Dethklok — the fictional animated metal band come to life — played for the first time in five years, headlining the second annual Adult Swim Festival on Friday in Los Angeles. Original members Brendon Small and drummer Gene Hoglan performed alongside new recruits Nili Brosh on guitar and Pete Griffin on bass, rendering the music for the band made popular by the cartoon show Metalocalypse. The 19-song setlist included the live debuts of “Impeach God” and “Comet Song”.
Sadly, Metalocalypse was canceled in 2015 by Cartoon Network in relatively inglorious fashion, much to the frustration of metalhead viewers and the show’s creative team. Previously, Hoglan offered biting criticism of the network’s handling of the cancellation, but was hopeful for the future of Metalocalypse after the announcement of the one-off live date at Adult Swim Festival.
In the meantime, the show’s mastermind and chief songwriter Small has pooled his talents into his Galaktikon project, whose debut album, Become the Storm, is “essentially a Dethklok record”, according to Hoglan. With Small still composing music in the vein of Dethklok, it appears he and Hoglan are still committed to the project. It’s now up to the network as to whether we’ll see a full-blown Metalocalypse reboot following Friday’s performance.
Watch fan-filmed footage of the set and check out the full setlist below. Elsewhere during this weekend’s Adult Swim Festival, Hannibal Buress impersonated MF Doom.
Setlist:
Deththeme
Briefcase Full of Guts
Birthday Dethday
Awaken
Bloodlines
The Gears
Black Fire Upon Us
Dethsupport
Duncan Hills Coffee Jingle
Impeach God (live premiere)
Comet Song (live premiere)
Andromeda
I Ejaculate Fire
The Duel
Murmaider
Thunderhorse
Encore:
Castratikron
Go Into the Water
Fansong