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IMMORTAL BLADE
Regicide EP

Self-released (2022)
Rating: 8/10

Here’s a nifty five-track EP from an American act featuring Josh LaFayette (vocals), Chris Lloyd (guitar, bass, programming) and Taylor Nichols (drums, programming), with guest axe leads from Jacob Henderson.

Immortal Blade is the perfect example of the emerging talent within the metal genre, and I’m putting this one alongside Finnish act Emissary just in terms of that 80s style of hard metal. Everything from the beefy guitar tone to LaFayette’s deep, commanding vocal spills will appeal to those who like dark, brooding yet wholesome metal that borders on thrash metal.

Opener ‘Born Empty’ is a fantastically fiery slice of almost doomy, dense metal with faster flashes, and Henderson does excellent work with his lead work. The track is steeped in atmosphere with the slower passages bridging the gap between power metal and thrash straight from 1986.

‘Hang The Masters High’ features some superb percussion. This track fizzes and glints with its speedier tactics, and LaFayette just spreads his dominance throughout. Strangely, it’s no frills metal, but it’s so riveting in its heaviness and authenticity as gang chants prevail and those riffs churn like the fires from Mount Doom.

The way each track builds into a steady frenzy is compelling. ‘Unbuild’ follows a similar formula to ‘Hang The Masters High’, starting with a doomy trudge then upping the tempo to become a catchy, molten ball of energized, fist-pumping metal.

It would be easy to compare these guys to a number of mid-to-late 80s metal outfits, but that’s a compliment to their accessible yet beefy structures. With ‘Unbuild’ LaFayette almost takes on a rappy chop with his style, and some would argue there are examples here of crossover thrash and groove metal. But just check the riffage on ‘Until The Last Blade Falls’, it’s like something you’d discover as a teenager on a Metal Massacre compilation.

Regicide is an extremely rewarding experience; a mature and overtly metallic composition booming with thunderclaps and streaked with lightning bolts. But whether in faster divisions or slower, moodier passages, it remains a heavyweight outing that packs a knockout punch. Get in the ring with this at your peril – this is muscular metal that comes fully charged and ready for war.

Neil Arnold

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