“They’ll bathe us in acid, they’ll chew through our brains.
They’ll chop up our guts and cut up our veins.
But close your eyes, drift away.
Dream into your happy place.”

Until Army of the Doomstar came out in 2023, The Doomstar Requiem served as the conclusion of Metalocalypse (2006–2013). A full-on musical, or rock opera if you will (or yet again, Klok Opera, as it is subtitled) that was supposed to bridge the gap between a pell-mell fourth season and a final fifth one, this television special celebrates everything that made the show successful—the distinct personalities of the vacuous members of Dethklok, the mumbly toilet humor, the guts and gore, the exaggerated conspiracies and apocalyptic prophecies, and most importantly, the chameleonic musical talents of Brendon Small.

Without the aid of subtitles, the lyrics of many of the songs tend to be indecipherable, which isn’t a problem when the music accents the humorous dialogue as it does in the main series, but here the entire story (which involves the disbanded Dethklok rescuing the kidnapped Toki from the Revengencers) is conveyed through singing and so comprehending the guttural grunts of Nathan Explosion is more important than usual. Even so, the entire special is driven as much by its ecstatic visuals as it is by its eclectic musical styles. Both of these come together wonderfully in a flashback where Toki auditions for the band by dueling with Skwisgaar as both take the forms of mythical beasts.

Like the show that it extends, The Doomstar Requiem is an unmistakable parody, but a parody that is so warmhearted and impassioned that it becomes something that can stand on its own.