After years of bated breaths and unanswered questions, brutal animated death metal band Dethklok have finally returned with what might be the final installment of their insane existence in the new movie Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar and their fourth record, Dethalbum IV, both out today (August 22nd).
Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar comes 10 years after its proceeding chapter Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem, the rock opera that left everyone on a major cliffhanger about what happened to our endearingly asshole-ish band. Dubbed a “dipshit messiah story” by Brendon Small himself, the show creator was determined to bring frontman Nathan Explosion and the rest of band some sense of resolution despite tireless hours of all-encompassing endeavors. Exactly where has the brought the band to after all these years? Emotional maturity.
Small, who caught up with Heavy Consequence prior to the current WGA and SAG strikes, spoke about the evolution of the characters in the Metalocalypse universe from their beginnings in the Adult Swim television series to their current state in Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar.
“Growing up when I grew up, you didn’t express yourself. You didn’t cry. You didn’t do anything, so I think Metalocalypse is kind of an exercise in masculine relationships,” Small said the video interview above. “Part of why I really had to finish this is because that to me was the arc from the beginning—selfish to selfless. Alone to together. That’s the big arc in the series. From corporate money to treating music as a religion. All those arcs have to complete themselves.”
He’s not sure when or if Dethklok will have another resolute chapter to begin, but their current one needed an ending. It’s the way Small wants it to be, not just for the sake of the fans, but for the art of storytelling in general.
“Stories just keep going and going and the same stories just keeping getting told and told and I get it,” Small added. “It’s a more bold move to end the story.”
However, the Metalocalypse mastermind did give Heavy Consequence one hint on how he would continue the journey if the opportunity presented itself.
“I have one idea, and I don’t know if it will ever come to fruition,” Small teased. “There’s a song on the [new] record that embodies what the future would be. I don’t know if it would be as mystical or as crazy, but it would be funny.”
Dethklok are hitting the road supporting the album and film on a co-headlining tour with BABYMETAL. The “BABYKLOK” outing kicks off August 30th in Houston, and runs through a two-night stand October 10th and 11th in Los Angeles. Tickets are available here.
Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar is out now via digital platforms and Blu-ray/DVD, available for purchase here. You can also enter our contest for a chance to win one of two signed Blu-ray copies (contest ends September 12th).
Watch our video interview with Brendon Small above, and enter the aforementioned contest below.
Trouble viewing the video interview in the player above? Watch on YouTube.
