Posted on: September 5, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Dethklok – Dethalbum / 2007 Williams Street / 16 Tracks / http://www.adultswim.com/

Metalocalypse is my favorite show on Adult Swim, and ranks right up there with Duckman and The Critic for being the best animated show of all time. I received the CD one day after stopping at the post office to pick up my pile of packages, and slipped it in before I went on a trip back to my parents’ house. What I heard was the best fucking metal album of all time. Literally. This is coming from someone who has listen to hundreds of different metal and hybrid types of albums. Anyways, the music that is on the “Dethalbum” blends together extended versions of tracks from the show (“Go Into The Water”, “Go Forth and Die”, “Fansong” being among those ranks) and new songs (“Better Metal Snake”, “The Lost Vikings”, “Bloodrocuted”).

What is the strongest point of the disc has to be the fact that Dethklok goes through different styles of metal. “Bloodrocuted” hearkens back to the days of Anthrax and Public Enemy, while “Hatredcopter” is a pure exercise in mid-eighties metal. I know this is insider slang, but Dethklok has made this into a real, viable metal album. The review copy I got even SOUNDED like a metal album’s review copy, in that there was a disembodied voice mentioning the title of the album every two or three minutes. Of particular note in the new side of things has to be “Murmaider”, which drives forth something as simple as a list into listeners’ ears, and “The Lost Vikings”, which treads into progressive metal territory. The early runs of the “Dethalbum” will have extra footage, the complete first episode of the second season, and the music video for “Bloodrocuted”.

I am a mite pissed, as my copy of the disc does not come with that video; regardless, the music present is absolutely amazing, and I think Brendon Small and Tommy Blancha would do well to go the Gorillaz route and tour. The orchestral ending to the album allows the band to extend their sound, as well as giving individuals hope that there will be more in the way of albums cut under that name.  Check the “Dethalbum” out if you are a fan of the show, and check out the show when it premieres in late September or early October. I guess its’ time for “real” metal bands to step up their games a little, as this seriously has been in my car for a few weeks already.

Top Tracks: Bloodrocution, The Lost Vikings

Rating: 9.5/10

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