- TikTokers are obsessed with the metal band Dethklok's personal hygiene video that's gone viral.
- Dethklok urged concertgoers to shower and be mindful of their "BO," as viewers say this PSA is needed at all shows.
The internet is applauding a death metal band's public service announcement video about personal hygiene that they play at the beginning of their shows.
The group, Dethklok — a fictional-turned-real band that started as part of the Adult Swim television series "Metalocalypse" — kicked off their national tour in August. And they're hoping to ensure that all fans will have a pleasant (smelling) concert experience.
A clip that captures part of the video has been viewed over 2.8 million times on TikTok. "Send this to your smelly friends," the video poster, @rawrxdkev, wrote in the description.
In the clip, the Adult Swim character Facebones gives a dramatized announcement of how people should behave at their show. "Etiquette is a French word that means, 'how to not act like a stupid asshole!'" the character said while its disturbingly evil head spun on-screen.
@rawrxdkev Send this to your smelly friends #concert #ettiquette #ettiquettetips #hygiene #raves #concerts #festivals #babymetalworldtour2023 #concerttok ♬ original sound - Kevin (๑◡๑)
Facebones then asked attendees if they'd ever stood next to someone at a show who smelled like "BO and old shoes and shit," adding that if they hadn't, they were most likely that person.
"Take a shower at some point in your life and then come to the show," the character urged at the end. Death metal fans have often been stereotyped as being more foul-smelling audiences. The situation can be exacerbated if concertgoers are frequently moshing against each other on the concert floor.
The comments to @rawrxdkev's video are full of people relenting that a band is finally addressing this issue.
"Needs to be at every concert," a top comment with over 4,000 likes said.
Some are expressing shock at the fact that it's "gotten to this point" that society needs to be reminded to take showers and be conscious of affecting other people's experiences.
"At the show is too late, this needs to be playing during ticketmaster queues," another person wrote.
Other fans cracked niche jokes about how certain musicians' fanbases needed the hygiene reminder the most, like the experimental rock duo The Garden and the Swedish rap group Drain Gang, who have become so known for attracting odorous concertgoers that it's become a meme online.
Some viewers said this shouldn't just be played at concerts — but any space where massive amounts of sweaty bodies congregate, like Disneyland and conventions.
@alyssatly This was an experience i was not expecting at tonights kcon concert… please take care of your personal hygiene when attending concerts and be mindful on how you will be impacting other’s experience. #kcon#kconla#kcon2023#kconconcert#concertetiquette#personalhygiene ♬ original sound - Alyssa ❣️
As COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, and people are returning to live music events in droves, the internet has become inundated with concert etiquette debates — especially about crowd hygiene.
In March, an anime voice actress with nearly a million Twitter followers shared a detailed guide encouraging concert attendees to bathe. One popular TikTok from August featured a woman talking about how she had the "nastiest concert experience" at the recent KCON, or Korean culture, festival in LA because of a stench-induced olfactory nightmare.
Insider reached out to the band Dethklok for further comment.