METAL MARK INTERVIEWS BRENDON SMALL OF DETHKLOK!

How has the tour with Mastodon gone so far?
It’s been great, no complaints. First of all, I like everybody and respect them all as musicians. It’s really nice to get a month out and get to know everybody and enjoy their company. Mastodon, in particular, I spend a lot of time with them and they are super funny guys. They are super smart and sharp, so it’s always a blast to hang out with those guys. Plus, we’ve been spoiled with the crowds. They are ready for it ever night and it’s a great tour to play on every night.

When it comes to the show and the CD’s, are you surprised by the great success the actual CD’s are having on the music charts?
Well when I started the show it was a passion product. It was just for me. If other people like it, then that’s awesome. It became easily marketable, which I understood from a salesman point of view. I’m a musician and I do comedy, but first and foremost you have to be a salesman to unleash money with these absurdly stupid projects and talk people into doing a show about five celebrities to that play death metal (laughter). As the show was gaining steam and the ratings were there, it showed that there would be an audience for the CD. Other than that, I just wanted to make the mCD’s sound good to me. If people enjoy it, then that’s cool. For the most part I wanted to be really proud of the work musically, even though it’s comedy.

The new season starts Sunday(11.8.09) on Adult Swim and the show is now 30 minutes long. How did this come about?
We did some half hour shows in the second season and I just thought we could definitely do it. If you want to do an absurd comedy, a quarter hour is easier. If you want to tell a story and have more on the characters, you need more time. I also did not want to do as many episodes. I did not want to do twenty 15-minute episodes, I wanted to do ten shows, and hope the network could arrange that. They said financially they could do it and here we are. It was a really stupid decision (laughter). It’s a lot harder writing a thirty minute show. Everything I come up with and talk these guys into doing, luckily they are open to it, but it’s a lot more work. I realize maybe I should not have done that. Ya know touring in the middle of production and recording the record in pre-production of the show, it’s a lot of work, but it’s my own fault. Then again, it is the ultimate job.


The show has had some famous guest appearances in the past seasons, and the season coming up has tons. Do you have a favorite guest appearance, or one that went a lot better than you expected? To be honest, the Mastodon guys blew me away. I did not know that they were that funny, but they have a great sense of humor. I was like, “Are you a comedy group or something?” We have gotten very lucky, because all of these people are performers, and they get it. The Mastodon episode isn’t finished, so I don’t know what the final product will be. But as far as having the people in the booth, Mastodon definitely kept me laughing. Not to say they were my favorite, but they were the funniest to me.


With all the success that the show and CD’s are having, is there a possibility of a Metalocalypse movie in the future?
I have been thinking about that for a long time, but it’s one of those things that I don’t know how it will work. If I’m doing the TV show and music, I would not have time right now. If I did the movie, I would have to drop everything. I would love to do it, but I would want a big budget, a great script, and just make it a badass musical. So yea if it comes together at the right time, it’s definitely a possibility. I definitely won’t throw something together quick, I would want to have a killer story to tell.

Well your known as an awesome musician and comedian, and I’ve wanted to ask you this question for a while. Being successful in comedy and music is extremely difficult, how would you compare the two?
Well to compare performing comedy live to doing music live, this tour is a locked situation where we do the same thing every night since we are playing with the picture screen. The whole idea is practice ya know, before and after the show, just have your shit together, and the audience will react accordingly. That’s not the same thing with comedy. Every single night is a brand new beginning, where even if you have tested material, your still at the mercy of the audience. It’s like being on a blind date. They may not fucking like you. They may think your stupid looking, or maybe you think they are stupid looking. There is just weird animosity that happens, and it’s very strange how it works. But comedy is definitely more tough. Again I get to hide on the music stage, because the show is doing the work while we are playing the music on stage. I definitely have my work cut out on stage, but it’s easier than comedy. Even when I have to multitask ya know, cut screens, click on pedals, shred on the guitar, it’s easier than bombing on the comedy stage.

Do you have a favorite Dethklok song to play live?
I love a lot of the songs on the two albums, but I have to like the song to release it at all. That’s my number one rule, I must like it to release it. On the new record, I got really excited about "The Cyborg Slayers." I also really enjoy "Murmaider II: The Water God", because of the guitar work on the track. The big hits from the first album I love as well. “Thunderhorse” and "Go into the Water" are still some of my favorite songs.

Any last words for the Dethklok supporters?
It’s been a pretty crazy year so far ya know, with everything happening at the same time. Just thanks for the support as always. I really want to not work for three months, while I plot the next Dethklok move. There will definitely be more shows, CD’s, and more touring. Let’s just see how far the show goes until I get sick of it. Because once I’m sick of it, it’s over (laughter).

Check out:
http://www.brendonsmall.com/
http://www.adultswim.com/shows/metalocalypse/index.html