by Duke

This is a story of genius in action. It’s one that’s bound to inspire musicians and animators alike.

Dethklok has become one of the biggest metal bands in the world, with their second album “Dethalbum II” debuting at #15 on Billboard’s Top 100 list (which also broke expected sales in the first week). They headline national tours with the likes of Trail of Dead, Mastadon, Chimaira and Soilent Green. Their name has become synonymous with brutal death metal.

They’re cartoon characters. Brutal cartoon characters.

(Thanks to GoryDaze for the image).

Not the first time a fictional band has had respectable sales at both the store and the box office (see “Monkees,” “Spinal Tap” and “Chipmunks”). The unexpected popularity of a band composed of artists who don’t actually exist in the physical world presented a problem, and one never faced before: How are they going to tour? You can’t just set up giant TV screens and play the episodes. That’s stupid.

Enter former Frank Zappa guitarist, Mike Keneally:

” (…) and a thing which I can now officially reveal — that myself, Bryan Beller and drummer Gene Hoglan (also of Strapping Young Lad) will be joining mastermind Brendon Small on the road as the real live Dethklok of Metalocalypse fame — yep, we are bringing the metal from the TV screen to the stage. Beautiful madness. This is happening late October into November — don’t have an itinerary yet, but stay tuned. My voice can also be heard on several upcoming episodes of Season 2 of Metalocalypse, which airs Sunday night on the Cartoon Network — don’t know when the episodes I’m on are airing so you’ll have to watch them all. (…)”

(read the article here)

I say it’s brilliant. Wish I’d thought of it. Okay, I did. But never thought it would happen. It’s like somebody saw the Gorillaz and said “Hey! That can work backwards!”

Makes me wonder… How many struggling bands could make a mark by teaming up with an independent animation studio, fictionalizing themselves and achieve a sustainable living? How many are ready to try it?

How many people are ready to petition MTV to bring Dethklok on board, thereby bringing some music back to the so-called “Music Television”?

Technorati Tags: adult swim, cartoon, Dethklok, metal, Metalocalypse

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at 3:40 pm and is filed under Music Business, Music Culture, Music Promotion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.