Dethklok
w/Mastodon, Converge, High on Fire
November 19, 2009
Hollywood Palladium
Hollywood, CA
The best part about mosh pits has nothing to do with big hairy metal heads wiping their herpes-ridden body parts on your shoulder-and-then-some as they bum rush the stage. Mosh pits are communal joy for the annual to everyday concertgoer. We were all ticking for the Dethklok as a Metalocalypse intro video started before their set. Pipe smoke combined into a bong worthy cloud above the pit as the once-fictional band, led by Metalocalypse creator and Dethklok front man, Brendon Small took the stage to share “blackest black times infinity” coffee metal.
I was wedged in between Nathan Explosion’s number one fan (she shall remain nameless because she wants to bone a fictional rock star), a guy in a leather jacket that I felt sorry for, and three other people screaming DETHKLOK! DETHKLOK! as the “Deththeme” started. The band bears no resemblance to the Metalocalypse depiction, however legendary metal drummer Gene Hoglan, guitarist Mike Keneally, and bassist Bryan Beller kept the Palladium in comic disarray with growls and blast beats galore.
The Dethklok live experience was a perfectly combined exhibition of music and television, bringing together metal lovers and cartoon nerds. Animated footage of dragons, naked sirens, and epic badassery from the critically acclaimed Adult Swim series ran in the backdrop. After every three songs or so, the band would walk off stage and a short animated clip would play to segue into the next set of brutality. These clips ranged from Dethklok merchandise commercials to Pickles dropping a deuce while talking to the rest of the band. Eclectic. Crowd favorites of the night were “Awaken,” “Duncan Hills Coffee Jingle,” and “Murmaider.” This was judged merely on the basis of how frequently crowd surfers dropped on my head.
Besides your typical mosh pit debauchery, the night was in favor of the fans…unfortunately. Nobody’s life was ended by mermaids, and no body parts were lost. Nobody’s eye got torn out and force-fed to them at the show either. I cannot speak for the rest of the tour though. Did anyone cut off their fingers, throw them onstage, and have Murderface smoke them perchance?
-Kateri Lirio