Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar begins after the heroic rescue of Toki Wartooth; Dethklok frontman Nathan Explosion finds himself traumatized in a BRUTAL professional and romantic flat-spin, all while he is tasked with fulfilling the prophecy and confronting the ultimate songwriting challenge to save the planet. Can Nathan Explosion look beyond his brutally damaged ego to save his band, stop the Metalocalypse, and finally face the ultimate evil: Salacia?
This movie serves as the finale for the whole Metalocalypse series.
Plot[]
After rescuing Toki from The Revengencers, Dethklok experience a collective memory loss about the experience, though Nathan occasionally experiences flashbacks and he and Toki appear to be strugging with different forms of PTSD. At the same time, General Crozier begins to regain his lucidity and cognizance of what has been happening as Salacia refocuses his efforts on gaining control over Murderface.
The pressure of writing The Song of Salvation causes Nathan to question his purpose and consider quitting songwriting altogether in favor of pursuing a life with Abigail. To his dismay Abigail rejects his marriage proposal, sending him further into despair and causing him to further alienate his bandmates and their fans. Charles Offdensen, who has become the High Holy Priest of the Church of the Black Klok, directs Pickles to support Nathan, and directs Nathan and Dethklok to receive spiritual guidance from Dick Knubber, who has also become a disciple of the Church of the Black Klok. During a spiritual psychedelic experience, Nathan is once again visited by the water god in the form of a whale, who asks him if he will choose to be an open hand or a closed fist.
Just as they are going live worldwide with Nathan's song, he recalls the words of the water god and doubts that this song is the true Song of Salvation. As they play Aortic Desecration, the Metalocalypse is triggered, and meteors rain from the sky, casting the entire world into darkness. A fullscale attack is launched against Dethklok, knocking Skwisgaar unconscious and eliminating the entire Army of the Doomstar. Murderface flees in shame as he realizes the way he was used as a tool to hurt his friends. Dick Knubbler sacrifices his life to create a shield for the rest of Dethklok, who are then able to escape to temporary safety in a cave. Toki tends to Skwisgaar as he recovers, and they are met by General Crozier, who has broken free from the Tribunal's control and come to help them. He explains to them that in order to exorcise Salacia from Murderface they will need to submerge him underwater, potentially killing him. Once the rest of Dethklok chases Murderface down and collectively drown him, the spectre of Salacia is released from his body and Nathan is able to resuscitate him. The band reassures Murderface that they need him despite his ineptitude, and Nathan refocuses his effort on writing The Song of Salvation. With Pickles's help, Nathan realizes he must use his lyrics to reach out an open hand to all those he has alienated. Edgar Jomfru then aids the band in broadcasting this new song across the world.
Dethklok are captured by Salacia's men and taken to a compound with a massive rotating altar where they are used to perform a ritual known as The Great Reuniting, which is meant to open The Doomstar's interdimensional portal gates and enable Salacia to achieve ultimate power. As the ritual is performed and the portal is opened, Nathan is able to focus his strength and free himself from their restraints but is knocked unconscious in the fall from the rotating mechanism. This interrupts the ritual and frees the rest of the band, but Salacia still gains enough lifeforce to enter a sort of pupal phase. General Crozier helps Edgar Jomfru infiltrate the base to plant and detonate an explosive device, sacrificing Jomfru's life and destroying the altar.
Led by Charles Offdensen, the fans arrive to defend Dethklok, having heard the Song of Salvation. Vater Orlaag and his men clash with Charles Offdensen and the fans in a battle to the death. Just as Orlaag approaches Dethklok with intent to finish them, Offdensen confronts him. He is nearly bested by Orlaag in combat but is saved when Murderface distracts him with a snowball, leading Orlaag to be crushed by the runaway steamroller he had ridden over on. Crozier is able to regain control over the military just as Salacia emerges from his cocoon in his ultimate form and approaches Dethklok. They are able to summon The Dethlights once again, and Nathan creates a link between Dethklok and the fans by extending his open hand to them, strengthening the Dethlights significantly. The force is enough to weaken Salacia and pushes him back toward the ocean where he is consumed by the water god and ejected through the Doomstar's portal, banishing him into another dimension.
Nathan is overcome with emotion as he realizes their fans are the true Army of the Doomstar, and his bandmates are his true family. He declares this gathering as the true Great Reuniting, and the fans cheer as Offdensen looks on, smiling. The Prophecy is finally fulfilled and the earth is saved.
Cast[]
- Brendon Small
- Tommy Blacha
- Victor Brandt
- Stephen "Thundercat" Bruner
- King Diamond
- Mark Hamill
- Kirk Hammett
- Jon Hamm
- Scott Ian
- Amy Lee
- Malcolm McDowell
- Juliet Mills
- Laraine Newman
- Raya Yarbrough
- Livia Zita
Production[]
TBA
Release[]
The feature-length film was set to debut on both home video and video-on-demand for three months and then to start streaming free on MAX (aka. HBO Max) and Adult Swim. However, these expectations were not fully met. The film will be available for streaming on MAX on April 6th, 2024, right after it's debut on live TV (Adult Swim) on April 5th at midnight.
Soundtrack[]
A full-length OST, as well as a new Dethklok album (Dethalbum IV), was released on August 25, 2023 through WaterTower Music.
Trivia[]
- The original pitch for the release of Army of the Doomstar was a 6-part mini series.
- It's shown that Salacia didn't follow Dethklok into the water upon their escape from him due to the Whale Prophet; a fellow God like being that could kill him.
- Nathan's speech at the end has been interpreted by the fans as a message from Brendon Small to them.
- The Dethlights grow in power when shared with more hosts; specifically the Army of the Doomstar/Dethklok fans. They are also more stable than the last film, glowing white instead of red; showing Nathan's choice to be a welcoming hand to ask for help.
- The pentagram reflects this as it's now a regular star instead of upside-down.