UMUR "The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera" is the 4th full-length studio album by US metal act Dethklok. The album was released through BS Records in October 2013. It´s the successor to "Dethalbum III" from 2012. The core lineup still consists of the two-piece Brendon Small who performs vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, voice-overs, and handles production and prolific drummer Gene Hoglan (Dark Angel, Death, Strapping Young Lad, Testament, Fear Factory...etc.). This time around there are several guest/sessions musicians featured, including a 50 piece orchestra under the direction of Bear McCreary, and quite a few guest vocalists. Dethklok is a virtual band concept created for the animated tv-series "Metalocalypse", and "The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera" is a soundtrack to a "Metalocalypse" special of the same name. The album works a lot like a rock opera/Broadway musical without the visuals.

Rock/metal operas featuring orchestras/choirs can be a bit of an aquired taste. Sometimes touching cheesy Broadway musical territories, but sometimes thankfully staying in more tasteful environements. Not surprisingly the material on "The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera" is generally in the harder end of the musical spectrum, but other times it´s maybe a bit more surprising actually rather close to sounding like something out of "Cats" or something in that vein (a much harder edged version that is). Small is definitely a classically trained composer, and his scores are professionally done (just listen to the 23:23 minutes long classical music bonus track "The Doomstar Orchestra" for proof of that) and he makes them work well with the rock/metal orchestration and vocals. Dethklok are usually labelled a melodic death metal act, but the death metal part of the band´s sound is toned down considerably on "The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera", and this is more a symphonic metal release with the occasional nod towards the extreme part of the metal scene. So while there are death metal vocals featured on the album, the many guest vocalists predominantly perform various types of clean vocals. Among the guest vocalists who perform on the album are Jack Black, George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher (Cannibal Corpse), and none other than Star Wars actor Mark Hamill.

The plot is as crazy as ever when dealing with the "Metalocalypse" tv-series. It´s like a heavy metal version of a Terry Pratchett novel or something similarly weird and out there. The story includes an abduction, a rescue mission, an assassin, drug addicts, old groupies, a group of failed musicians angry at Dethklok, a dreamlike sequence featuring a guitar duel, and of course our heavy metal band heroes of Dethklok as the unwilling protagonists...and that´s just the half of it. I can strongly recommend reading the lyrics while listening to the album (they are both fun and a little silly, but definitely entertaining), as the musical transitions and different stylistic elements used, make much more sense when combined with the lyric sheet.

"The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera" is well produced and features a professional, clear, and detailed sounding production, which suits the material perfectly. Upon conclusion it´s through and through a high quality release. The songwriting is intriguing and clever, the musicianship is on a high level, and the interaction between the classical orchestra and the rock/heavy metal band instrumentation and vocals are effectful. You´ll have to be able to enjoy a crazy concept plot and occasionally equally crazy vocal styles/moments, but if that´s not a problem, then "The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera" is highly recommendable. It´s a bold release and pretty different from Dethklok´s previous releases, but it´s just as entertaining and definitely a worthy part of the band´s discography. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.