Nearly eight years ago, a little-known band called Nekrogoblikon put out a rather fantastic album called Goblin Island, an album that rather unsurprisingly has a strong lyrical focus on goblins and their escapades.
I’m not exactly sure how I ended up stumbling across this band about a year or so after this album was first released, but I do remember I somehow came across their song Goblins Are Better Than Trolls which instantly filled me with intrigue as I was massively into Finntroll at the time and wondered who these clowns were that dared to say such creatures were better than trolls – and one listen was all it took to make me want more from this talented outfit. Quite simply, I was hooked!
Goblin Island is a great piece and it progresses so well from song to song. It may not be the most polished or substantial offering, but it’s absolutely magical and some of the songs are so fun that you can’t help but grin from ear to ear – whether you’re listening to Goblins Ahoy, which is worth listening to just for the introduction alone, The Goblin Rangers Theme, which is indeed a cover of the Power Rangers theme with reworked lyrics, and of course the aforementioned Goblins Are Better Than Trolls is a song that you can enjoy and take amusement from – even if you’re like me and are more inclined to believe the opposite is in fact true!
However, it does have to be said that it’s not an album solely focused on fun and games because there’s a few more musically powerful tracks, such as the riff-tastic The Goblins Of The Black Rain and Goblin Christmas is a two-part epic that really stands out from the crowd.
Goblin Island is an all-round chaotic, hectic and wild release – and that’s exactly what makes it so brilliant. All hail the goblin king!
9/10
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You can read our interview with Nekrogoblikon here.
I really, really love this album. I love how chaotic it feels, which partly comes from the lack of polish. It has energy. I very much looked forward to their subsequent albums, but overall I felt them dissapointing. Goblin Island is just so much fun, the other albums feels … almost serious. They aren’t, but it feels like they try to hard on them.
This entire album is epic though, and I still (2016 now) listen to it from time to time.