Ever been attracted to a cartoon? Nathan Explosion, brutal vocalist and lyrical visionary of Dethklok, is a bona fide beefcake! Dethklok is an animated metal group from Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim TV show, Metalocalypse. To coincide with the premiere of the second season of the show and the release of season one on DVD, a regular and a deluxe CD edition of Dethalbum has been released. The deluxe edition, which is what I have, includes a second disc featuring seven more tracks, the animated video for “Bloodrocuted,” and the premiere episode from season two of Metalocalypse. What a bargain! Dethalbum is unholy and hilarious — masterminded by vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Brandon Small, the fictional ensemble excels at slyly humorous Scandinavian-influenced death metal. The record pledges allegiance to metal, even as it mocks the genre’s eccentricities. Think Fubar or “Bobby Meets the Devil” from “Kids in the Hall.” This album is what I like to call “background metal.” It’s not my favorite CD, but it’s an easy listen and something I would pop in the ol’ stereo while being preoccupied by something else. I admittedly developed a greater fondness for it after watching the cartoon, which I vow to watch from now on because it kicks ass. A few of my friends were horrified I hadn’t seen it sooner, and I now walk with my head down in shame as a result. A long time ago I met a Korean kid who told me what the “devil’s hand” meant phonetically in his language. He said simply, “celebrate evil.” Get this album and live it.

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