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SATAN’S BLADE
Curse Of The Blade

Stormspell (2022)
Rating: 8.5/10

I did wonder if this San Jose, California-based quintet had named themselves after the obscure 80s slasher film… and then I heard the intro which is indeed the trailer for said movie. So, not only should you check this record out but try and find the film too if you’re a horror fan!

With this debut full-length album we get treated to seven songs which grab the listener by the throat in molten 80s metal fashion. Satan’s Blade is the sort of act which exists in that realm once occupied by the likes of, say, Metal Church, or further into Exciter and Overkill territory whereby they speed heavily into a pure steel sphere that’s happy to thrash but at times become a steadier yet just as lethal force. I guess “melodic thrash metal” is the term to be applied here and if I’d stumbled across something like this in 1986 I’d have been more than happy.

Vocalist Kyle Lee has a great snarl but what really gripped me was the guitar tone of Andrew Webb and Alonzo Maldonado, particularly on tracks such as ‘Cobra Strike’ which is basically Accept on speed. Leads flash like lightning but never overstay their welcome, the drums of Mario Diaz are hard and ironclad and the bass of Cedric Ackley just provides a steely backbone to the whole goddam metal fury.

You won’t hear many records brimming with not only such nostalgia, but a burning fire. This is one of the most metal albums released in 2022 and it’s about time it emerged when one considers these guys formed eight years ago. This is a lethal metal dose to the system, a record delivered like an electric shock and boasting riffs that cut like a razor… or, a Satan’s blade! Get it.

Neil Arnold

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