Alex “Goldberg” Alereza is the guitarist for the extreme metal band Nekrogoblikon. The band which also consists of Nicholas Von Doom – Vocals, Keyboards Tim Lyakhovetskiy – Guitars, Brandon “Fingers” Frenzel- Bass, Eddie “Drifty” Trager- Drums and Aaron “Raptor” Minich- Keyboards hails from Santa Barbara, California and performs a unique blend of goblin theme heavy metal unlike anything you have ever heard before. The group has just released a new 5 song EP titled “Power” and Media Mikes had the chance to talk with Alex about the release and the formation of the band.
Adam Lawton: Can you give us some background on the formation of the band?
Alex Alereza: Yes. It all started at a Chuck-E-Cheese’s in Northern California. None of us knew one another at the time, but as the only grown men at the establishment, we soon became friends. At the exact moment in time that this friendship was fully conceived, a horde of goblins captured us all in one giant net and dragged us into the trunk of their Dodge Sprinter Van. They drove for hours until they reached a strange wasteland that they referred to as “Los Angeles”. Upon arrival, they threw us out of the van and held us at gunpoint. They screamed in unison, “you will create a metal band honoring us or we will shoot you….to death.” Not wanting to die, we quickly nodded and agreed to write these metal songs. A couple months later we released an album called “Goblin Island” under the name Nekrogoblikon and instantly became billionaires who were sought after by women young and old. The rest is history.
AL: How did you first meet John Goblikon and what’s his role in the band?
AA: John Goblikon was one of the goblins that were supposed to aid in the kidnapping, but his anxiety got in the way and he was unable to carry out his duties (he soiled himself instead). The other goblins mocked him and eventually they just stopped associating with him entirely. Having just lost his job in addition to this, he had hit rock bottom and thus decided to start hanging out with us and joining us on stage. His role in the band is bringing a great energy to our live performances, but the main reason we allow him to do it is to boost his self-esteem. So far it hasn’t worked, but we keep trying anyways.
AL: Can you tell us why you feel Goblins are better than Trolls?
AA: Goblins are overall better at most things including casting nets, driving vans, making threats, and solving crossword puzzles. The only thing trolls are better at is sitting under bridges in Scandinavia while listening to black metal.
AL: What can we expect from the bands upcoming release “power” and is the band planning to shoot any videos for any of the songs from the EP?
AA: The “Power” EP contains five songs that sound like a mixture between crutch step, vomit rock, and laugh core. As far as filming video go we have already completed one and have plans to film another later this year.
AL: Will the band be out on tour in support of the release?
AA: Yes. The plan for us is to tour the greater Los Angeles area for about two months first. After that we plan to be out on the road hitting everywhere else.