DETHKLOK – “Dethalbum II”

The cartoon band delivers an even more serious album than before

Ever since seeing Metalocalypse’s first episode some two years ago I have been left with my jaw dropped in amazement by the awesome music that was written only for the soundtrack of a cartoon show. And the following issue of an album and assembly of a real band that tours performing these songs was completely logical.

In “Dethalbum II” continues things in the spirit of its predecessor as here you can find songs from the show’s second season as well as one that were written exclusively for the album. Like the opening track, “Bloodillnes” for example, whete we can hear some tribal drumming and heavy Sepultura influence without of course missing the melodeath orientation of Dethklok.

There are awesome heavy tracks like “Dethsupport” and the somewhat more thrash oriented “The Cyborg Slayers”. In “Laser Cannon Death Sentence” we have one of the album’s more hilarious moments as vocalist Nathan Explosion (voiced by Brendon Small – the brains behind the show and the band) screams “d-d-d-d-d-d-die!” over a blast beat. And that almost made me fall of my bike laughing when I first heard it.

As a whole if you have enough of a sense of humor to find some metal clichés entertaining, this album might make you laugh you ass off (and this is pretty much the idea). Lyrics like “burn the Earth for minimum wage” have just that effect. And in “I Tamper with the Evidence at the Murder Site of Odin” it makes sense to laugh while reading the song title (headbanging as well of course). The song is also one of the best ones here.

The songs leave the impression that the songwriting process this time around has been more serious and “Dethalbum II” is much more of an album than a mere soundtrack to the show. This can be heard in “Murmaider II: The Water God” that develops the motives from the song from the previous album to a whole new level. And this, combined with the clear production, makes the album quite enjoyable. If you have a strong enough sense of humor to find some over the top stuff from the death and black metal scenes funny, this is your album. And the show as well. The third season starts in the beginning of November. As Nathan Explosion would put it - “uhhh… BRUTAL!”

Verdict: 5 / 6