There isn’t anything inherently wrong with a gimmick band every now and again. But the true question of these types of acts—be they forest clansmen, Satanic clergymen, or anything in between—will always be whether they can strike a balance between their quirks and their actual music. It’s to Nekrogoblikon‘s credit that they’ve managed to keep their goblin-based schtick from completely undercutting their songs thus far—and that largely remains the case on their new full-length, Heavy Meta. The trouble is, the songs themselves often leave too much to be desired.  

Throughout its half-hour-ish run-time, Heavy Meta dabbles in a wider range of styles than you might expect. Still, the band’s at their best when they stick to basics: a melo-death foundation, with a bit of symphonic flair thrown in for good measure. Songs like “The End of Infinity” and “We’ve Had Enough” are the best examples of this; the former serves up a jaunty, mid-tempo ‘banger, while the latter slams its foot on the gas and only occasionally lets up. Vocalist Scorpion explores everything from nasally clean lines to a dirty, goblin-esque snarl, but might have done better to focus more on the latter. His singing voice simply doesn’t get the job done consistently enough.

But before too long, the album just starts to wear on you. Any comments about trying to take Nekrogoblikon too seriously—“why bother, when it’s clear they don’t do so themselves?”—are beside the point. The real issue is: serious or not, there’s simply not enough on Heavy Meta that sticks. Many songs have their moments, but few sustain them beyond a few-second-long part here or a nifty lead line there.

Instead, on too many different occasions, you may find yourself compulsively checking your watch and counting down ’til the end—from the overly breakdown-y “Atlantis” to the power metally sugar high of the eponymous closer. (When an album’s only 35 minutes long, that’s not a good thing.) And let’s not even get started on “Let’s Get Fucked,” which manages, against overwhelming odds, to completely waste an Andrew W.K. guest spot. (HOW?! Oh, right…by reprising the chorus of “Party Hard” in a completely non sequiturial manner. That’s how.)

There are surely folks out there who’ll eat this album up. (Probably the Nekrogoblikon fans.) But any uninitiated out there who think Heavy Meta might be a good entry point would be better served looking elsewhere.

Keep it heavy,

Dan

Heavy Meta is available now on Mystery Box Records. For more information on Nekrogoblikon, visit the band’s Facebook page.