Overlapping Realitites With BRENDON SMALL From DETHKLOK

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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