Metalocalypse isn't so much Spinal Tap as it is "The Hills" go death metal. The Adult Swim cartoon is full of satire, but it's mostly an homage to creator Brendon Small's favorite musical style. Small keenly crafts representative music, from the high-wire guitar solos to the churning rhythmic black hole below. Even the over-the-top lyrical bombast is consistent - cartoonish isn't a pejorative in extreme metal. Live, Dethklok, a Small-led quintet, is more melodic than aggressive, unlike such trailblazers as Cannibal Corpse or Napalm Death. As one would expect, lyrics shine on tracks like "I Ejaculate Fire" ("venomous fluid, cantankerous druid") and "Crush the Industry" ("Capital is worthless now, your life I inside trade"). Ultimately, Dethalbum III has broader appeal than the previous two, but it's for diehards. (3 out of 5 stars)
Metalocalypse with All That Remains, Machine Head, and the Black Dahlia Murder. $35.50. 6:30 p.m. Sat., Dec. 8. The Tabernacle, 152 Luckie St. 404-659-9022. www.tabernacleatl.com.
We also recommend ...
Tags:
Latest in Album Reviews
-
Deerhunter summons malevolent power with Monomania 6
Atlanta art rockers' fifth album is their most defiant yet
-
Fela Kuti: The Best of Black President 2
Knitting Factory Records
-
Iggy & the Stooges: Ready to Die
Fat Possum Records
- More »
More by Chris Parker
-
Off With Their Heads: Home
Epitaph
-
Kurt Vile: Wakin on a Pretty Daze
Matador Records
- More »
-
D.R.E.S. tha BEATnik fighting for ATL 8
Mic Club wages war at 3rd Street Armory
-
Metropolis revisited 1
Sonic Generator illuminates Fritz Lang's dystopian masterpiece
-
Radar returns from four-decade hiatus 1
Reunion builds on ATL rockers psychedelic past
