gangsta rap, metal personalities are almost invariably malignant. Luminaries of either genre have always portrayed themselves as infallible gods who know no wrong, and can do no wrong. A quick study of any celebrity culture in any country indicates that so many of these people are terminally narcissistic and histrionic, ready to take full advantage of us little people. Rather than fume while resenting it, we can make fun of them and remind them that they still use toilets and make stupid mistakes.

Many people have compared Metalocalypse to "This Is Spinal Tap", and I can see that. I can sooner see a comparison to "CB4", though. I would've loved it if some genius had managed to make CB4 into a series on Adult Swim. Same concept, slightly different details. Point being, it's a great deal of fun to plot through the "real, dumb lives" of people who believe themselves to be living gods.

In any case, I absolutely love the show and measure my weeks in terms of Fix premieres and Sunday night airings. This is the best new show on the network, and I hope its creators take full license when creating more episodes. There is a host of potential in Metalocalypse because metal itself will never go away, nor will the personalities behind it. If I don't get at least another season or two, I'll just develop dysthymia.