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Metalocalypse
Created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block, Metalocalypse is an animated satire centered on a death metal band called Dethklok. This band is ultra-successful, accruing a level of popularity and influence unheard of in reality. The band is so successful that they essentially compose the seventh-largest economy on Earth. Their unfettered power results in calamity and hi jinx.
Despite their unparalleled success, the various members of Dethlok (frontman Nathan Explosion, lead guitarist Skwisgaar Skwigelf, drummer Pickles, bassist William Murderface and rhythm guitar Toki Wartooth) are each complete nitwits, possessing little to no common sense about daily life. They are unable to even fix their own meals, handle finances, or even maintain relationships. Their power coupled with their ineptitude results in all manner of disaster and anything remotely associated with the band likewise attracts chaos.
Dethlok unnatural popularity and trail of destruction has attracted the attention of an Illuminati-style group, known as The Tribunal, dedicated to monitoring Dethklok's activity and plans. Typically, episodes involve the Tribunal attempting to maintain and perpetuate public ignorance and rampant consumerism whenever Dethklok's antics inadvertently threaten to upset the status quo. The Tribunal, led by the mysterious Mr. Salacia, works off the premise that Dethklok's unusual powers are the result of an ancient Sumerian prophecy about an ‘Apocalypse of Metal.’
The series featured an ensemble cast of voice actors that includes Brendon Small, Tommy Blacha, Mark Hamill, Victor Brandt and Malcolm McDowell. Metalocalypse premiered in August of 2006 and ran for four seasons.
