It felt a little like being caught between parallel death-metal universes Friday night at Kool Haus. On one hand, famously un-ironic mosh purists thrashed about with increasing odour and sweatiness. And yet, on multiple screens above, Metalocalypse stars Dethklok — the equally-notorious animated parody (most would say celebration) of the genre — was splashed on big screens, while stoic creator Brendon Small and crew played along with synchronized precision. That both animation and music were artful and perfectly executed only added to the confusion. Spinal Tap this was not. Glorious sensory overload it was.
Earlier, openers Soilent Green and Chimaira had put on a valiant, if somewhat generic, effort. And while crowd appreciation was high, both bands spent considerable banter time pumping the arrival of Dethklok (although Chimaira’s Mark Hunter got extra points for soliciting good Canadian weed from the audience). As well, when Chimaira went on there was a striking rise in low-end volume — so much so that the precisely picked mixolydian guitar runs of Rob Arnold and Matt DeVries seemed pointless when internal organs were being rearranged out front. It was probably the first thing Rick Rubin ever said to Slayer: “not so much with the fancy notes — just bludgeon.” Makes sense, really. (One other aside — what do those “samplists” in metal bands actually do back there? Do they know that most metal fans feel sorry for them?)
Finally, when the voice of arch-nemesis General Crozier came over the PA, with “Gentlemen, it looks like Dethklok are going on tour,” pandemonium broke loose. Small and band hit the stage with little fanfare, breaking into the Metalocalypse theme song, while a deluxe version of the animated show began on the big screens — featuring all the clips deemed too gruesome for cable-TV viewing. (The true fate of the mermaid in “Mermaider” was not pretty.)
“Awaken,” “Hatredcopter” and, of course, the “Duncan Hills” coffee jingle were other visual and performance peaks. Only for the encore’s finale, “Fansong,” did screens darken and lights come up to better show the bafflingly virtuosic band.
Still, there was no further illumination on the overall enigma that is Dethklok. Of course, one can’t go to far with the socio-analysis of animated metal bands lest a brain detonation occur (though that would be fitting at this show). But this is, after all, a genuine pop-culture phenomenon. Like disco and grunge shorts, Metalokalypse will be remembered as an important part of these times. The creepy part is that Dethklok fan hysteria in the physical realm is approaching the Olympic levels seen in the fictional series. It’s just all so…weird.
But the main question is: why didn’t somebody do this sooner?