Soichi Negishi is a shy young musician who dreams of a career in pop. Dreams don't pay the bills, so he's ended up as the lead singer of a death metal band, "Detroit Metal City." In stage costume he is Johannes Krauser II, rumored to be a terrorist demon from hell, to have killed and raped his parents, to wield his giant death penis with abandon, etc. One of his songs suggests that his fans should murder everyone, in a comic parody of the genre. Negishi despises DMC and all that it stands for, but he can't walk away. As DMC's star rises Negishi tries to satisfy both worlds, but can't.

The series takes its name from the KISS single "Detroit Rock City".