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VICIOUS BLADE
Relentless Force

Redefining Darkness / Motorpunk (2024)
Rating: 8/10

Boasting one of the most formidable voices within the thrash metal scene, Clarissa Badini (Castrator / Tartarus) leads Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based clan Vicious Blade into a ferocious debut full-length album, Relentless Force. The track ‘Lunacy’ alone should be enough to not just grab your attention but batter it senseless as the combo hammer through a striking death-thrash cacophony.

Catchy, hostile and downright nasty, Vicious Blade also brings black death and dark melodious streaks to the table alongside a dashing of crust. On ‘Forged Steel’ Badini opts for a clearer vocal style alongside the more guttural menace, while axemen Jeff Ellsworth and Erik Wynn provide aggressive zip.

Elements of crossover can be detected within the concise duration of the 28 minute opus where there are also flashes of vintage Slayer, Kreator, Death Angel and Sodom, particularly with the scathing title tune. However, the opening chords of ‘Mistress Of Death’ could easily conjure the charcoal ghosts of Venom, Possessed and the more recent Midnight and Hellripper.

Peppered with the D-beat destruction of Kevin Parent, the album remains raw and punishing as Badini’s tirades snarl in demonic fashion throughout. As the album title explains, this is indeed a relentless force of nature as the blackened speed of ‘Nocturnal Slaughter’ gives way the rapid ‘Scorched’ and the lengthier closer ‘Death Blow’ with its eerie intro and eventual Slayer-ized pace.

When thrash metal is delivered with such venom and punch one can overlook the lack of innovation in order to exist within the whirlwind the musicianship creates. Put simply, this is a beast of a record that leaves serious injuries.

Neil Arnold

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