(Black Thrash) KORGULL THE EXTERMINATOR - Sharpen Your Spikes album review

Release date September 9, 2020 (Xtreem Music)

You'd expect that Korgull The Exterminator would follow the Voivod blueprint given the band took its name from a track off the Quebec-based unit's Rrroooaaarrr!!! album, and even called their own 2010 sophomore album War of the Voivodes. However, the Spanish unit on the whole steer clear of the wild and wacky cyber-thrash of early Voivod and (thankfully) the more progressive elements of their latter day stuff, delving into old-school black thrash instead.

This is the kinda stuff that takes you back to the late 80s heyday of thrash, the intense and straight forward riffage urging you to rifle through your closet to see if that old battle jacket still fits. There's references to Slayer, Sodom and Nifelheim sprinkled throughout and, yes, one nod to Voivod ("Dawn of the Extermination"), but really, Korgull The Exterminator ultimately wins out the day establishing their own sound and identity here.

In Lilith Necrobitch they have a lethal weapon at the mic, coughing up blood in fine snarling form. Drummer Joe Bastard also puts on a show, his percussive attack propelling the band ever forward. However, in the end, it is the power of the team that coalesces into making this one of the better black thrash albums of 2020.

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