Metalocalypse – Season One (Animation/DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C (D) Film: C
Starring (what
seemed at first to be) real life Heavy Metal band Deathlok, Metalocalypse – Season One (2007) is
the first time this genre has spawned a series with stars of that
alive-and-well music. Sure, Rock has
been in cartoons since The Archies
and Scooby Doo, while Metal finally
became addressed in the wackiest ways decades later in Beavis & Butt-head,
but this is done with less humor in a more serious world. It also owes at least something to KISS and
the integration of Rock, Superhero and Fantasy genres in their Phantom feature film.
The
result is an amusing, but this show that fans of the band (supposedly
fictitious, despite the impression otherwise) and the music might get a kick
out of for its novelty, but it only goes so far. There are 20 episodes over two discs and if
you can get involved, you might like the show.
Otherwise, it is not very memorable and if you are not a fan of the
music, you will get bored quickly. Maybe
some animation fans will like the style, but it is not very complex.
The 1.33
X 1 image is a little soft at times, but cleanness, color and some depth is
consistent. Still, this looks at least
as good as this would on cable. The
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix surprisingly has no surrounds, but is definitely a
new recording. Guess they did not want
to overdue the music. There are no
extras, though the box is nice and a sticker warns of special features being
unrated. Where?
It turned
out later it had to do with hiding the functions by highlighting the band
member’s heads in the menus. However,
for menu functions, the Easter Egg approach is poor and should be avoided in
the future.
- Nicholas Sheffo
