Magnus Hammersmith

Magnus is a tall, middle-aged man with long, wavy brown hair darker than that of Murderface and Toki. He has a rather bony face, brown eyes, and a goatee. His outfit consists of a black, long-sleeved, button-up shirt with small shirt pockets on both sides. He also wears dark grey jeans with a black belt with a skull and wings buckle and black shoes. Magnus retains the same style over the years, in “Dethcamp” one can see both his current appearance in comparison to his younger self for the first time, and there are several factors that imply he has aged significantly. His hair is shown to be longer, both his hair and his goatee are now streaked with white and his face is more wrinkled. Nathan’s punches appear to have permanently damaged his left eye, though it is unknown whether he has partial vision or has completely lost function of that eye While it’s clear that Skwisgaar is the tallest member of Dethklok, during the flashback sequence and at the end of Dethcamp when Magnus and Pickles exchange greetings, Magnus is shown to tower over Toki, Pickles, and Murderface. He is also shown to be similar in height to Nathan and Skwisgaar in a photograph seen in The Doomstar Requiem. This indicates him as one of the tallest characters in the series overall. Magnus was kicked out of Dethklok due to his arrogant, controlling nature and erratic violent behavior. When Nathan called Magnus out for “acting crazy,” the guitarist responded by attacking the much larger man with a hunting knife, stabbing him in the shoulder while his back was turned. Nathan responds by beating Magnus unconscious, permanently damaging his left eye. That same night, Magnus tore apart the living quarters of Dethklok and wrote threatening messages on the walls with blood or red paint, promising to take revenge on Dethklok. This outburst was apparently so infamous that even Doctor Rockso was aware of it. Magnus is implied to have an ego, as he claims the band would “suck” without him. Despite not being as fast or as technical as Toki or Skwisgaar, he feels superior to the other band members. Years later, Magnus assumed a calmer outward demeanor, however, it was revealed that he was hiding his true intentions. He still harbored resentment towards Dethklok, and his grudge had become more pronounced as the band became hyper-famous. Magnus developed a fixation on his replacement, Toki Wartooth, a naïve young man whose personality contrasts his own in many ways. Magnus went out of his way to befriend Toki and gain his trust, however, he secretly resented and envied Toki’s role in Dethklok. Though the rest of Dethklok and Rockso were suspicious of his intentions, Magnus appealed to Toki’s accepting nature. While he continued to hang out with Toki, Magnus developed a plan to kidnap him. Even then, despite wanting revenge, he kept a photo of the band including himself before he was kicked out. His anger seemed to stem from being doomed to obscurity while Dethklok became famous in his absence, desiring for the other members to feel his pain of being left behind. He believed the world would also be better off without them; unaware of the consequences of his actions. Upon his death, it was revealed he had thought of himself as a hero, but finally understood he was the villain..

Trivia: His role as The Man Who Stands Behinds Shadows is a nod to his eventual obscurity after he was kicked out of the band. To “stand in the shadow of someone else” means that while you are associated with them, people rarely acknowledge you or your talents.However, Magnus’ title means he is even more obscure as he is not just standing in their shadows, he is standing behind the shadow itself. On Dethalbum III, Magnus is given writing credits for the song “The Hammer”. This may imply that despite his fallout with the others, they still respected him enough to give him credit for the song. In creating an issue out of Pickles “making the drum solo his own,” Magnus displayed a strong desire for creative control. This is a stark contrast to his replacement, Toki Wartooth, who stated in Performanceklok that he wants no creative input whatsoever. All other members of the band had previously been confirmed to have had music industry experience in other band in the episode Snakes N’ Barrels. It is possible Mangus had previous experience himself due to his age matching the rest of the band as an experienced musician. In contrast, Toki had been a complete newcomer to the industry with no previous experience at all and his talent was unexpected. The suicide of Magnus seems to be a literary nod to the ancient Japanese ritual of seppuku, done to restore honor and to atone for one’s errors. As of The Doomstar Requiem, Magnus is the second former member of Dethklok to have died, with the first being X2P-1158 in “Rehabklok”. He is also the first former member of Dethklok, with the second being X2P-1158. Magnus is believed to be much older than the rest of the band members. This is evidence by being the only one to have grey hair, as well as his preference for older more vintage models of electric guitars. “Hammersmith” was the name of a Canadian rock band The word Magnus means “great” while a smith is a craftsman who works with metals. A Smiths title usually refers to what they make or work with such as a Tinsmith (one who works with the metal Tin) or Blades smith (someone who makes bladed tools or weapons such as knives, swords or daggers). So Magnus’ own name reads as implied Great Smith of Hammers. In terms of music, given his role of being a guitarist, it may refer to the hammer-on technique of playing, this technique can be heard in The Hammer when a series of quick notes are playing that go down in succession causing a “hammer” effect heard in the song. Brendon Small had offered a more in-depth explanation for Magnus’ character, stating, “Magnus is written to be a selfish narcissist living in the past. He learns too late that he had the power to change himself and chooses to end instead. Dethklok chooses to change and risk all for a friend—let them be your guides—not Magnus.”