VICIOUS BLADE hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania were formed in 2019. The band plays traditional Thrash Metal with a few Crust vibes and release, after two EPs, their debut full-length album. It was recorded and mixed by Marlo Quintero and mastered by Brad Boatright (ALL PIGS MUST DIE; INCANTATION; KRUELTY) at Audiosledge. The album has a length of approximately 28 minutes, and it was released via US Death Metal specialists Redefining Darkness Records. No official video has been released yet. The album starts aggressive, and at blistering pace with the title track “Relentless Force”. The guitar riffing is tight and direct. The female vocals are growls and vary between the medium and higher end of the guttural range with occasional screams. The vocals contribute a lot to the aggression of the track. The break is introduced by crunching basslines, leading into a short lead guitar solo. “Relentless Force” is an excellent opening track. The Thrash Metal attack continues with pace and aggression, crushing basslines, and simple thunderous riffs. The vocals are a bit two-parted with higher growls during the verse parts and the bridge, and deeper growls during the chorus parts. During the bridges, the vocals are intensified by background growls. “Mistress Of Death” starts a bit more melodic and playful with the guitars, leading into a mid-tempo verse part. There are a few twists and turns in tempo and rhythm between mid-tempo and fast parts. The fast parts are driven by tight guitar riffing. The lead guitar solo is short but very contributing.

“Visceral Weakness” continues with the pace and especially with aggression. The guitar riffs are a mixture of tight and thunderous riffs, and both the guitars and the vocals drive the track forward. The lead guitar solo is relatively short again, but on a positive note, there are two of them. “Forged Steel” starts with the guitars and strong basslines. The track is fast, but not overly fast and has some mid-tempo parts. Some of the vocals are clean, although the majority are the aggressive growls. The clean vocals make a huge difference compared to the growls as they take away one dimension of the Thrash Metal sound of VICIOUS BLADE. However, the growls are second-to-none and are the driving force of the track. “Blasphemous Conjuring” has a powerful and grim start, leading into another punishment of aggressive riffing and vocals. The verse parts are fast, while the chorus parts are at mid-tempo. During the mid-tempo parts, the strong basslines are more prominent and add something extra to the track.

 “Nocturnal Slaughter” keeps going with the pace, directness and aggression. The guitar riffing is simple and straight to the point. This track is perhaps the one with most evident Hardcore and Crust vibes. “Scorched” is a mixture of mid-tempo verse parts and faster chorus parts, where the transitions of tempo changes are subtle and hardly notable. The strong basslines throughout the track are very prominent, while the riffing is tight and relentless. The album finishes with “Death Blow” and it starts with a tension-building slow intro with the guitars. It transitions into another fast Thrash attack with tight riffing and aggressive vocals during the verse parts and thunderous mid-tempo chorus parts where the vocals use deeper notes. Although the majority of the track is a hammering Thrash song, the beginning and the end of the track include also some atmospheric components. Altogether, “Death Blow” is a very good way to end the album.

Thrash Metal is alive and kicking! In fact, VICIOUS BLADE kick ass with their relentless and aggressive Thrash Metal attack. “Relentless Force” has most of the attributes of Thrash Metal excellence, while the inclusion of Crust inspirations gives the album a special note. Key to the VICIOUS BLADE sound is vocalist Clarissa Badini with her aggressive and vicious growls. The album is well produced. “Relentless Force” is a serious marker of a very promising band, and their album is a must-listen for all Thrash Metal fans.