To demonstrate their stylistic intentions, Small and Blacha brought their art staff to a Behemoth concert. The animators nailed it, right down to the windmill headbanging, guitar schematics, and pyrotechnics. And of course, the violence is operatic, right down to the finest details of exposed brain and bone.

Small and Blacha check out as many metal shows as they can. “One of the reasons I’m attracted to death metal is that you’re singing about the fact you’re going to die,” Small points out. “You are simply going to die, and there’s no two ways about it, and that’s pretty funny to me.”

Metalocalypse is an early part of the Cartoon Network Adult Swim’s fall line-up, which will include such equally warped fare as Saul of the Mole Men, Assy McGee, and Lucy, The Daughter of the Devil. Renewal seasons of Moral Orel, The Venture Brothers, and Robot Chicken, among others, cement Adult Swim’s position in the, uh, cultural canon.

Since launching in 2001, Adult Swim has filled the void formerly occupied by Saturday-morning cartoons. Vicious satire, absurd violence, import anime, celebrity ballbusting, and festive geek æsthetic have enabled it to filch many late-night viewers from FOX and UPN. Nielsen ratings from the first quarter of 2006 ranked Adult Swim programming #1 among men ages 18 to 34. Which means Small and Blacha have a serious shot at paving over the rock-and-roll landscape. This Sunday night, they will make even food shopping seem like a metal experience.

Fan reactions to podcasts and previews on Youtube have been encouraging. Small: “We want the music to be awesome, but it’s got to be funny, too. People take their metal seriously, which I think is fine because I would be protective too if someone was fucking with the music that I loved. I feel confident in saying that in the wrong hands, this show would really suck. The music wouldn’t be authentic. But we’re going to deliver a show that will be. We set out to pair comedy with the awesome, grandiose elements that we love in metal, which hopefully fans will relate to. It’ll be like Cannibal Corpse on Broadway.”

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On the Web
Brendon Small: //www.brendonsmall.com/
Dethklok: //www.myspace.com/dethklok
Adult Swim: //www.adultswim.com/