Nekrogoblikon

melodic death metal · death metal · metal

Nekrogoblikon is an American melodic death metal band formed in 2006 by vocalist Nicky Calonne and guitarist Tim Lyakhovetskiy in Palo Alto, California, and now based in Los Angeles. The two recorded the debut album Goblin Island in a basement in 2007, and Lyakhovetskiy expanded the lineup with players he met while attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. The band's music folds folk metal, symphonic power metal and outright comedy into a melodic death metal frame, and the whole project is built around a goblin conceit that extends from the lyrics to the artwork to the stage show. Its five studio albums are Goblin Island (2007), Stench (2011), Heavy Meta (2015), Welcome to Bonkers (2018) and The Fundamental Slimes and Humours (2022), all issued on the band's own Mystery Box label, alongside the 2013 release power, a 2020 cover of Chop Suey!, and the EP The Boiling Sea, released in April 2026. The mascot John Goblikon, created by director Brandon Dermer and played by comedian Dave Rispoli, broke out with the 2012 video for No One Survives and has since been treated as a full member of the band; he also hosts the podcast Right Now with John Goblikon, which joined Bill Burr's All Things Comedy network in September 2025. Lead guitarist Alex Alereza has the longest continuous tenure, joining in 2007, with keyboardist Aaron Minich in the band since 2011, rhythm guitarist Joe Nelson from 2013 to 2015 and again from 2018, and drummer Eric William Brown since 2016. Calonne left in December 2023 after seventeen years; the group now carries two vocalists, Grady James Welch on clean vocals since 2022 and Dickie Allen of Infant Annihilator on harsh vocals since 2023.

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