Vicious Blade - Relentless Force ★★★☆☆

Nine songs in under 30 minutes? You better prepare your trusty thrashpants for non-stop action!

THRASH-O-METER

★★☆☆☆ SONGWRITING ★★★☆☆ THEMES

★★☆☆☆ LONGEVITY

★★★☆☆ PRODUCTION

★★★★☆ THRASHABILITY

SCORE: ★★★☆☆ GOOD SH!T

GENRE: BLACKENED THRASH METAL

RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 27th, 2024

LABEL: REDEFINING DARKNESS RECORDS

It's not that big of a surprise that the band sounds in a word: Vicious. Raw beastly gnarls and ferocious instrumentation are there to greet you at the gate - and also to show you the door.

There is appropriate amount of dirt, wear and roundness in the sound that fans of Blackened Thrash Metal will feel right at home. Everything is put together well and the band's first album needs to be enjoyed at high, high volumes.

Blackened Thrash Metal has to be the nichest sh!t out there

Clarissa Badini's throaty snarls deliver as defiant stories as you'd expect. Her voice pairs perhaps too well with guitars that don't show much beyond unyielding anger - sometimes its pretty difficult to make out the lyrics. In fact, her voice blends so well here that its practically an instrument, too. Screw the lyrics. The bass guitar pops a few surprising wheelies and thus, would've deserved a bit more limelight.

If there's one thing that needs to be said about the album its that Relentless Force lives up to its name and doesn't hide the cards its holding. The first 30 seconds is unabashedly definitive - both in good and in bad. The tempo is set for the whole record; you'll thrash like a maniac for sure, but too many songs simply sound too much alike to come on their own.

For example Lunacy travels differently than Mistress of Death or Scorched, but even after listening this 10+ times I simply might not be able pinpoint where I am when dropped blind in the middle of the songs. Forged Steel is the first one where you'll lift your head in a recognition.

Think of Hellbütcher but with more speed or by vocals the likes of Jinjer with a smaller and less refined scale. Vicious Blade is easy to get excited about for fans of Blackened Thrash, or Punk even. Going forward their songs will need more nuance and albums crafted with highs and lows for a greater recognition.

Not saying I'm not liking this

There is a heritage here and decided motions to shape it as is, and I'm certainly not saying I'm not liking this. Thing is, I can't say: "I feel like listening that song from Vicious Blade, it kicked arse."

Vicious Blade's Relentless Force is like a freight train from Hell. It does its thing on tracks and from the windows you can see but one scenery. Its not as much about the punk proof song lengths as much as it is their homologous, unambiguous shapes. Albums should be more than just one trick over and over. Before you realise, the fresh sound of Death Blow hits you in the face like a welcome brick to tell you that your ride has come to an end.

  KEY TO THE SH!T

★★★★★ THE REAL SH!T

★★★★☆ BADASS SH!T

★★★☆☆ GOOD SH!T

★★☆☆☆ SH!T FOR FANS

★☆☆☆☆ IT'S SH!T, JIM