Nekrogoblikon

About

Nekrogoblikon built their entire identity around goblins, and it works far better than it has any right to. The Los Angeles melodic death metal band started as a basement project in Palo Alto in 2006, and across five full length albums, from Goblin Island through to The Fundamental Slimes and Humours, they have refined a sound that balances technical riffing, electronic flourishes, and surprisingly sharp songwriting. Their 2011 album Stench earned a 4.5 out of 5 from Metal Sucks and a 9 out of 10 from Blistering, proving the joke had serious musical teeth behind it. The real turning point came with the 2012 music video for "No One Survives," which introduced John Goblikon, a goblin mascot portrayed by comedian Dave Rispoli. The video went viral almost instantly, clocking over 1.5 million views in three months, and landing on the front page of Reddit before DJ and producer Diplo gave it a second wave with a single tweet. John has since become a full member of the band in lore and in practice, even hosting the podcast Right Now with John Goblikon. Their 2015 concept album Heavy Meta, which follows an immortal goblin race searching for a way to die, drew some of the strongest reviews of their career.