The wait for the second album from Brendon Small is finally over. After five long years, the madman behind projects like Adult Swim’s Metalocalypse is unleashing Galaktikon II: Become the Storm, the follow-up to his metal masterpiece Galaktikon. The new album is headed our way August 25th and we’re insanely fired up. Throw some horns up and get ready to rock, kiddies.

We have an exclusive teaser for the album, which is a sweet 360-degree video that sends you barreling through space while listening to the sweet riffs of Brendon Small. It’s equal parts awesome and ridiculous. This is how you debut a cosmic-themed album, people.

The galactic adventure themes of the album are apparent from the trailer; Small pointed out that he was influenced by several prominent science fiction authors. “This is more of a Frank Herbert intergalactic war story with a splash of Flash Gordon high-stakes drama,” Small said. “A planet divided, coming together to defeat something bigger. Can music bring an embattled planet together? Or are people really attracted to the calm lure of evil?”

He added, “But in retrospect this could also fit the Lovecraft world. There is dread, there is manipulation of senses etc…”

Musically, the album draws from influences you may not readily expect. “To be honest, I listened to very little metal while making this,” Small said. “It’s nice to not be influenced by current trends and instead go back 20 or more years. I was listening to Paul Simon’s first solo album, Paul Simon, after watching an old interview on the Dick Cavett show. I was very excited to hear his through-composed style of writing on the song ‘Everything Put Together Falls Apart.’ Not terribly metal though.”

Small continued, “There are moments where I’m influenced by Billy Joel and Duran Duran–again, not metal. Of course I’m influenced by Soundgarden, Queen, Weezer, Metallica, ELO… Then I’ll take all this stuff and add gallons of distortion and add crazy double kicks–care of the mighty Gene Hoglan. Then, finally, it becomes metal.”

Being the gearheads we are, we had to ask Brendon Small what sort of guitars and amps he used to construct Galaktikon II: Become the Storm. “I recorded this album with a bunch of Gibson Explorer prototypes–you can see on my Instagram page @brendonsmall, I loaded them with Seymour Duncan ‘full shred’ pickups that have a smooth medium output,” Small told us. “I used my Joe Satriani Marshall and that new EVH MXR distortion pedal along with the JHS @ pedal for leads. As usual, I used Dunlop strings and Ultex picks.”

So, fans of Dethklok (the album is produced by the Dethklok producer Ulrich Wild and features Dethklok alumni Gene Hoglan and Bryan Beller!) and Metalocalypse, rejoice! Get hyped for Galaktikon II: Become the Storm, and listen to Galaktikon while you wait for the new album. Throws some horns up and get ready to get cosmic. Digital pre-order will be available June 2, which is right around the corner.

Image: Megaforce Records/MRI