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The Steel City is, literally and figuratively, a metal town, and Vicious Blade is one of its strongest local alloys, combining the blistering speed of thrash with the ferocity of black metal. Nationally, this has put them firmly on the radar of extreme music fans everywhere. Locally, it’s put Vicious Blade at the top of their class.
“Every member of Vicious Blade has been around for quite some time in the scene,” vocalist Clarissa Badini, who also performs with international act Castrator, tells Pittsburgh City Paper. “I was very fortunate to grow up in the scene around bands like Derkéta and Lady Beast.”
As Pittsburgh’s next generation of metal bands comes into its own, Vicious Blade serves as a bridge between the old school and younger heshers. The band’s debut LP, Relentless Force, released via Cleveland’s Redefining Darkness Records earlier this fall, has something for everyone willing to brave music’s far edge, including neckbreaking solos on tracks like “Mistress of Death” and callbacks to 1980s thrash on ass-beater “Forged Steel.” The album has already started appearing on year-end best lists for its seamless blend of classic and contemporary.
“Each release we have done, the music has gotten more and more heavier and more extreme,” Badini says. “So I think that was kind of the goal with this album — we really wanted it to be super intense.”
Badini’s dynamic, harsh vocals help bind together the four instrumentalists’ searing delivery. The five-piece will take Relentless Force and their prior catalogue to big festivals next year including Decibel’s Metal & Beer Fest and Northwest Terror Fest in Seattle. Badini says that, in the meantime, the band is working on a music video. In short, Vicious Blade won’t be laying down their weapons anytime soon.
“We’re also … planning some mini-runs regionally,” she says. “So we’re going to try to do that, get out there and play some shows in 2025, and hopefully just start the writing process all over again.”
This article appears in Dec 18-24, 2024 and Pittsburgh’s People of the Year (2024).
