Puns are one of the best forms of humor, and they’re especially amusing when applied to music genres that deal with death, violence, insanity and dragons.
Heavy metal music is full of entertaining band and musician puns. Here are a few of the best ones.
1. Dethklok
Metal music can be an intemperate genre to take lightly. Most bands take their art very seriously, so when someone mocks them it can be tough. Dethklok, however, are fictional metal band with an absurd name like Dethklok that have come under criticism in an Adult Swim cartoon show; yet their members seem unbothered as they’re worshiped by all and can get away with any crime committed against them in the show.
Brendon Small was inspired to create Dethklok co-creator, Brendon Small, by his lifelong fascination with heavy metal music, along with his desire to lampoon it humorously. Once Home Movies ended its run, Small began attending metal shows with writer Tommy Blacha; it was there they got the idea for Metalocalypse featuring Dethklok as its fictional band name.
Though a cartoon, this show can often be pretty harsh on its subjects – typically rock bands and music icons like rap superstars, television shows or religious figures. Furthermore, Metal Allegiance pokes fun at itself with jokes regarding drug use and sexual content within its subculture itself.
Though there are plenty of jokes about rock music in this show, its humor is an unusual blend of satire and slapstick. Most episodes focus on ridiculous behavior of band members while other episodes investigate issues plaguing metal music as a whole scene.
One episode sees the band embarking on a road trip with a well-known blues artist being pursued by ghost of train rider killed decades earlier; another sees them building a cross-country train to help blues legend Mashed Potatoes Johnson free himself of an agreement made with Satan over his soul.
Another key element of the show are its supporting characters. The members of the band find themselves surrounded by people who don’t take them seriously, including an overbearing manager (Charles Foster Offdensen) who embezzles money from them for his personal gain, as well as an unsavoury organization called The Tribunal who attempt to rein in their actions.
2. The Archies
Five goofy teenagers plucked from a cartoonist’s ink bottle became one of the hottest pop bands of the late ’60s, selling millions of records while drawing cartoon-style stylized images of spontaneous human combustion and amps turned up to 11. Their success marked both animation’s pinnacle as well as a warning signal to future teeny boppers: If you want a career in music, avoid writing songs about drugs, sexuality and death metal!
Archie Comics have inspired numerous television and movie adaptations in recent years, from Riverdale on The CW to Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix and The Archies by Zoya Akhtar – best known for her cerebral takes in mainstream Hindi cinema and Gully Boy – adding her unique desi flair in The Archies movie adaptation at Netflix global fan event Tudum in Sao Paulo. Akhtar recently unveiled an extended look of The Archies project at Tudum.
The Archies is set in Bombay in 1964 and follows four musically inclined Archie and Veronica Comics characters including Dilton Doiley – who stands out with his impeccable sartorial choices and endless knowledge in various subjects – in their pursuit of drug trafficker Colonel Maodong. Dilton’s intellect keeps everyone guessing until we discover his secret role with the International Communist Party as they search for him as their spy agent.
Producer Don Kirshner assembled a team of studio musicians to craft The Archies sound. Ron Dante, an experienced session singer who had fronted Detergents novelty band and recorded numerous radio jingles for CBS radio stations such as WTMD was recruited as Ron’s main singer; one of his signature songs “Sugar Sugar” made its debut on Billboard Hot 100 that year and became first bubblegum pop hit composed entirely from fictional characters; other hits were “Bang Shang-A-Lang,” “Who’s Your Baby?” and “Jingle Jangle.” One unique promotional strategy involved embossing albums onto cereal boxes directly.
Sophisticated production values and exceptional casting guarantee a fun ride for fans of both the original cartoon series as well as those who haven’t experienced it. Cast includes Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever), Aditi Dot (Ethel Muggs), Khushi Kapoor (Veronica Lodge), Mihir Ahuja (Jughead Jones), Suhana Khan (Riverdale’s Betty Cooper) and Vedang Raina (Reggie Mantle). Its release date is anticipated later this year.
3. The Hell
Hell is defined in scripture as an eternal place of pain and agony that endures without end, representing an inferno-like lake of fire (Matthew 13:42-50; John 8:22). While those who accept Jesus will enter Heavenly Kingdoms, those who reject Christ or die without repenting their sins (Revelation 20:20-27) will go straight to Hell as their final destination (Rev 20:20,27).
Deathgasm’s hellscape comprises seven rings whose atmospheres are perpetually acidic, chaotic, and toxic to carbon-based life forms. These seven rings are home to both hellborn demons as well as humans sent there for various reasons – all are subjected to the tortures of an angry fiery devil known as The Blind One who can hear their cries for help from within hellscape; according to legend he can even bring them back home – or at least their personal versions thereof.
Hell’s society is marked by chaos, with only minimal public services provided to residents of Hellscape. Firefighters provide assistance within Hell, while patients requiring evaluation or treatment of flame-scorched bodies are taken directly to a hospital for evaluation and care. Ruled by Lucifer Morningstar himself, its population consists of hellborn demons born here as well as mortals sent there by God – both are living alongside Lucifer Morningstar himself in this realm.
Metal bands have long been famed for their clever puns, from the obviously amusing to downright cringe-inducing. Grindcore band Anal Cunt, for instance, popularised an eye-catching T-shirt depicting a bloodied skull from their early 1990s grindcore repertoire.
Puns and heavy metal music share another relationship: both often refer to madness or insanity. One theory suggests metal’s links with insanity stem from subarachnoid hemorrhage brain damage which affects humor-generating frontal lobe regions such as those responsible for frontal humor processing lobe. A similar link exists between music and insanity – musicians like Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain suffered from psychotic episodes, self-mutilation, and an apparent inability to comprehend lyrics written about himself or other.
4. Spinal Tap
Nearly any metal fan knows about this cult classic mockumentary film. Its portrayal of a fictional heavy metal band has become part of pop culture, inspiring numerous imitations and even serving as an insult against bands that take themselves too seriously. Few movies can rival its influence over music industry – and yet, at the same time, this hilarious flick still packs plenty of humor for heavy metal fans to enjoy!
This film follows fictional British rock band Spinal Tap, played by Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer; its members are being followed on tour by documentary filmmaker Marty Di Bergi (Rob Reiner). Although full of comedy, it also captures accurately depictions of music scene; for instance, when Spinal Tap began as skiffle player but soon moved into rock & roll before eventually transitioning to heavy metal music genre. Many memorable quotes in the movie reflect these issues as well as band’s lack of self-awareness.
Much of the dialogue in this movie was created ad-lib, leading to it becoming a pop culture phenomenon with plenty of memorable quotes such as, “There’s such a fine line between stupid and clever.” This line stands out among others from an amazing film with many great lines like this.
There are also some amusing references to heavy metal music itself in these comedy sketches. For instance, band members wear T-shirts from heavy metal acts such as Death and Kreator; additionally, the drummer sports a drum kit with an impressively large bottom — a nod towards the style used commonly within heavy metal music.
Another hilarious gag in the film involves the band’s record label. They attempt to push them toward heavier music by forcing them to release an album with black covers; but their music director insists.
At one point in a particularly amusing scene from a comedy film, the band’s manager asks the drummer for advice about their record. In response, he replies with the line, ‘If I told you what it was, I would have to kill you.” This hilarious line stands out among many other memorable and humorous lines in this flick.