Metalocalypse - Season 2 [Adult Swim] [DVD]

The second series of Metalocalypse is amazing... Although, I found that the first half of the series is not as funny [but still entertaining] as the first series. It does redeem itself with another fantastic finale! A must must have for any "rabid Dethklok fan". =]

This series just gets better, even more so if you're a metal fan. It's funny & gruesome, and so enjoyable, with repeat viewing most necessary. Malcolm McDowell joins Mark Hamill and guests including Devin Townsend, Angela Gossow, Michael Amott, Ihsahn, Silenoz, & George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher. This is just excellent. May the Metalocalypse continue....which it does, in season 3, already available on region 1.

Skwisgaar Skwigelf, Toki Wartooth, William Murderface, Pickles the Drummer, and Nathan Explosion are back, rocking almost as hard as ever (they're kind of lazy and disheartened at the moment, for good reason) and making the world Metal one conquest at a time. As expected, "Metalocalypse Season II: Black Fire Upon Us" picks up where Season 1 left off. Left shaken by the two-pronged attack on their last concert, Dethklok have gone into seclusion. While their Manager / CFO tries to get them back to work, shadowy cabals are plotting against our favourite dunderheaded Metal-mongers.

Besides Mr. Salacia's Tribunal, introduced in Season 1, there are The Revengencers, a small group of unfortunates who messed with Dethklok in the past, and came out much the worse for wear, as well as Succuboso Explosion, a sisterhood of insane women who want Nathan Explosion to father their children (but he certainly won't enjoy the process, which will involve high-voltage electrodes). Other challenges awaiting our intrepid musicians include: entering into the messed-up world of fashion and losing weight, holding high office, getting back into the dating scene, a mad cult disguised as a PR firm, putting an insane Rock 'N' Roll clown through cold-turkey rehab, tracking down a tribe of headhunting cannibals in the Amazon basin in search of a new high, initiating the latest batch of Klokateers (as their army of hooded minions are called), developing a new analogue recording medium that sounds better than digital, the deterioration of Toki's mental health, and much more.

This 2-disc set is packed with 19 episodes (including two big double-length ones) of hilarity, mutilation, laughable idiocy and insanity, pointed satire, and pointy sharp things. At every step of the way, its dark, gothic style and no-holds-barred violence mix and juxtapose beautifully with pulse-pounding rock, bureaucratic banality, intrigue, homages, everyday problems, and coffee. At several points while watching these episodes, I laughed so hard it hurt. And, what's more, Malcolm McDowell is now part of the cast. Horrorshow.

There are no special features listed on either of the two discs' menus; you'll have to hunt for them. Moving over to the "Episodes" option and pressing "down" three times on both discs will call up hidden menus of some episodes with uncensored audio tracks. Pressing "up" several times from "Episodes" on both discs will allow you to access quite a few Easter eggs (I found nine on each disc), including ludicrously extended outtakes of a tediously humdrum (yet oddly amusing) nature, two very cool music videos, a touching tribute to Klokateers who have died in the line of duty, Dethklok's caustic mascot Facebones listing almost every prop used so far in the show, and more of Nathan Explosion reading Shakespeare (Huzzah!) in his own inimitable style.

I highly recommended this set if you're a Metal fan, and/or also enjoy "Family Guy," "Robot Chicken," or any of the other [adult swim] cartoon offerings, including "Metalocalypse Season 1." Said Season 1 is also available here on Amazon, along with various versions of both Dethalbum and Dethalbum II - soundtrack CDs for this show - both of which are simultaneously funny, brutal, catchy, undeniably Metal, and highly recommended as well. Now all we have to do is settle back and wait for Season 3 to come out, and from what I've heard, it's going to be every bit as excellent, only with longer episodes. Metal.