Galaktikon II: Become the Storm

Personnel: Brendon Small (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Gene Hoglan (drums, drum).
Audio Mixer: Ulrich Wild.
Recording information: The Dangerzone; Wilderness.
Photographer: Steve Agee.
The sophomore solo outing from the Home Movies and Metalocalypse co-creator, Galaktikon II: Become the Storm is a Dethklok album in everything but name, as it features fellow Dethklok members Gene Hoglan and Bryan Beller on drums and bass, respectively. When Adult Swim restricted the use of the moniker for any new musical endeavors, Brendon Small began releasing material under his own name, beginning with the conceptual Brendon Small's Galaktikon in 2012. While not as narrative-driven as its predecessor, fans of the animated rockers' lethal blend of melody and might will find much to love here, as Small and company have crafted another winning slate of melodic death metal anthems that flirt with every iteration of the genre. From the guttural, throat-clearing attack of "Some Days Are for Dying" and "Icarus Six Sixty Six" to the sonorous, clean-sung "The Agenda" and the soaring, twin-guitarmony-driven closer "Rebuilding a Planet," Dethklok 2.0 prove to be as endlessly creative as they are sonically formidable. ~ James Christopher Monger