Metalocalypse season 1 - The Overview, band and episode list

Overview

Metalocalypse follows the exploits of the part-American/part-Scandinavian metal band Dethklok. Although the name is usually spelled "Dethklok", almost all of the bands logos have it spelled as "Dethkløk." Dethklok follows true-to-life metal styling, one example being their heavy death metal song, Mermaid-er, about "mermaid murder" (both commiting it and being victims of it). They enjoy a popularity level unheard of in reality. They are so popular that the fans will do anything their songs tell them, even if it could mean death. If Dethklok endorses a company, it instantly becomes the only source for the product it happens to sell, as every competitor is quickly driven out of business. The band's unnatural popularity has attracted the attention of an Illuminati-style group, known as the Tribunal. Each episode sees this group attempt to covertly thwart the band, as they may be the objects of an ancient Sumerian apocaplyptic prophecy.

The band's concerts are notoriously violent, often resulting in harm to a good portion of the crowd. Even their attempts at charity result in many deaths, such as the laser light show that killed the London Philharmonic orchestra during a charity concert. The premiere episode gives the most prominent example of this. The metal box that serves as the band's stage is airlifted and dropped on location, but misses the landing area and crushes a good portion of the crowd, both by virtue of it landing and by it subsequently opening. Several searing hot coffee and cream pitchers are also poured on the crowd, melting their skin off, to fit with the thrashing coffee jingle being played by the band. Despite the obvious danger, however, people love Dethklok's concerts so much that they will sign "pain waivers" at the entrance, signing their lives away and releasing the band from legal liability in the extremely likely event that they are killed or dismembered.

The band members reside together in a vast mansion called Mordhaus in an unspecified mountainous region known as Mordland. The members of Dethklok are portrayed as generally sociopathic and inept in all things non-musical except for negotiating their own contracts. Despite the band's immense success and talent, all of the members have self-esteem issues which surface to varying degrees during the show. They're also ridiculously wealthy and thus can get away with just about anything, including murder. The band members show an obsession with "brutality" and "metal-ness," often choosing to do something or not based on how "metal" they believe it to be.

THE BAND

Very little is currently known about the band's history. When the series began, they were already extremely popular, so the band's actual rise to fame has yet to be explored. No information is currently known about how they met, when the band formed, or how many albums they have released. The numeric value of the band's wealth is never actually stated, but the fact that they are referred to as the 12th largest economy in the world, just above Belgium (which is indeed 12th in terms of GDP per capita), indicates that they must make somewhere on the order of several hundred billion dollars a year. The band members all reside together in a gigantic and lavish mansion called Mordhaus, in an unspecificed region known as Mordland. Their traveling arrangements are equally lavish: they usually travel either in a gigantic train car or helicopter, the latter of which is seemingly capable of transporting a least one hundred of Dethklok's roadies, or on the Murdercycle, a motorcycle with four sidecars driven by Nathan. They normally perform in concert wearing corpse paint.

All the members of Dethklok act somewhat sociopathic; if they are not directly responsible for the violence and mayhem that surrounds them, they are at least indifferent to it. The bandmates do appear to care about one another, but have difficulty expressing their feelings, even when intoxicated. Although they vary in their levels of drug and alcohol consumption, they are all fond of drinking to excess.

Another ongoing feature of the series is that the band members are incompetent at everything not related to sex, drugs, heavy metal, and negotiating their contracts, and at various points, they are ignorant of things which are obvious common knowledge. For example, they are incapable of shopping for groceries, and do not even know how to make their own coffee. Often, one member of the band will be ignorant of a bit of common knowledge while another is not, prompting arguments or explanations. As a group, they also come up with ideas that are commonly known to be quite harmful or ever fatal, yet do not recognize this fact. One example is in their "time travel face bag," which is simply a plastic bag worn over the head that allows a person to travel through time at the speed of regular time: in essence, just a plastic bag. The possible suffocation hazard from wearing a plastic bag over their head escapes them.

Nathan Explosion

Born in Florida to Oscar and Rose Explosion, Nathan Explosion is the lead singer and the "lyrical visionary" of Dethklok, who always speaks in a deep, gravelly voice even when not singing. According to intelligence gathered by the Tribunal, Nathan did not learn to speak until the age of five and was an unremarkable student in high school, excelling only in frog dissection and football. He eventually dropped out without earning his GED.

Nathan is an alcoholic, sometimes drinking exactly 100 beers in a single sitting. Because of his excessive drinking, Nathan has to undergo repeated liver replacement surgery, vomiting blood on at least one occasion due to his condition. Whenever called upon to speak publicly for more than a few brief sentences, Nathan quickly degenerates into incoherence and becomes frustrated; however, in the episode "Dethkids," he is nonetheless capable of reading and reciting all of Shakespeare's works for a Books on Tape collection.

Nathan often describes things in terms of whether or not they are "brutal" or "metal," and, according to an expert procured by the Tribunal, shares a similar psychological profile as former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in his ability to "galvanize the proletariat." Nathan has shown himself to be clueless about most things outside the scope of metal. For instance, he was unaware of the fact that the band could fire their employees or that a band that has never broken up cannot reunite. He also believes that the Mariana Trench is located somewhere near Scadinavia. Nathan has proven that he isn't completely devoid of common sense, however. In "Performanceklok," Nathan figures out that Twinkletits was using the banana stickers as psychological validation, and in "Skwisklok," when Toki's tooth falls out, Nathan explains that it was because Toki was eating too much candy. In the same episode, Nathan comes up with the idea of loosening Skwisgaar's hand aquariums by pouring barbecue sauce on them.

Nathan carries a digital recording device, in which he notes any interesting song material he may run across (usually limited to murder or similar acts of brutality). He has exacting standards, and will delete entire finished Dethklok albums if they do not ultimately meet his approval. He also hates wearing watches, and sometimes will buy large amounts of watches just to destroy them (a fan explains in the episode "Mordland" that he smashes anything he can't understand). He is always seen with his fingernails painted black. Nathan has his own brand of barbecue sauce known as "Explosion Sauce," a mustardy North Carolina blend with a hint of cilantro, which he is known to drink out of the bottle. He estimates that he only wears underwear approximately 65% of the time.

In "Girlfriendklok," Nathan found a controlling celebrity girlfriend, Rebecca Nightrod, who forced him to tone down his behavior. He hated her temper tantrums and demands, and described his hatred of her as much more brutal than his ordinary hate. Though his bandmates tortured him until they convinced him to dump her, a subsequent mishap involving an unusually steep flight of stairs and a broken high heel left her comatose, after which Nathan described her as "the ultimate girlfriend."

William Murderface

William Murderface plays the bass guitar for the band; however, this seems rather unnecessary, as Nathan has stated that they mix his bass out of "pretty much every song." However, in the episode "Dethklown," Murderface improves noticeably after Pickles introduces him to the concept of "freeballing," prompting the rest of the band to consider including his bass on their next album. He plays a black five-string Gibson Thunderbird Studio Bass with a white pickguard. He is able to play the guitar with his penis (which he refers to as his "hog"), as seen in the episode "Birthdayface." He was raised by his grandparents Thunderbolt and Stella Murderface after he lost his mother and father in a chainsaw murder/suicide, carried out by his father when William was just an infant. People usually refer to him as just "Murderface," except for his grandparents and people who formally address him. He has a heavy lisp due to the gap between his front teeth, and tattoos on his stomach which state "Pobody's Nerfect" and "This Mess Is A Place."

Murderface has a habit of urinating or referring to urination, and even has a one-man side project called Planet Piss, to which he seems to have very little real commitment. He is usually seen carrying a knife, which he uses to eat, mutilate, destroy, and do other things. According to The Tribunal's expert, Dr. Gibbons, Murderface is a self-destructive personality who expresses his self-loathing through "bodily mutilation, tattooing, alcohol abuse, and coprophilia." According to Pickles, he is a nihilist and likes to collect "morbid crap" such as torture devices and Civil War memorabilia. Murderface has at least some familiarity with firearms as he recognizes the sound of his "driving gun" (an antique Mauser C96 handgun) after hearing it fired. Murderface endorses a brand of doorknobs known as "Murderknobs."

While in high school, Murderface's principal allowed him to play bass, drink, and smoke dope to earn his high school degree after Murderface threatened to cut his eyes out. He regularly throws tantrums when he doesn't get his way, which has resulted in several destroyed bass guitars. He owns a custom-made dungeon/torture chamber, and supposedly spends most of his time there when not with the band. Murderface thinks he is a great speller, but demonstrated his lack of skills in his preparation and appearance on "Celebrity Spelling Bee." (For example, he thought "confusion" is spelled "k-u-n fusion"). Murderface once sustained severe injuries when he drunkenly collided with a lamppost while a passenger on the Murdercycle, falling onto the highway where a passing car struck him. Afterward, his near-death experience prompted him to seek faith in several churches, including the Church of Satan and the Church of the Atheists. Eventually he decided that all religions were the same boring crap. In the episode "Bluesklok," it is revealed that he is, somehow, a notary public.

Murderface appears to be an American Civil War buff. When Dethklok gave Murderface President Kennedy's presidential limo as a birthday present, they replaced the driver's seat with the chair in which President Lincoln was assassinated, eliciting such happiness that he cried blood. Murderface also owns a pair of original shoes from the Civil War, which Dethklok's adopted son ruined, provoking tremendous anger. Finally, when Murderface was lying in a hospital bed after a motorcycle accident, Skwisgaar returned a borrowed copy of Ken Burns' Civil War documentary.

Pickles the Drummer

Pickles the Drummer plays the drums and was raised in Tomahawk, Wisconsin. He is Irish-American. He speaks with a distinct Wisconsin accent and bears a strong hatred for his older brother, Seth, whom his parents Calvert and Molly always brag about despite the fact that Seth is an ex-con living above his parents' garage, among other failings. He is the only member of Dethklok whose last name (and, possibly, real first name) is unknown. Pickles joined Dethklok after singing and playing lead guitar in the L.A. rock band Snakes n' Barrels, which collapsed due to excessive drug use; his bandmates have mocked him for his stereotypical "hair metal" appearance during his time with Snakes n' Barrels. Pickles refers to things and people as "douchebags" when he is frustrated or upset. He seems to be the most socially capable of the band, although he occasionally hallucinates or launches into neurotic rants. In the episode "Dethkids," it is revealed that he does not just have dreadlocks, but actually a combover skullet.

Pickles claims to be immune to the negative effects of drugs because he "grew up smoking government weed every day" because of his "kiddie glaucoma." Because of this, he is also immune to the government-created psychotropic drug known as "Totally Awesome Sweet Alabama Liquid Snake" that erased the minds of every other member of Snakes n' Barrels. Despite his drug immunity, he is clearly not immune to the negative effects of liquor. He seems to be an alcoholic of equal or greater caliber than Nathan, and is often seen surrounded by many bottles of liquor. Rumors were spread saying that he didn't drink as much as he said, but to prove it, he decides to drink more than he usually does. He also appears to be an asthmatic, as he was seen using an inhaler in "Dethfam;" however, he claimed it was only a stress-related relapse. Pickles has an endorsement deal for nickels with the United States Treasury; his nickels are called "Pickles' Nickels."

Skwisgaar Skwigelf

Skwisgaar Skwigelf is the lead guitarist of the band and also the fastest guitarist alive, as well as the tallest guitarist alive. Despite being the fastest guitarist alive, he can't read music, which he blames on "music dyslexia." He plays a black Gibson Explorer with a white pickguard that appears to be waterproof. He practices his guitar constantly and in many odd places, such as in church and in the hot tub; one episode even shows him playing in his sleep. He often disparages Toki's skill as a guitarist. He seems to dislike the Danish even though he often confuses them with the Dutch. He is also severely allergic to cilantro, which is made apparent when barbecue sauce with cilantro in it is poured on his hands before a show and he almost immediately goes into anaphylaxis (specifically, his face and hands swelled dramatically).

Skwisgaar is from Sweden, and he consequently possesses a strong Swedish accent. He has a very poor grasp of the English language, not knowing relatively simply terms such as "image" and adding the letter "s" to the end of many words he says, and conversely dropping the letter from some words that require them, such as "copies" and "Pickles." He was born to the Miss Sweden of 1956, Serveta Skwigelf, and does not know his father. In an interview, he claims that his inspiration comes from his hatred of his mother, and Senator Stampingston mentions that her "neglect helped form the world's fastest guitarist." Skwisgaar resents his mother because of her promiscuity, although he takes after her in this regard.

In the episode "Dethkids," Skwisgaar is referred to as the band's Lothario; he often brags about his many sexual conquests to Toki (going so far as to make the claim of having sex with at least 500 women the last time he was in Finland), who seems to resent it. Skwisgaar is attracted primarily to older women, once propositioning an elderly grandmother for sex, while in the episode "Dethkids," a television announcer mentions his desire for "MILFs, GMILFs, and soon-to-be-MILFs." Skwisgaar implies that he never wears underwear, both because it is common in Sweden and because it is sexually exciting. His bedroom is the only room in Mordhaus that is not decorated in a very dark neo-Gothic style; his all-white, sparsely furnished room reflects the Swedish Modern aesthetic. He is a self-described nihilist, although in the episode "The Metalocalypse Has Begun," when he believes his death is imminent, he tells Toki that he will see him in Valhalla. In the same episode, he also exclaims "What in the fucking name of Odin!?"

Skwisgaar has been in a large number of bands prior to joining Dethklok, including Agnostic Priest, Gangagar Eldeleel-Alele (spelling approximated), Gognog Mug Alugdug (spelling also approximated), Fuckface Academy, Sausage Assassin, Financially Raped, and Smugly Dismissed, to name a few. Other than that, he claims to have been in "pretty much every band, ever." Like Pickles' affinity for the word "douchebags," Skwisgaar refers to things he hates as "dildos." One episode shows his hands being insured for ten billion dollars, one billion for each finger.

Toki Wartooth

Toki Wartooth is the rhythm guitarist and the second fastest guitarist alive, though he too can't read music. Dethklok is his first band. Similar to Skwisgaar, Toki can physically no longer play the guitar slowly. He plays a black Gibson Flying-V guitar. He hails from an abandoned village near Lillehammer, Norway, the product of a seemingly unholy union between Anja and the Reverend Aslaug Wartooth. Both of his parents dress in a very Old World style (much like the Amish), vaguely recalling the painting American Gothic. During the episode in which Toki's parents visit, Toki becomes catatonic for the duration of their visit. He does, however, have pictures of them hung in his room. Cardinal Ravenwood mentions seeing "father killing son in the most brutal manner" when told of Toki's parents. In "Dethkids," a flashback shows Toki as a child, and his mother slaps him for no apparent reason.

Toki's personality is more child-like, innocent, and good-natured compared to the rest of the band, which is why he is a popular icon to children. He has several naīve beliefs, such as the idea that adult teeth will grow back because baby teeth do, and occasionally has whimsical fantasies, one of which is singing a Beatles-esque song under the sea with "underwater friends." He also views sexuality in a more innocent way than his bandmates; in the episode "Girlfriendklok," while the other members of Dethklok want to host the United States Pornography Awards for obviously sexual reasons, Toki only wants to "kiss the beautiful girls."

Despite his more innocent personality, he manages to fit in with the rest of the band, although (as seen in the episode "Dethclown") they do tend to treat him like a younger brother. Toki has also shown similar violent tendencies to those of his bandmates. He asked a priest from the Church of Satan for revenge on Rachael Ray from the Food Network (in the form of her eyes falling out or her breasts falling off) for unspecified reasons, and was indirectly responsible for the death of the lead singer of the Christian rock band Prayer Bolt. In the episode "Girlfriendklok," he also beat Nathan with a baseball bat, tasered him, and threatened him by aiming a crossbow at his crotch. Like Skwisgaar, Toki is a self-described nihilist; however, they both seem to share some interest or moderate belief in Norse mythology. In the episode "Skwisklok," he mentions his belief in a tooth fairy equivalent known as the "Ancient Norse God Ortho the Tooth-Taker."

Being the only two members of the band to be born outside of the United States, Toki and Skwisgaar have an almost brotherly relationship, with Skwisgaar taking on the role of knowledgeable older brother and Toki the impressionable younger brother. Because of their closeness, Toki and Skwisgaar often analyze the philosophical elements of the episodes, such as the male sex drive in "Girlfriendklok," the pros and cons of fatherhood in "Fat Kid at the Detharmonic," and the yard wolves' eating rituals in "Performanceklok." On more than one occasion, Toki has told Skwisgaar that he hates him; it is unknown whether he means it. (Skwisgaar frequently belittles Toki and Toki resents it, but at least in the context of Toki's confession of hate in "The Metalocalypse Has Begun," it appears that "I hate you" is a metal universe equivalent of "I love you.") Like Skwisgaar, he is stereotypically Scandinavian with light hair and blue eyes and a tendency to slur his words, although his English is somewhat better than Skwisgaar's.

Aside from playing guitar, he spends much of his free time building scale models. He has an endorsement deal with "Willard Wonky Candy-Hand Candy" brand candies, who ship him vast amounts of free candy as part of his payment. Because of this, he develops a very extreme case of diabetes which causes him to slip in and out of comas (at least for the length of the episode). Toki also seems to have an endorsement deal for a "Metal Bits"-brand cereal in the first episode, as there is a cereal box in his shopping cart with his face on it. In "Bluesklok" and "Girlfriendklok," Toki appears toned and muscular, while the rest of Dethklok ranges from skinny (Skwisgaar, Pickles) to overweight (Nathan, Murderface). Unlike the rest of Dethklok, Toki tans instead of becoming sunburned.

Fairly frequently, Toki makes statements or is placed in situations with homoerotic subtext through his naïveté and misunderstanding of English. An example is mistaking the term "blowjob" to mean "nosebleed" and proudly announcing, "I can gives myself a real cool blowjob!" In another instance, when Skwisgaar refers to Murderface's party as a sausage festival, Toki believes he means an actual sausage festival and proclaims "I love sausage festival!" Also, in "Murdering Outside the Box" Toki purchases a vibrating strap-on, thinking it was a codpiece.

THE EPISODES

S01E01 "The Curse of Dethklok" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xehgf_metalocalypse-the-curse-of-dethklok

S01E02 "Dethwater" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xehoj_metalocalypse-dethwater

S01E03 "Happy Dethday" (a.k.a. "Birthdayface") - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xg3rj_metalocalypse-episode-3-birthdayfac

S01E04 "Dethtroll" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xg40s_metalocalypse-episode-4-dethtroll

S01E05 "Dethkomedy" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh9x2_metalocalypse-105-dethkomedy

S01E06 "Dethfam" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xg44r_metalocalypse-episode-6-dethfam

S01E07 "Performance Klok" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xg48q_metalocalypse-episode-7performance

S01E08 "Snakes 'n' Barrels" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xhadf_metalocalypse-108-snakes-n-barrels

S01E09 "Mordland" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xhaou_metalocalypse-109-mordland

S01E10 "Fat Kid at the Detharmonic" ( a.k.a. "Fatklok") - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xhxuj_fat-kid-at-the-detharmonic

S01E11 "Skwisklok" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkj0w_metalocalypse-111-skwisklok

S01E12 "Murdering Outside the Box" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkiuu_metalocalypse-murdering-outside-the

S01E13 "Go Forth and Die" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xl5j0_metalocalypse-113-go-forth-and-die

S01E14 "Bluesklok" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xm2qu_metalocalypse-114-bluesklok

S01E15 "Religionklok" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xn6cg_metalocalypse-115-religionklok

S01E16 "Dethkids" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xob4r_metalocalypse-116-dethkids

S01E17 "Dethclown" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpom7_metalocalypse-117-dethclown

S01E18 "Girlfriendklok" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xr175_metalocalypse-118-girlfriendklok

S01E19 "Dethstars" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xs9ft_metalocalypse-119-dethstars

S01E20 "The Metalocalypse Has Begun" - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xu57r_metalocalypse-120-metalocalypse-has