Music

Say hey-diddly-ho to the world's first Ned Flanders-themed metal band

by Jeremy Mersereau

It’s a pretty tall order to come up with a fresh gimmick for your metal band, since most of the good ones are taken already. You’ve got the pirate-themed metal of Alestorm, the murderous aliens of GWAR, and Brujeria’s well-trod gimmick of uh, being Mexican drug lords in hiding. Aw man, that was gonna be the gimmick for my klezmer group! Fortunately Pheonix metal band Okilly Dokilly hit upon one of the few good remaining ones when they decided to theme their group around Homer Simpson’s ultra-Christian neighbourino, Ned Flanders.

Calling themselves “the world’s only Nedal band,” the group rocks out onstage in matching green sweaters, mustaches, and glasses, and performs exclusively Ned-centric songs like the Leftorium anthem “All That Is Left” and the ode to comfortable ski wear “Nothing At All.” The music is “not as fast as Bartcore, and a little cleaner than Krusty Punk. Not as heavy as Homer J. ent. Nedal is a happy medium in the Simpscene,” according to band leader and vocalist Head Ned (I’m assuming the name is a happy coincidence), talking to Rip It Up. You know you’re dealing with a real deal nerd when they drop a djent joke…and also play in a Simpsons-themed band.

How does a Nedal band get started? “The name Okilly Dokilly came up and was very funny to us,” Head Ned said. “We ran with it. I contacted a few friends and here we are. Most of us have played in other bands around our hometown, but this is definitely the heaviest sounding project any of us Neds have done.”

Take a listen to Okilly Dokilly’s four-song demo below, and brace yourself for the almost-certainly forthcoming “Everyone Loves Ned Flanders” cover. Now all we need to usher in the ironic pop culture singularity is, I don’t know, an ironic emo cover of “Can I Borrow A Feeling?” by Kirk Van Houten. Oh! I guess we’re good then.