The animation was often carefully synced to the music with the chord positions and fingering of the guitar parts shown in some detail.
[3][4] In the series, Dethklok is a death metal band that enjoys a level of popularity unheard of in reality, ranking as the seventh-largest economy on Earth by the end of the second season.
[5] The fictional band members are Nathan Explosion, Skwisgaar Skwigelf, Pickles, William Murderface and Toki Wartooth.
Organizations worldwide, ranging from governments to businesses, go out of their way to avoid hindering Dethklok, to the point that the band is allowed to maintain its own police force and can get away with any crime imaginable with virtually no repercussions.
In fairness, the reason they are criminally negligent, is because Dethklok's members are complete morons who have little to no common sense about daily life, being unable to even fix their own meals, handle finances, or even maintain relationships.
Dethklok concerts are so notoriously dangerous that those attending are required to sign "pain waivers" at the entrance, releasing the band from legal liability in the very likely case attendees are killed or maimed.
In the episode "Dethgov", fans of Dethklok lynch the governor of Florida after he refuses to establish a holiday for lead singer/native son Nathan Explosion, whom they elect as governor against his will; the karma gets them in the end, as Dethklok turns the state into a hellhole and makes the citizens demand Nathan's execution in hypocrisy.
The band's 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 a mysterious character named "Mr. Salacia", works off the premise that Dethklok's unusual powers are the result of an ancient Sumerian prophecy about an "Apocalypse of Metal".
[6][7][8] In developing the series, Small looked at the budget for what he considered to be the cheapest show to produce at the time on Adult Swim, Tom Goes to the Mayor.
Metalocalypse was renewed for a second season consisting of 19 episodes which began airing on September 23, 2007, two days before the CD release of The Dethalbum.
The second season also introduced an updated version of the show's opening theme (officially titled "Deththeme"), which had been rerecorded for The Dethalbum.
[10] At San Diego Comic-Con in 2008, Tommy Blacha confirmed that the show would be renewed for a third season[11] which premiered on November 8, 2009.
In April 2014, in an interview on Steve Agee: Uhhh podcast, Brendon Small stated that a fifth and final season was in pre-production and that he was waiting on a budget from Adult Swim.
[17] Small has since stated that he has begun exploring other ways of concluding the show, which may take the form of a special or a film, and that he was in the early stages of planning.
In March 2015, Brendon Small issued a statement saying that he had approached Adult Swim with the idea to do the finale as a "big mini-series," but was turned down by the network.
[18] It was later revealed that Metalocalypse had been canceled; however, Small tweeted that he has plans "to service a final story and music—but not in way fans are used to".
[20] As a result of the campaign, financial backers stepped forward to fund a final season, but Adult Swim declined to pick up the series.
The deluxe version includes a DVD containing music videos for all the songs played during Dethklok's 2008 tour with Soilent Green and Chimaira.
[39] At the NAMM Show in January 2013, Brendon Small revealed that an Epiphone version of the Dethklok "Thunderhorse" Explorer was in production.
In 2008 and again in 2009, Shocker Toys made a boxed set of vinyl figures with limited articulation of all 5 of the band members.
[42] At the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con, Shocker Toys released an exclusive limited edition Dr. Rockso Mallow.
[49] On August 17, 2012, a two-minute animated short aired on Adult Swim featuring Dethklok and Death from Darksiders II, in promotion of the game.
A video game based on the series, titled Metalocalypse: Dethgame, was revealed at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con.
Additionally, the Dethklok song "Laser Cannon Deth Sentence" was added to Warriors of Rock as downloadable content.
The next day, Dark Horse announced a forthcoming short-run Dethklok series in collaboration with Adult Swim, which appeared the next year.