10 Viral Metal Bands That Didn't Stay Popular
1. Nekrogoblikon
A symphonic melodic death metal group “fronted” by a goblin mascot who – in their debut music video – tries to impress a pornstar and ultimately slaughters his jock rival. Small wonder that this went viral.
But viral it went, and the world was introduced to California comedy metal band Nekrogoblikon, who are indeed “fronted” by John Goblikon the goblin. Mr. Goblikon was initially brought in as a one-off for the song “No One Survives”, taken from the 2011 album Stench, where yes, he plays a stereotypical high school dweeb who has a crush on the cute cheerleader and gets bullied by the captain of the football team. But after the aforementioned sensation that the music video became, he has since stuck around to be the mascot and quasi-hypeman for the band’s live performances, and is a regular in the group's music videos.
In the meantime, Nekrogoblikon have made the most out of their overnight success, launching their own music label and establishing working relationships with the likes of frequent Diplo collaborator Brandon Dermer, and Metalocaplyse/Dethklok creator Brendon Small. Their zany musical antics have continued too, writing a song about a giraffe in space, got self-referential for a song about trying to find a gimmick, and released their latest album The Fundamental Slimes and Humours in 2022.