A few weeks back mxdwn covered this year’s installment of the Mayhem Festival in San Bernardino. While we were there, we took the time to speak with Metalocalypse/Dethklok mastermind Brendon Small. Small was casual and frank about the state of his mega successful Cartoon Network show Metalocalypse, explaining to us how the show itself might be coming to an end. He quipped at one point dryly of the band’s technically cartoon status, “We don’t exist. I think I do exist.”

In between working on season 4 of the wildly popular show–which will be returning to its original quarter hour format–Small has completed and named a new solo project, appropriately titled Brendon Small’s Galaktikon. A project featuring him and live Dethklok band members Bryan Beller and Gene Hoglan (famous for his work in Death and Strapping Young Lad), he describes it as a, “High stakes intergalactic rock album.”

Live Dethklok is backed by a large video wall, playing videos synced to the songs featuring their animated counterparts shredding or banging along. As to any future evolution of the Dethklok performance experience itself Small expressed enthusiasm for the technology utilized to pull off Japanese hologram performer Hatsune Miko. He remarked, “It’s amazing. It’s a great idea.” He jokes with a smile, “I was at Disneyland recently, which is not metal, but it’s cool. I’m not very metal, I don’t know if you noticed that yet.” Small detailed his own affinity for an attraction at Disneyland called “The Wonderful World of Color.” He explains, “[It’s] this huge gigantic pit of water it’s 300 yards wide. They shoot the water up in the air and they project the images onto that. Then they shoot fire into the water. I thought if you could get a band there, some kind of protective shell covering and glass and have them play. You’d worship them like gods. You could start your own new religion.” Small offers humorously in discussing this innovative approach, “The way I pitched this show was a big stupid Disneyland ride, but with murder.”

Upon being queried as to whether a Metalocalypse movie is in the cards for the show (much like South Park’s creators did with South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut), Small indicates that the animated program might be drawing to a close. “My goal is to do this season and then do a movie and then end it,” he states soberly. He adds, “We’re at the mercy of budgets.” South Park is apparently the bar for quality in the TV cartoon-turned movie arena. He explains, “South Park, they’re the ones that nailed it. Amazing, that they did that. What a feat. I remember laughing until my face hurt.”

And if Metlocalypse may be coming to a close, what of the human driven Dethklok band? Small offers that creating an entity that allows for audio-driven entity to continue was always part of the plan, stating, “I wanted to be able to have an audio driven show. Maybe the show gets cancelled, I can keep the audio alive. So, I would love to keep on making Dethklok records forever.”

To hear the whole interview, please watch the video below.

Photos by Raymond Flotat