I was really looking forward to a very special concert event: DETHKLOK ON TOUR! Dethklok is the brainchild of writer/musician/producer/voice actor Brendon Small. While it exists as both as an animated/virtual band as well as an actual touring band, it is in fact one of the most unique musical acts on the heavy metal scene. The real Dethklok is composed of Brendon Small on guitar and vocals along with Gene Hoglan on drums, Bryan Beller on bass and also Mike Keneally on guitar. The world's first animated/virtual band from Adult Swim's Metalocalypse, was scheduled for a U.S. tour earlier this year along with co-headliners Lamb of God and Gojira. Unfortunately, it was cancelled in August due to the arrest and trial of Lamb of God's Randy Blythe for manslaughter in Prague. Now Dethklok joins The Black Dahlia Murder , All That Remains and Machine Head on a new U.S. tour which includes 30 dates throughout the Fall and Winter of this year. This Friday, I got to experience this very special multimedia concert event at The House of Blues in Dallas, Texas. The venue is one of the largest clubs/stages in the historic downtown area of Dallas known as the West End. The House of Blues consists of two floors, upstairs is the dining and gift shop, whereas downstairs is the club area with stage and three bar areas.
The concert started at 6:30pm with first up: The Black Dahlia Murder, who played a seemingly short set. Next was All That Remains, whose set utilized the large screen that was set up behind the stage which featured their Skull and Crossed machine gun logo along with scenes of wartime-battlefield footage. Then came Machine Head who got a huge crowd reaction especially during their songs "Locust" and "Halo". Machine Head also took advantage of the multimedia element behind the stage as they embellished their set with stylized animations featuring Medeival-like illustrations along with their family crest logo. Before Dethklok took the stage, roadies dressed as the shows hooded "Klokateers", performed a sound-check. As Dethklok began their set around 9pm, the audience was treated to a multimedia experience featuring originally animated scenes from the Metalocalypse including music video footage and occasional comedic breaks from Metalocalypse support characters like "FaceBones", Dr. Rockzo, "The Rock 'n Roll Clown" and a PSA from Dethklok manager Charles Offdensen. The concert begins with an introduction from the mysterious priest (voiced by Werner Herzog) who summons Dethklok. |
| Pictured L to R: Keneally and Small |
The whole set revolves around a story as the shows main antagonists known as The Tribunal, plan to take over the minds of Dethklok's fans using a "Fat Gas". Starting the concert with, of course, the "Metalocalypse" theme song then straight into the first track from Dethalbum III. The concert included both old favorites from Season One like "Thunderhorse", "Hatredcopter", "Murmaider", "Go Into the Water", "Awaken" and "Fansong", as well as songs from the latest albums including "Bloodlines", "The Gears", "Dethsupport" and "The Galaxy". The show ended with an impressive encore featuring "Crush The Industry" with several Klokateers marching up on stage!
Intro: "I summon Dethklok!"
The whole concert is like being IN the show! The use of the video screens makes the whole concert experience seem very interactive, not to mention the fact that the audience is actually seeing Brendon Small and the band play Dethklok's songs in person rather than their animated counterparts. If you are a Dethklok/Metalocalypse fan you cannot afford to miss this truly unique concert experience!
