BRENDON SMALL On DETHKLOK's Live Show: 'I Want This To Feel Like An Immersive Ride'

In a new interview with Inlander, Brendon Small, co-creator of "Metalocalypse", the hit animated series on Adult Swim featuring the fictitious metal band DETHKLOK, was asked what people who haven't seen DETHKLOK live before can expect from the group's live shows. He responded: "I think of this as a trifecta of entertainment. One is the TV show, two is the music, and three is the live music. And I think each one of them needs to stand on their own — that's what I'm hoping for. So if you don't know anything about TV show and you don't know anything about the records, you'll still enjoy this show. The other idea is that I want this to feel like an immersive ride, like the 'Terminator 2' experience at Universal Studios. You're kind of participating with a group of people watching a little bit of a story unfold, but you're ultimately going on a roller coaster ride. There's a high-value production, and it feels like you're being entertained within an inch of your life the entire evening. That's why we have this [spring 2024] tour with NEKROGOBLIKON and DRAGONFORCE because they're both somewhat theatrical. I thought, 'Let's bring some theater and some fun into this crazy, fucked-up world' because I know you guys all like it."

He continued: "We're kind of like the [orchestra] pit with the ballet, you know? We're performing and making contact with the audience even though we're meant to be in the shadows. You shouldn't really be seeing me physically associated with this project because I'm just a regular person. I'm not exciting. There's nothing wrong with me, but I don't want to break the spell."

"Metalocalypse" is a cartoon series about a fictional death metal band called DETHKLOK that's bigger (and far more powerful) than THE BEATLES. The show ran for seven seasons, with the final episode being an hour-long rock opera, "The Doomstar Requiem".

After "Metalocalypse"'s rise in popularity, Small assembled DETHKLOK as an actual live band to play the music featured on the show, with Small himself handling vocals and guitar.

DETHKLOK's first three albums charted in the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 and the third release, "Dethalbum III", peaked at No. 10, making it the highest-charting death metal album of all time. In addition, "The Doomstar Requiem: A Klok Opera Soundtrack" made it to No. 7 on Billboard's soundtrack chart in 2013.

After several years of dormancy, DETHKLOK returned last year with a new album, "Dethalbum IV" and an animated movie, "Metalocalypse: Army Of The Doomstar". It was hard fought since Adult Swim abruptly pulled the plug on "Metalocalypse" show a decade ago, despite its rabid following amongst the metal crowd, many of whom came to appreciate the show's regular easter eggs and voice appearances from the likes of King Diamond, METALLICA's Kirk Hammett and CANNIBAL CORPSE's George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher. Indeed, "Metalocalypse" may be the only quasi-mainstream show to be truly catered to a metal audience, which can explain its enduring popularity and the steady drumbeat of requests for its revival.

DETHKLOK's "Mutilation On A Spring Night" tour kicked off on April 7 and will run through May 3. The trek, produced by Live Nation, is seeing support from the aforementioned DRAGONFORCE and NEKROGOBLIKON.

Last year's "Babyklok" co-headlining trek with BABYMETAL was the first DETHKLOK tour in over a decade.