Got any unwanted pennies?

And then while she was having a conversation with some ghetto kids, my mythology teacher was all like, “I wish I could’ve watched Dethklok in Oakland, but I was sick. The last time I ever saw them live was in Dallas when I was still living in Texas.” Wut.

puppiesdoghouse:

Keys: check
Wallet: check
Phone: check
Workboots: check
Hoodie: check
Work ethic: check

GO TO WORK GO TO WORK GO TO WORK GO TO WORK GO TO WORK GO TO WORK…

(Source: planesofkanto)

fuckyeahbrendonsmall:

Dethalbum III review from the fall album review at The Nervous Breakdown

DETHKLOK
Dethalbum III
WILLIAMS STREET

The “biggest band in the world” go for the trifecta

Yes Virginia, there is a Dethklok.

As Metalocalypse continues to attract more and more high-profile attention (including award-winning documentary producer Warner Herzog, Mad Men’s Jon Hamm, and members of nearly every heavy metal band in history), the fictitious death metal supergroup Dethklok has become as in-demand as any “real” band, releasing their own albums and touring with some well-established acts. In fact, the band just announced a tour with All that Remains, The Black Dahlia Murder and Machine Head. Because the show’s conceit is that Dethklok is the most influential band in the world, original songs must be written for each episode, and for it all to work, the songs need to be more than just brutal, they need to be somewhat accessible to viewers who might not appreciate the true, head-splitting carnage of death metal. So the trick has always been to come up with legitimate, hard-hitting metal that can appease the purists while giving newcomers some hooks to grab.

Thankfully for fans of the show and the music, the show’s creator, Brendon Small, happens to be a monster of a shredder, with a terrific capacity for writing epic thrash metal beatdowns. With the help of drummer Gene Hoglan (Testament, Fear Factory, Dark Angel), and producer Ulrich Wild, Small released a full-length debut for Dethklok  (Dethalbum), that peaked at 21 on the Billboard 200. A follow-up, Dethalbum II, scored an even bigger reception, peaking at number 15, because while the lyrics were as preposterous as one could expect from a cartoon band, the music was all business—head-crushing, tightly-focused thrash with death metal vocals and blazing melodic fretwork. Songs like “Go Into the Water,” “Thunderhorse” and “Detharmonic” established that beyond the comedy of the show, the men performing their music could stand toe-to-toe with any metal band of the past twenty years.

This fall also sees Dethklok’s long-awaited tertiary release, Dethalbum III, and having proven their musicianship, the relevant question now is not, “Is it any good,” but “Is it any different?” The answer is “Yes.” And incidentally, it’s the best Dethklok album yet. Small and Hoglan, along with Dethklok’s live bassist, Bryan Beller, launch twelve sonic missiles that build upon the first two records by adding more layers of groove, shifting tempos and aggressive soloing. To call this music “death metal” is misleading, as this sounds far closer to Metallica or Testament than seminal death metal bands Death or Deicide. Opener “I Ejaculate Fire” most closely evokes the first two albums, which is not a bad thing. Small barks out lyrics in a heavy, percussive cadence, and as with other Dethklok classics, his soloing is ten miles past “over-the-top” territory. As Small explained to TNB Music earlier this year, these majestic solos are his way of offsetting the relentless heaviness of the grooves.

The primary difference on Dethalbum III is Small’s fretwork, which takes on a decidedly proggy vibe, most notably on songs like “Ghostqueen” and “Starved,” which hews far closer to Åkerfeldt than Hammett. Grander melodic exploration and more complex song structures expand Dethklok’s sound well past the first two albums without losing the hooks and rhythms that make listening to Dethklok so damned fun. “Impeach God” makes a strong case for greatest Dethklok song yet, with a seething melody that explodes into a thoroughly outrageous solo, before diving back into the rhythm for a wicked, shit-talking breakdown. Don’t be distracted by the cartoon characters; this is one of the best heavy metal albums of 2012. -Joe Daly

Key tracks: “Impeach God,” “I Ejaculate Fire,” “Skyhunter”

For fans of: Testament, Mastodon, Opeth