IoMP 111: Nekrogoblikon: Gimmick or Genius?
Goblins. Goblins everywhere.
In this episode of the Influencers of Metal Podcast, Collin and Tom tackle one of the most polarizing novelty-meets-metal bands of the last decade: Nekrogoblikon. Are they a cleverly disguised melodic death metal band hiding behind green skin and comedy… or is the goblin the whole point?
The conversation spirals beautifully through the band’s chaotic genre soup, their early days with Goblin Island, the unexpected origin of “Goblins Ahoy!” (Alestorm didn’t write it first,) and the infamous No One Survives music video that helped launch them into meme-metal stardom. Along the way, Wikipedia gets roasted, goblin culture gets analyzed with suspicious sincerity, and John Goblikon’s cultural impact is taken far more seriously than anyone expected.
The big debate? Whether Nekrogoblikon’s music can stand on its own without the goblin persona—or if the goblin is the band.
This episode isn’t about tearing down Nekrogoblikon—it’s about understanding why they work, why people keep showing up, and why sometimes being a gimmick is exactly the point.
So show us your goblin, hit play, and see if the boys dressed as goblins are a Gimmick or secretly genius!
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