Dethklok, Metalocalypse Founder Brendan Small Talks Upcoming Tour, Projects, More With Mayhem Rockstar Magazine
- Philip Sayback
- April 5, 2024
- Featured, Interviews, News
- Babymetal, Dethklok, Dragonforce, Metalocalypse, Nekrogoblikon
- 0 Comments
Dethklok, the band at the center of Cartoon Network’s animated series, Metalocalypse is headed back out on the road this weekend to celebrate the series’ legacy and that of the band at the heart of the show. The band, fronted by the series’ founder, Brendan Small, is scheduled to launch its “Mutilation On a Spring Night Tour” Sunday in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The very next night, the tour will be in Charlotte, North Carolina. It will also make a stop Thursday in Columbus, Ohio, the headquarters of Mayhem Rockstar Magazine. Ahead of the tour’s launch, Small took time to sit down and talk with Mayhem Rockstar Magazine lead writer Philip Sayblack about the tour, his own musical influences, bringing Metalocalypse to its end and celebrating the series, and more. Small’s interview is featured below.
MRM: First and foremost, Brendan, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me about the tour. How excited are you to get back out on the road for this tour?
BS: We’re into rehearsal for the tour right now. It’s been really fun because this has been a brain puzzle for me. It’s been a fun production trying to get the music and timing with the animation aligned.
MRM: You are bringing some big names out with you again this time out. You’ve got Nili Brosch and Bryan Beller, both of whom have worked with Steve Vai, and of course Gene Hoglan, who has worked with the likes of Testament and Slayer. These are not just nobodies. Mr. Beller has also worked with Joe Satriani, and James LaBrie of Dream Theater. They are people with some real credentials.
BS: Oh yeah, they’re all great musicians. Though Bryan Beller isn’t on the tour this time. Pete Griffin, who has worked with the likes of 3 Inches of Blood, and Mastodon will take his place on bass. I call them all “super musicians.” They’re nuts in a great way.
MRM: You guys are bringing Dragonforce and Nekrogoblikon out on the road with you this time out. These bands could not be any more different from one another and from Dethklok. Dragonforce is a power metal act and Nekrogoblikon has a little of everything, so how did that come about?
BS: We just got off the road from touring to support our new movie, Army of the Doomstar. We have a lot more touring to promote it. The movie will actually air at midnight tonight (Friday) at midnight and then on HBO Max. The last time we went out, we toured with Babymetal. They used extreme metal to make something fun and exciting. It’s fun. Dragonforce does something similar using power metal. It’s this big show. And Nekrogoblikon is similar. Have you seen their videos? With the goblin? They are just fun, so we look at whether a band brings the fun. Who’s over the top? Dragonforce and Nerkogoblikon kind of do that.
MRM: As we’ve talked, you mentioned discovering hard rock and metal at a young age, like around age 14. You talked about discovering Black Sabbath and Slayer among other bands. I’ll say, the album that introduced me to metal and hard rock was Metallica’s …And Justice For all. I think I was about 8 or 9 years old when I first heard it. So for you, what was the first record that introduced you to hard rock and metal?
BS: [laughs] That’s ironic. That was the album that introduced me to metal, too, …And Justice For All, just a few years older than you. Other records that really have stuck with me are: Joe Satriani’s Surfing With The Alien, and Megadeth’s Rust in Peace. I just really have gotten into a lot.
MRM: I wanted to take a step back for a moment and focus back on the tour. Getting back to Nekrogoblikon for a moment, Eddie Trager, one of the band’s former members recently released his debut album Disillusion under the moniker of Take & Take. His music really takes things over the top in its own way. I was curious if you have heard that record yet?
BS: I have not heard it yet, but I will say I actually have directed one of Nekrogoblikon’s videos.
MRM: Ok. Now I wanted to change gears for a moment. I have to ask this since you brought up your love of animation…Home Movies. There are so many reboots out there on TV right now. So with that trend, is there any chance?
BS: Of bringing it back? [laughs] Here’s the short answer: No. I like putting the end to things. Home Movies was the show that it needed to be at its time. I still talk to the cast all the time. But no, there is no chance of the show being rebooted. That show was exactly what it needed to be.
MRM: Ok well, if we’re not getting a reboot, we know the show has been released on DVD both as standalone sets and as a series set. Do you think it will ever get a re-issue on Blu-ray or even 4K?
BS: I don’t know if we could do the up-resing. We did a lot of lo-fi resing with that show. When the initial DVD releases came out, the show was already over. Working on the animation was a fun part of it, but I don’t know right now if it would happen.
MRM: I think a lot of people would love it if that did happen because that is such a great show. But either way, moving on. You said you like having an end to things. We know, as you said, Metalocalypse is now at its end. So with it being over, what is next for Brendan Small? What can you tell me about what’s coming?
BS: [laughs] Like I said before, I love working on a lot of things. So I’m always working on something. A lot of those things, I can’t talk about right now. I love telling stories with music. I do have a script I’m working on and might bring on tour with me and work on some more. So yeah, maybe the next thing will be something cinematic. I don’t know.
MRM: That is fair enough. With that, thanks again for taking the time to talk with me about all of this. All of the best of luck with the tour.
BS: You’re welcome, and thanks for taking the interest in this.
More information on Dethklok’s tour is available along with all of the band’s latest news at https://www.facebook.com/metalocalypseofficial.
