Review by Felix on November 20, 2023.

Air raid sirens sound the alarm: the crazy gang from Spain is back. The "War of the Voivodes" has begun and nobody knows who will survive. Anyway, the Catalonian death machine will cause the greatest possible damage. The members of Körgull the Exterminator are cruel combatants in this mercilessly raging battle. While following their sadistic tendencies, they generate the most forceful sound. The mix scores with an extra dose of pressure and brutality. Although I have listened to approximately 3,500 metal albums during the last 35 years, I am really impressed by the incredible heaviness of this wrecking crew from the Iberian Peninsula. With regard to this monolithic wall of sound, it does not matter that the drums must be secondary to the guitars.

When considering the band´s musical approach, I have to notice a specific form of schizophrenia. On the one hand, Körgull cannot be blamed for narrow-mindedness, because they prefer to play a mix of all kinds of extreme metal. From this follows that they cannot be categorized as a typical thrash, black or death metal horde. On the other hand, the four-piece is totally narrow-minded. To vary the compositional formula seems to be a cardinal sin. Therefore, you need the strength to endure the band´s outstanding vehemence as well as its constant recklessness. Maybe it is helpful to have a penchant for masochism. But while being no psychologist, I do not want to make unfounded statements.

In any case, Körgull unites the maximum chaos with the minimum structure. Despite their destructive aura of the songs, their configurations are comprehensible during the entire output. Additionally, the band demonstrates its songwriting skills in other respects. It is amazing that the tracks do not lack of dynamism although the ultra-violent way of proceeding and the constantly high level of noise leave no room for sustainable breaks. Körgull manages this challenge with great ease. Almost unbelievable, but they are even able to increase the intensity occasionally. The dark and threatening chorus of "Road Killer" serves as a good example for this thesis. Apart from that, it is also a kind of wonder how the guitarist manages to break through the wall of sound from time to time in order to perform his minimalist yet stirring tone sequences. (Sorry, but I am not able to use the term "melody" in this context.) Be that as it may, the sparingly used riffs have a huge impact. They are murderous and highly efficient at the same time. Furthermore, the bass guitar is obviously played by a person who suffers from hyperactivity. Nevertheless, the overall result makes my day. This not only applies to raw diamonds such as "Awaiting for Death´s Embrace" or "Axe Thrash Attack".

A cover song of the Plasmatics blends seamlessly with their own compositions. It needs a start-up period of 90 seconds, but afterwards all hell breaks loose again. And it goes without saying that the vocals of Lilith support the hellish approach of her band mates. To express female beauty is definitely not her aim. She sounds rather like a growling dog that is in a very bad mood. I guess that someone has stolen her bone. But this is ultimately irrelevant. To sum up, here comes my extremely detailed conclusion: noisy bastards!

Rating: 8.6 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 16, 2023.

It took more than 25 years until I found a band of Spain that really attracted my attention. Körgull the Exterminator convinced me with the ultra-rabid "War of the Voivodes", their second full-length. Due to their amazing performance on this record, I was very interested in their further outputs. Here we have a split album with Graveyard. While this formation belongs to the death metal genre, the girl and the guys of Körgull present their proven bastard of punk, thrash and death metal. By the way, this vinyl marks no collaboration between bands that do not know each other. Quite the opposite, two of the involved musicians play in both groups. Therefore, the stylistic differences are remarkable. If you agree, I like to start with Körgull.

Despite some initial difficulties due to the fact that their first song does not really offer some gripping or memorable parts, the band delivers a very good contribution. They create fanatically a high speed chaos while simultaneously structuring it. The result of this procedure is that the band showcases fascinating audio experiences. For example, the chorus of "Black Pandemic", the second brand new track, demonstrates its versatiliy while being catchy, aggressive and hymnal at the same time. It proves that high velocity and absolute heaviness are no alibi for the neglect of memorable parts. The mercilessly shredding guitars leave room for these outstanding moments and that´s a great advantage of Körgull´s sound in general. Furthermore, Lilith´s rasping voice adds a nice portion of cruelty.

The bands pay tribute to each other by playing a cover song. You have to keep this fact in mind. Otherwise, you will be at risk to be of the wrong opinion that "Horrors of the Undead" is a typical number of Körgull, written by the group itself. The song takes no prisoners and seems to be strictly "körgullized", because it follows exactly the usual approach of the band´s own compositions. Graveyard cover a song of Körgull´s first full-length, but the most interesting track of their contribution is "A Dream of a Million Corpses". This nightmare lasts seven minutes. It is kicked off by an piano intro and transforms to a slow-moving roller. A short up-tempo part is also included so that you will not be bored by this relatively melodic death metal tune. This is also because this song - as well as the remaining tracks of Graveyard - is well produced while offering the genre-specific low tuned guitars and the typical growling vocals. Taking into account the further solid songs of Graveyard, the band appears more or less as an ordinary death metal band. If you like the genre in general, you will also like this group in particular - and vice versa.

Nevertheless, by a narrow margin, Körgull is the winner of this competition. Their songs also benefit from an appropriate sound and they are more thrilling than those of their partners in crime. But that´s just my personal opinion. Death metal maniacs will probably not share my point of view.

Rating: 7.4 out of 10