Info
- Band(s): Vitriolic
- Label(s): Dying Victims Productions, Headsplit Records
- Release Format(s): 12" vinyl, Cassette, CD
- Release Year: 2024
- Review Date: February 21, 2025
- Author(s): FelixS
Never judge a book by its cover. This wise statement is always good to keep in mind when browsing through the offerings at a record fair, after all, many exciting and forgotten gems from the sweltering 1980’s are clad in unappealing covers. Meanwhile, those sleeves have gained extra value as, for avid sleuths, they have become the symbol for forgotten records from, say, the roster of the Belgian Mausoleum Records.
Nowadays, of course, it’s all a bit easier, as you are only a few clicks away from just about every piece of music ever recorded. While that has taken away most of the magic, it’s still a matter of searching and digging through the new offerings that are poured down on us on a daily basis. But in this daily quest to satisfy the hunger for new music, the phenomenon of “the record sleeve” has become of diminished importance. Whereas in the past one would rather walk away with an Iron Maiden record than Chinawite or with an album by Thyrfing instead of Bifrost, the current selection of good artwork is much wider anno 2024. Still, every now and then you come across a record where the idea behind the cover comes across as somewhat alienating. Such is the case with this second album from Finland’s Vitriolic, where the cover does little to capture the imagination and is more reminiscent of a bad video game from the 90’s.
In order not to spend most of this review on the cover design, let me at least start by stating that you should indeed not judge a book by its cover. Not that Vitriolic is the new rising star or will change your life, but it brings an easy-hitting mix of Black Metal and Heavy/Speed/Thrash Metal that definitely deserved a more attractive cover. With this sort of music it is easy to draw comparisons with bands such as Deströyer 666 and Nifelheim, but mentioning these two genre stalwarts is rather spot-on. The galloping pace, the use of melodies and vitriolic (oh?) vocals are pretty much in line with the Aussies and Vitriolic’s Swedish neighbours. Many of the songs on ‘Black Steel Vengeance’ have some nice hooks and catchy melodies, but it actually lacks the fierce power and the overall memorability of the just mentioned musical examples. But if you like the later more Heavy Metal-tinged work of Deströyer 666 or a bit of the more melodic stuff that Swordmaster came up with, then ‘Black Steel Vengeance’ is quite an entertaining listen. By keeping things fairly simple and straighforward, Vitriolic still manages to convey their music reasonably effectively and, not insignificantly, in quite a sympathetic way.
The promotional text on the label’s websites cite that Vitriolic is part of the often overlooked Finnish Black/Thrash Metal scene and joins forces with the likes of Urn, Flame, Evil Angel and Rapid. Also in this company, Vitriolic is by far the inferior force. But, frankly, that actually tells more about the level of the internal Finnish competition, because listening to ‘Black Steel Vengeance’ is certainly no punishment.
Vitriolic
- Country: Finland
- Style: Black Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal
- Links: Facebook, Bandcamp, Spotify
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Dying Victims Productions
- Country: Germany
- Style: Black Metal, Death Metal, Thrash Metal
- Links: Homepage, Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp, Spotify, Youtube
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Headsplit Records
- Country: USA
- Style: Death Metal, Grindcore, Thrash Metal, Other
- Links: Homepage, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube
