The Film
I'm not entirely sure what the people over at Adult Swim are smoking, but they seem more than willing to share. The late-night persona of the Cartoon Network is still cranking out its unique brand of entertainment, designed for the adult with a short-attention span.
The latest release is Metalocalypse: Season IV: Church of the Black Klok. If you haven't seen the first three seasons, you aren't going to be lost -- well, not anymore than anyone else. This round of rapid-fire entertainment follows the adventures of the metal band Dethklok, as they conquer the world, date fans, deliver catchphrases, go on Friender Benders, experience The Dethcession, get jobs, deal with break-ups, and much more.
Everyone must have been drained after last season's attempt to make 21-minute episodes, because it's been two years since the last season of Metalocalypse. Season IV returns to the old format, with each of the 12 episodes clocking in at a little over 11 minutes. That's just enough time for things to get weird, as well as squeeze in guest stars like to Jon Hamm, Werner Herzog, Janeane Garafalo, Dweezil Zappa, Chris Elliott, Patton Oswalt, Andy Richter, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and many more.
If you aren't a metal person, you may have a hard time appreciating what's going on in Metalocalypse: Season IV: Church of the Black Klok. Otherwise, it's a must -- but it's not on Adult Swim for nothing. This is absolutely not for kids, and I don't care how many death metal bands they can name. The show is filled with profanity and is insanely violent, leaving tons of entrails and bodily fluids in its wake.
The Picture
Warner Bros. has packed the entire season of Metalocalypse onto a single Blu-ray. The 11-minute episodes fit nicely onto one disc, with a 1.78:1 transfer. The animation isn't the best you've ever seen, but it's the best you've ever seen from Metalocalypse. The colors get a little boost from the Blu-ray format and there's a decent level of detail here.
The Sound
Hope you're ready to disturb the neighbors, because this TrueHD 5.1 track rocks pretty hard when it wants to. The music is the star here and it gets loud a lot. Basically, it's like listening to death metal, with a little dialogue mixed in -- and don't worry about that getting drowned out because you'll never miss a weird word of it.
The Extras
Metalocalypse: Season IV has about two hours of extras, and every piece is just as weird as the main feature. About 90 minutes of that is "Nathan Reads Shakespeare," with the character reading "A Comedy of Errors" -- or attempting to. Otherwise, the remaining 30 minutes are various extra snippets that fans will appreciate.
Final Thoughts
If you've been following the tour so far, Metalocalypse: Season IV: Church of the Black Klok is an absolute must. It returns to the show's shorter format, which makes it easy to sit down, rock out and whip through this season's 12 episodes. Having an appreciation for the show or death metal isn't a must for this season, but it certainly wouldn't hurt. Otherwise, you may want to try to catch the show on Adult Swim or stream an episode or two online before making the full-season investment.
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