Band:	Körgull The Exterminator
Album:	Sharpen Your Spikes
Style:	Blackened thrash metal
Release date:	September 09, 2020
A review by:	RaduP

01. Campanades A Morts (Intro)
02. Prophecy Of Black Blood
03. Inquisitor Generalis
04. Sharpen Your Spikes
05. Battle Ram
06. The Black Goat Of The Woods
07. Dawn Of The Extermination
08. Firing Squad
09. Follow The Flame
10. Sword And Sorcery
11. A Black Bird Is Always A Warning

For a band named after a Voivod song, I thought they'd sound more like them. But I don't mind.

I mean, Voivod were a thrash band too once upon a time, but they never sounded close to how ripping Körgull The Exterminator sound. Though bits and pieces of that weirdness might come out of Körgull The Exterminator's sound, they're the exception not the rule, and maybe some of it is my confirmation bias. Over the course of 16 years and 5 albums, the band has specialized in one thing and one thing only: blackened thrash.

It's not like Sharpen Your Spikes doesn't already evoke images of those ridiculously large spiked armbands a lot of punkier black metal bands wear, but Körgull The Exterminator are the punkier of them all (ok, maybe not THE punkier). But the attitude is there. And the thrash riffs. A lot of thrash riffs. Sweet ripping thrash. This time from two guitarists, since this is also their first album to feature new guitarist Ghorth. And the twin guitar attack certainly makes some of the riffs gallop a bit, which is always a good thing in my book.

I could namedrop Bathory, Venom, Hellhammer, Motörhead or even early Voivod all I want, since probably the best comparison out of the "classic" bands would be Sodom. And the bulk of the sound is pretty classic, even Lilith's blackened shrieks are absolutely punk and thrash too. And if I were to move from the classic namedropping, it'd be something like Nifelheim, Desaster and Gehennah. There may not be much in terms of moving any sound forward, but it's all about how the energy of thrash metal blends with the oppressive black/death atmosphere to create a beast of its own. It's been done before, and it's done quite aptly here as well.

And it's not like Körgull The Exterminator are a young band, most of its members are in their 40s, but if Sharpen Your Spikes is any indicator, the energy and will is still there.