Dethkomercial

I had previously mentioned that the airing of a commercial for a video game on stage between bands at the Dethklok concert was… unwelcome at best. Turns out that particular part of the show hasn’t been very well received by the audiences at each of their tour stops. I assume the fire that halted a San Francisco Dethklok show was the result of a disgruntled fan that didn’t want to be sold anything else after purchasing a $30 ticket with $15 in convenient charges, a $25 shirt and several $4 beers.

It was a lot like the first time I saw a commercial at a movie theater instead of just trailers. You’re excited for the entertainment you’ve paid for and are about to enjoy and then something happens to make you feel ashamed and dirty. When they began projecting the advert on a 50 foot wide screen in front of us Josh panicked and began trying to fast forward the concert. I explained that what were were experiencing wasn’t recorded on a Tivo but was actually a live event that couldn’t be time-shifted. He then tried to delete the torrent. I just held him as he acted out his paranoid psychosis  and wept.

I get it. Touring is crazy expensive, and when a corporation approaches you and offers to foot some or all of the bill if you agree to certain impositions on behalf of your audience it’s probably pretty difficult to say no. I guess it just seemed like the kind of thing that would be more at home at a Panic at the Disco show than a Dethklok concert. That logic, and my disapproval, really don’t make any sense seeing as how “Dethklok” is just an advertisement for an ad supported cartoon, DVD’s and other merchandise. Like I said, I actually enjoy their music regardless of their fantastically entertaining television program.

I remember seeing Weezer at the first Honda civic tour in the early 2000’s. That was my first experience with corporate sponsored rock and roll. There were Honda Civics on the floor of the concert that you could sit in. I think there was a mosh pit test drive too. There were tents where I could play Playstation racing games featuring the all new Civic, and informational booths where I could learn more about the ABS brakes, dual airbags, and “roomier than you would think” interior. I got a free Weezer poster at that show. Well, it said “Weezer” in tiny letters. Mostly had a picture of a car. And the name of a car.

In all honesty, I really wasn’t even all that offended at the Dethkomercial. I was just VERY SURPRISED to see it DURING a metal show. That’s all.

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67 Comments

  1. Not to bring Dethklok down, it's a funny show and all…

    But, I sort of figured that people who find the music appealing were just a bunch of children who listen to it (along with Dragonforce) as they play Halo on X Box Live.

    I just didn't expect a gimmick "metal" band to become so popular.

    Apologies to any fans of Dethklok's music.

    Please don't kill me.

  4. Next thing you know, they'll all be thanking corporations in their acceptance speeches for awards they get…
    "I'd like to thank god, mom and and dad, burger king…"

  6. What a depressing comic. A very acute sense of resignation and disappointment. Touring's only as expensive as you make it. If you can't book venues on your own and sleep in a van, you're just a pussy who's playing at it. I don't know, playing Dethklok doesn't seem to be very important to the people playing Dethklok. If no one else is going to take ownership, you know it's going to be corporate accounts.

    Oh, and Weezer has always been a little precious for their own good. And the meme'jaculation video was the icing on that cake of suck.

  8. They actually did this during the "Montgomery Gentry" concert a couple of years ago in Cheyenne, Wyoming. An old song lyric with the word "whiskey" was replaced with "Jim Beam".

    • That I could live with. Jim Beam's some good shit when yer feelin' lower'n'a <insert low critter's name here> an' ye be needin' somethin' ta numb yersself ta tha' world.

  9. I personally don't like the music to much. I like 80s metal(Metallica, Megadeth, Iron Maiden). The show is funny as hell though.
    I went to a Weird Al concert a few years back and they had no commericals. They didnt have them at the local bar either for Kix.

  13. Because advertising is inevitable, I've learned to expect it and (sort of) deal with it. Not that I'm happy with it, but I cope. That's why I don't mind advertising when it's integrated into the chosen media. Furthermore, as big a surprise as this is, most of the cartoons of our youth were half-hour advertisements for toys (which is PRECISELY the reason the product placement in Transformers, let alone the rest of the movie, didn't bother me).

  20. Joel man, what were you thinking? This would have been the perfect opportunity to pimp up your own awesome shit (The Vault and the new store) right in the middle of the comic and have it be both ironic and funny as shit! Ah well, you'll get the hang of this marketing stuff soon. Or starve.

  28. It was much later that I learned that the toys came first in the 80's. I had no idea they were designing transformers toys THEN writing them into the show. Also the fact that GI Joe made such a big deal about getting new vehicles and such didnt phase me at all as a child.

  34. Yeah I went to see Simple Plan (don't judge! I was young!) a few years ago and Verizon had done the tour… there was a giant screen where you could send a text to and have it up on the screen…. I couldn't believe they would stoop to that but alas… nothing is too low for any big company.

  40. I went to see Radiohead at a Verizon venue and they had the text screen up at first. It scared the hell out of me but then a message popped up right before they came on stage that said at their request the text screens wouldn't be used.

  43. They are $4-5 at most metal venues in SF, at least. I'm sure you could be a broker and go pay $10 for an amstel somewhere, or a shot of vodka, but I haven't been forced to do that here yet.

  44. having been to only 1.5 concerts in my lifetime I cant say Im a music snob, but I will comment to the overcommercialization that seems omnipresent in our society >.<

    and with the olympics coming up my brain is already reeling

    • I don't understand why people dislike "Load" so much.. my list would look mostly like yours, I'd consider switching 2 and 3, but I'd comfortably slide "Load" in between the black album and Garage inc… Granted, the gap between "black" and "Load" is big..

      Hai 2 U, btw! Just discovering this comic today, and kinda slowed down the pace when I realized the commentary was often hilarious as well..

      ..and this comment right here is where I stopped, did a double-take, and decided I could not hold my silence…

  50. You get bonus points in my book for including Garage, Inc. and S&M, and especially for giving them the places you did. As much as I might personally like Load/Reload, I can't in good conscience put them ahead of any of the rest. m/

  57. Yeah I def. won't be able to hear the sweater song in the same light. Also, I just finished the 3rd season of BSG and while it was exciting finding out 4 of the final 5, the fucking version of all along the watchtower was fucking retarted… And almost ruined the whole experience.

  58. Not really related but something for you toast/BSG aficionado to ponder, how much is $70 really?

    Consider also that Metalocalypse has so much product placement in it already (Gibson, Krank). It's not far-fetched to have a commercial in a show. I think the difference is the product being sold. For example, an ad featuring daggers or leather pants might have been a better choice. Or coffee.
    The first rule of marketing is to know thy audience, and the marketers failed there.

  59. Im glad you brought up coffee. I need to remember that the pilot of the freaking show was about selling out for money. That should help me keep things in perspective.

    Also I think the marketing team was right on… for adult swim fans. I dont think they realized how many actual metal heads were going to be at these shows.

  63. OK, I have some catching up to do with the comics today… I read this one last week but I didn't have a chance to comment on it. The third panel is my favorite. Don't get me wrong – I love Metallica as well as your rendition of James Hetfield – but something about taking Green Day and raping it with Whoppers just hits me in the right spot. BTW, I appreciate the "eyah" at the end of Hetfield's lyric – +1 for accuracy.

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