Heavy Metal Comic Series Eternal Descent Goes Viral -

Monday, April 29, 2024

Heavy Metal Comic Series Eternal Descent Goes Viral

Eternal Descent creator, Llexi Leon teams up with Calabash Animation, taking viewers into the dark fantasy realm of the popular comic book/music series. The result – an animated short that brings to life the gothic world envisioned in print by Leon and illustrator Jason Metcalf. Eternal Descent allied with endorsers ESP Guitars, Digitech, DiMarzio Inc and publisher IDW for a viral launch over the Halloween Weekend. The 2-minute short film can be viewed in HD at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ped_sijmC8c

A visually stunning fantasy comic book series published by IDW, Eternal Descent features storylines filled with adventures featuring guitar-wielding heroes. Acclaimed heavy metal guitarist Leon is the mastermind behind the story, which centers on three main characters — Lyra, a lead singer/guitarist in a popular band whose fame-at-any-cost attitude has made her vulnerable to Loki, a powerful demon plotting world domination. Helping Lyra is Sirian, one of heaven’s guardians. What unifies Lyra and Sirian is their weapon choice: searing electric guitars.

In addition to the powerful art of the comic books, which recalls the classic 70s animation magazine Heavy Metal with a modern spin, is the music created by Leon and produced by rock legend Eddie Kramer

(Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones). The combined visual and audio components make Eternal Descent a truly visionary concept that has led to thousands of fans and endorsements from leading music manufacturers like ESP Guitars, Digitech and DiMarzio pickups.

“The concept was action heavy and effects heavy, and although the budget was limited, I was hoping for hand drawn character animation wherever possible,” Leon says. “Everyone I spoke too said it couldn’t be done. Calabash was the only studio willing to take on the challenge without compromising the script. They were optimistic about the potential of the piece, and they understood what I was trying to achieve. More importantly, they had the creative vision to think well beyond the technical challenges of the action and effects sequences, confident that everything would be possible by mixing mediums and combining techniques.”

Set to an ominous musical score featuring some amazing guitar solos, the story line of the short centers on a concert featuring Lyra that quickly turns from cheering fans in an outdoor stadium to fire-eyed demons trying to capture Lyra. She falls from the stage, crashes through the ground and lands in an underworld coliseum where Loki confronts her. As the battle begins Sirian comes to Lyra’s aid. Lyra escapes, but the cliffhanger ending suggests it is only the beginning.

About Eternal Descent’s Llexi Leon:
Llexi Leon began making noise in London, England in 2005. His highly intricate guitar style exhibits the many influences corralled to create his intense sound – from classical, flamenco, electronica, and ambient genres to the more prominent genres of rock and metal. All of these genres infused to one, Leon has built a cinematic metal fantasia with his music which has branched out to a comic book series. His main aspirations are bringing stories to life through escapism. He utilizes everyday events and his vivid imagination to drive him to create more avenues for his multimedia enterprise.

About Calabash Animation:
Led by Creative Director Wayne Brejcha and Executive Producer Sean Henry, Calabash Animation, Inc. www.calabashanimation.com is the Chicago, IL-based animation production studio, known for its award-winning cel, 3D and stop-motion animation for the advertising and entertainment industries. Calabash Animation is perhaps best known for their creative development of some of America’s most beloved brand icons. In addition to working on some of today’s top advertising the company has also produced several acclaimed short films. It’s 2002 short ‘’Stubble Trouble’’ was nominated for an Academy Award in 2002.

Web Resources:
Click here to watch the Eternal Descent short:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ped_sijmC8c