Garrote Vil

There are albums that politely arrive, shake your hand and sit quietly in the corner and then there’s Garrote Vil, the ferocious new release from Madrid’s rap-hardcore agitators XpresidentX — a record that kicks the door off its hinges, raids Spain’s cultural attic and detonates the whole thing in a glorious explosion of satire, riffs and political bite. Released in January 2026, Garrote Vil is the band’s fifth studio album, and it might just be their most complete, sharpest and most ambitious work yet.

What immediately sets Garrote Vil apart is its concept. Every track on the album is built around samples taken from Spanish popular culture — fragments of copla, TV songs, political propaganda and classic melodies that generations of Spaniards recognise instantly. But this isn’t nostalgia - It’s sabotage. Those familiar melodies collide head-on with rap-metal riffs, hardcore drums and savage lyrical attacks, creating a sound that feels like a pirate broadcast hijacking decades of Spanish culture and turning it into protest music. One moment you’re hearing echoes of Lola Flores or Paloma San Basilio, the next you’re plunged into a wall of distortion and politically charged verses. The contrast is brilliant — and deliberately uncomfortable.

If earlier XpresidentX records leaned heavily into humour and chaos, Garrote Vil sharpens the knife.The satire is still there — sarcastic, biting and often hilarious — but the social commentary feels more direct and mature, tackling everything from politics and corruption to social hypocrisy and cultural absurdities. Tracks like “No vengas a Madrid,” “Jubilación a los 18,” and “Cristo de la Corrupción” land like punches to the ribs, while songs such as “Underground” celebrate the DIY struggle of surviving outside the mainstream music machine. Musically the band sound tighter and more explosive than ever — rap flows crashing into hardcore breakdowns, punk energy colliding with hip-hop swagger. It’s messy, loud and absolutely intentional.

Part of what makes Garrote Vil work so well is the chemistry within the band itself. The line-up — Samuel Barranco, Lasyra, Irene Xtrem, Edu DS and Arce — operates like a perfectly tuned riot machine, combining rap delivery, hardcore aggression and punk chaos into a sound that is unmistakably their own. Add in guest appearances from figures across Spain’s alternative scene — including members of bands like Narco and Lucy — and the record becomes a kind of underground summit meeting for rebellious Spanish rock and rap.

More than anything, Garrote Vil feels like a band hitting its creative stride. It’s fearless in its ideas, brutal in its execution and packed with the kind of anarchic energy that made XpresidentX such a cult force in the first place.

But now that chaos is focused. The jokes cut deeper.The riffs hit harder.The message lands louder. Put simply, this isn’t just another XpresidentX record. It’s the moment where the band fully weaponise their mix of punk, rap and political satire — turning Spanish pop culture itself into ammunition.

For more information: XPresidentX