Vicious Rumors

Vicious Rumors have never been my go-to US power metal band, but just as with most bands, I have a thing for their earlier outputs. Digital Dictator will forever be their best work; but even the two surrounding albums are good for what they are. The self-titled album may not be quite as consistent as its predecessor, but it's occasionally ballsier, even if the band's personality remains as recognizable as ever.

Stylistically speaking, Vicious Rumors were never one of the heaviest, nor the fastest, yet the band arguably aims for heavier standards than they did on Digital Dictator and considering the label that they were on at this time, you’d rather expect things to be the other way around. ‘Don’t Wait for Me’ rouses onward with some early Metal Church-esque intensity to it and it’s a great introduction to the album. You’ve got these stinging riffs that appear next to Carl Albert’s infectious wails and while Vicious Rumors never wrote the most elaborated choruses, they surely knew how to stick them into your head. ‘On the Edge’ turns up the heat even more, with some semi-thrashing riffs that result into yet another surprisingly heavy offering that was previously unheard of… but there’s more! The speed metal blitzkrieg of ‘Hellraiser’ is also fantastic; a merciless onslaught of relentless guitars, pounding drums and thundering vocals and who could forget ‘Thrill of the Hunt’, which gallops like a pissed off horse heading into battle?

On the flip side, US power metal bands writing lightweight material has always been a risky business and in Vicious Rumors’ case, you end up with some inconsistent material at least. ‘Can You Hear It’ is a crowd pumping track that features a lively main riff, but with an underwhelming chorus that appears soon after, it’s a bit too plain for my taste. ‘Down to the Temple’ is another inferior cut; with its slow-rocking rhythms and some hook-free vocal lines, you could simply avoid this track and you wouldn't miss a thing. Fortunately, even some other lightweight material works surprisingly well, even if we're not speaking of any knock out tunes. Based on the title, you might expect ‘Axe and Smash’ to be something naughty, but it’s a decent vocal-oriented track that resembles the aforementioned ‘Can You Hear It’ – just with an actual exciting chorus to boot this time. Finally, ‘Ship of Fools’ is the band’s first ballad and it’s surprisingly enjoyable. Somewhat reminiscent of what Queensrÿche did circa Operation: Mindcrime, we’re talking about bouncy riffs that provide a solid backbone for Carl Albert’s passionate wails and a predictable, if sentimental chorus.

Unfortunately, the 90’s were a dark time for US power metal bands and not even Vicious Rumors could resist flirting with what was hot at the time (Welcome to the Ball would not embrace groove metal just yet, but it’s not my cup of tea either) before returning to their original style in the next decade; a story for next time, perhaps.

This review was originally written for antichristmagazine.com

Anyone familiar with US power metal is sure to have encountered Vicious Rumors at some point. After an excellent yet kind of obscure debut album in 1985, the band released what is arguably their masterpiece - 1988's Digital Dictator. As the 1990's came knocking on the door, the band unleashed their third opus: a self-titled album that's possibly the band's most representable album.

The album's opener "Don't Wait For Me" kicks off with a big bang. It's arguably the band's most well-known song and for good reason. It's heavy, catchy, and shows some of the band's great guitar prowess. Unlike with the previous album, however, this one quickly drops its pace in favor of some more mid-paced rocking. "World Church" shows a new side of the band where speed isn't a necessity in sounding heavy, and this seems to be the general approach of the entire album. The songs take turns in being fast and mid-paced respectively, with some of the slower numbers also adapting a more melodic sound.

The production values of this album are very nice. Everything sounds very crisp and the mix is balanced really well, giving the proper characteristics to each song regardless of its style. The band also sounds great, if perhaps somewhat less energized this time around. On the preceding albums they had more of a "live feeling", whereas this one sounds more tight and perfected in its instrumentation. It's simply a matter of preference but I personally like when things sound more organic. Due to the crisp production and the band's perfect performances, the songs simply don't sound as ballsy as they could've done.

Vicious Rumors's third album is a most solid effort in many ways, but it's also one of those typical albums where the band slowly started to go downhill. I've seen and heard people going as far as calling this album "hard rock" throughout the years, but they simply need to get their ears checked out. This is nothing but a more mid-paced take on your average US power metal sound. Sure, the album's more melodic numbers can sometimes be on the borderline towards heavier glam metal, much like other bands such as Fifth Angel, but most power metal bands sound like a cross between thrash and heavy glam if you ask me.

If you're a fan of US power metal, late 80's and early 90's thrash, heavier glam metal and classic heavy metal, then I totally recommend you to check this one out. It's not the band's best album but a good starting point nonetheless. If you're only into rapid-speed power metal then you'll probably not find a lot of excitement in this release. Go for the band's earlier albums instead.

Check-outs: "Don't Wait For Me", "Hellraiser", "Ship Of Fools", "World Church".

Vicious Rumors' self-titled is an interesting example of the immense difference between American and European power metal. It's very much the opposite of the traditionally symphonic "flower metal" for which the latter scene is known, and yet it very thoroughly avoids the trappings of just being "another thrash metal work".

This comes mostly as a result of something that could be called the "US Metal" descriptor, a term that, while vague, is mostly referring to a certain sound resultant of multiple factors that tended to culminate in thrashy (again, without BEING thrash) power metal albums from 1987 to 1992 when grunge finally killed the dregs off. It blends elements from a lot of the existing scenes, most heavily the early speed and power metal precursors to thrash, some of which were heavily US based (I'm looking at Armored Saint and Agent Steel). The guitar playing is very clean and technical with just enough thrash edge to blur the lines, and while the riffs aren't exactly blistering, they do keep a pretty high headbanging tempo.

The percussion is good but rather "out of the way", staying mostly out of the focus. It's not as aggressive as many thrash metal bands put it, especially the nonmelodic type that sprung up in the Teutonic scenes, and the bass playing rumbles along audibly but without drawing attention to itself. In other words, it's a competent rhythm section mulling about and making sure the tempo is intact, allowing the distorted guitars to continue their melodic maneuvers at the forefront.

The vocals, however, are the main opposition to complete guitar domination-- they're operatic while staying aggressive, taking mostly after Blackie Lawless in particular; the slight growl, for example, is very reminiscent of the early works, especially "Fuck Like An Animal". There's a judicious and appreciable use of harmonies and layering that adds some delightful variety and power, some true command to the stylings; this features incredibly heavily in both "World Church" and "On the Edge", although the band oddly chose not to place too many harmonies in the opener-- with the exception of the chorus.

The lyrics sometimes contrast pretty comedically with the vocals (the delivery of "the key to your destiny lies
within you!" with such immense conviction is just silly), but it doesn't get campy to such an extent that it drains the fun. Plus, it's pretty excusable, because this is a power metal album, not a prog-death philosophical masterpiece.

The comparisons to glam metal can't really stop with the vocals; while the guitar playing is certainly harder, the riff style isn't exactly alike, and the solos are more technical, there's some of it seeping through that can't really be avoided, which occasionally hits the guitar and dictates the tempo. Oh, and the lyrics will hit the glam metal tropes, but it's hard to hold that against the band when it's sung with such immense faith and power. Rest in peace, Carl Albert-- you did not fail your duties on this release.

These tempering elements are what stick it firmly into the territory of "US Power Metal", that lightened brand of thrash, which seems out of place within 1990, a year in which even the Bay Area scenes were dying out. The label is made more visible by the packaging (incredibly reminiscent of early Agent Steel) and the unremarkable production, as well as the occasional lapse into fully "thrashy" riffs, such as with "On the Edge".

It's not exactly stand-out to any degree, but none of the elements ever falter; the guitar playing stays tight and heavy, the lyrics aren't ever too bad, the soaring vocals hit their notes and stay melodic, and the glam never seeps through hard enough to disrupt the better thrash elements. If you're already into US Power, or you like Savatage, then you'll enjoy this.

Vicious Rumors is probably my favorite USPM band. This release doesn't let me down. However there is one thing that does go down here. What? You say, "Down To The Temple"? More like, "Down To The Tempo". You never really hear a whole lot of mid-paced power metal out there, do you? Well, apart from three tracks, this is just that. They would apply this even more during their groove metal days, however, this is during the time that they were just trying to apply it to their own sound. Was there success in this? Absolutely! Just like their other albums, this is in E-Flat tuning. Also, the vocals are charismatic, as usual. It has the same power that the other albums do, just with a slower pace. The music is still absolutely stunning and something that you can have one helluva great time with. Vicious Rumors is just one of those bands that can change a bit and still manage to remain awesome. I know that there isn't exactly a whole lot about this album is too different from their previous album, "Digital Dictator", from 1987 and the next couple albums aren't too different, but more changes came along the way.

The album's opener, "Don't Wait for Me" is quite a highlight for me, as well as everyone else. It's one of the three faster songs on the album. It's a just above mid-paced song with heavy ass drumming and it's one of the heaviest tracks on the album. Despite the fact that there are a couple of tracks on this album which possess a bit more energy, it still manages to be "fuckin' on yo' tail". It was the song that was chosen as the single for the album and I say that it is most definitely a worthy option. Then it gets to the mid-paced realms with "World Church", which lyrically covers the problems with religion and it is a bit cheesy, but it is a good cheese. Then it gets to the next fast track. "On the Edge" is probably the heaviest song on the album (along with the opener) and it has a whole lot of energy with lyrics about living life to the fullest, which is how I like to live as well as almost everybody else. It also has a kicks solo on it. I also have to mention the speed metal anthem track, "Hellraiser", which is one of my two favorite songs on the album and it has one hell of an opening solo. It's easily the most epic song on the album and Carl Albert gives the best vocal performance out of all of the songs on this album here. "Electric Twilight" is my other favorite song on this album. It sounds just like something that Pink Floyd or Dream Theatre would do, with the absence of everything but clean electric guitars and an experimental song structure. The melodies on that song are really nice as well. My least favorite song on this album is "Axe and Smash". It possesses a very very cheesy sound (not the best kind), as well as a rather fucking terrible chorus and doesn't have a whole lot of power, like it should. This is despite the pretty heavy drumming on it. I wouldn't say that it is a bad song, but it most definitely isn't great.

There are two things that stand out to me the most on this album. One is the vocals. Carl Albert has a powerful and dynamic style of singing. Just as a lot of power metal vocalists, he has an operatic vocal style. The thing about him that is a bit different is that he also sounds grit and raw sound and it works exceptionally. He actually sounds a bit more forceful on this album. Not that it's a bad thing, it actually adds a bit more power. Yes, I'm aware that the vocals were mixed in louder than they were on "Digital Dictator", but you can hear it in his voice. It's definitely a shame that he has passed away, as he was their best singer, in my opinion. Not that the guy that they have now isn't great. Carl actually also sounds a bit richer here as well. I have said this many times: He sounds like David DeFeis from the band, Virgin Steele, but with a richer, louder and more powerful voice (more powerful when he hits the high notes). Sure, David sounds better during the moments that he sings soft, as well as the fact that he has a bit wider of a range, but he just does not pump you up as much. He has more of a voice where you marvel at the beauty of it.

The other highlight is the guitar work. Geoff Thorpe and Mark McGee give you some very dynamic and charismatic guitar work. Their big bad riffs give the music a fuckload of power and the solos (particularly Geoff's) are virtuosic and make you feel "energized, tantalized, electrified". Great for guitarists to learn and for air guitarists to have fun with. Vicious Rumors have always had great riffs and solos, but here they manage to have that, despite the low tempo, just like their next album, "Welcome To The Ball", from the following year, 1991 (although it has three fast songs, opposing to the two fast songs and a just-above-mid-paced song that appear on this album).

You can't hate Vicious Rumors. Even if you hate power metal, you have to admit that they aren't as bad (not that I hate power metal). Their tough backbone and their epic sound do what they mean to, without being as cheesy as some power metal bands are. That is just what the great thing is about USPM. Most of it is powerful and epic, without too much cheese on top. Fuck the keyboards, let's kick some ass with guitars. But this band, Vicious Rumors just seems to make this work the best, even better than Manowar, who are cheesy as fuck (but pretty good, nonetheless, just not as good as this). So I say to you, THAT is exactly why they are my favorite power metal band that has ever come out of America.

Another band that should have been far more successful than they were, California's Vicious Rumors started out on the Shrapnel/ Roadrunner imprint before landing a major label deal with Atlantic (resulting in two studio albums and a live). Though their second album Digital Dictator had been excellent, 1990's s/t effort was simply fantastic, the very peak of the band's career.

To describe their sound best, I'd have to say Vicious Rumors is a hybrid of early Testament (The Legacy/The New Order) and a touch of Metal Church in the vocals and riffs. Carl Albert has a tremendous voice, mid-ranged and melodic with an edge to it that won't disappoint fans of either power metal or thrash.

"Don't Wait for Me" throws the album immediately into cruise mode, total dark highway metal picking up right where Digital Dictator left off. Catchy melodic backups counter Albert during the bridge, before the explosive Don't! Don't wait for me! + GANG VOCALS! "World Church" barrels along a little more slowly, but strikes out again with an infectious chorus with gang shouts (this band has always had the huge catchy chorus down pat, even on the more recent albums). These are both great songs, but neither could prepare me for "On the Edge", which is simply put one of the most fantastic metal songs ever, with it unforgettable riffing and Carl Albert hits the ceiling to exclaim:

'On the edge
Living faster you live
On the edge!'

or

'On the edge
Because you do it so well
On the edge!'

I'd say stick a fork in me, but Vicious Rumors isn't finished yet. "Ship of Fools" creates an epic hard rock equation, it's almost like a power ballad but without the ballad or the suck. "Can You Hear It" once again creates hard rock bliss in a metal shell, with a chorus that one could easily imagine Rob Halford, Ronny James Dio or Ozzy belting out. "Down to the Temple" is a little heavier but keeps the same mid pace of the previous two tracks. Not to fear, the great acoustic intro of "Hellraiser" betrays a raging beast almost on par with "On the Edge".

I wouldn't call them poetic or even good lyrically, but Vicious Rumors has that rare ability to make one shiver, to inspire and life affirm. The impact of each note and vocal line is extremely well plotted to evoke emotional response, or at the least, manic fist and headbanging. The scintillating acoustics of "Electric Twilight" yield to yet another of the album's speed metal massacres, "Thrill of the Hunt". The album ends on the aptly titled, if cheesy "Axe and Smash", which comes across as a fun hard rocker in NWOBHM tradition (melodic backup vocals and all) but with the harder edge of the rest of the album.

Vicious Rumors has that big budget 80s sound pat, everything on the album sounds fantastic and the vocals cut right through, part knife part red alert. The songs are uniformly fantastic, with the exception of maybe the middle tunes, of which one or two are simply 'very good'. The follow-up Welcome to the Ball has a similar style, but the songs are a little less exciting. If you've ever wanted to check this band out, start here. You won't be disappointed, or maybe you will be and then we've got a problem.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

We all know how pretty awesome Helloween's Keeper albums were, both I and II. Then after that we all know they took an incredibly huge and questionable turn when they put out Pink Bubbles and Chameleon. It seems as if Vicious Rumors followed and took that dirt road off the course, and just makes you scratch your head and wonder what they were trying to do here. Compared to their previous two albums Soldiers of the Night and Digital Dictator, this is definitely a disappointment, and also doesn't come close to how great their next two releases would be. Its also almost annoying that this is their self-titled album, since its perhaps one of their worst. This is still not a terrible album by any means, maybe I'm being a little harsh, but it didn't really blow my mind unlike their other stuff.

It starts off extremely promising with "Don't wait for me", which definitely sounds like the Vicious Rumors that rocked our faces off with the previous two albums. "World Church" throws us into a mid-paced medium that they'd repeat pretty often throughout this album. "World Church", "Ship of Fools", "Can you hear it", "Down to the Temple", and "Axe and Smash" are all mid-paced and lacking songs that you probably could have heard Cinderalla put out or something. "Ship of Fools" is probably the best one on hear, starts off a bit slow but it gets pretty dang catchy and moody. "Electric Twilight" is a really cool guitar instrumental, that at times almost sounds like something a happy upbeat Running Wild would have made. Its not the shreddage that was unleashed by Geoff Thorpe's previous instrumental tracks, but its pretty unique and catchy. The better and more aggressive tracks on here "Don't Wait for Me", "On the Edge", "Hellraiser", and "Thrill of the Hunt" are definitely top notch, but at the same time not nearly as memorable as some of their other songs. And as previous reviewer Ultraboris put it in his own way, "Axe and smash" is really ... just atrocious. Its bad. Sounds completely like glam.

The lineup here is exactly the same as the Digital Dictator lineup. Which just makes me further wonder exactly what they were trying to do here. Be a little more acceptable? The riffs from main man Geoff Thorpe and Mark McGhee feel a bit lacking, and aren't too inspiring. The solo's still standout as some good shredding, you just have to have the patience to get to them. Carl Albert's a no brainer really. His performance is definitely the best here and if weren't for him this album may be close to being trash. He always gives it his best. Sadly, I don't ever recall the bass or drums being too great or anything. Were they just wanting to be more mainstream here or something?

To me, this album is probably best compared to their Welcome to the Ball release. Its seems as if they're attempting to deliver more emotion than usual, but it just doesn't really work too well here. There's too many mid-paced songs that often sound too similar and a bit lifeless, leaving you with only half of the album left to enjoy. I'd still recommend this album for those really big on the band, but pretty much any of their other releases should be higher on your buy list. Their other stuff is drastically superior.

This is a major step down from the previous album... there are a few good songs on here, but then also a bunch of really terrible ones.

First, let's discuss the highlights... Don't Wait For Me - man this one is a classic! Awesome riffage, total speed metal mayhem. Then, there's a quality gap before we hit Hellraiser, which is also pretty decent, but not quite as good. Thrill of the Hunt is sorta like Don't Wait For Me Part II - a bit less well-developed, and a bit more melodic, and having some overtones of Dokken, but still a halfway reasonably cool song.

Then there's the rest... from tracks 2 through 6, there is really nothing worth hearing, and also that goes for the last track, Axe and Smash. The last track sounds like very uninspired 80s metal, an anthem without balls, pretty much. Something that Twisted Sister would have rejected, or maybe put on Love is for Suckers! The rest - a big blob of completely forgettable shit. All these songs just plod along as they go through the motions. There's no point in differentiating between individual songs, they're all crap. Forget 'em.

So this is not worth getting... not for one great song and two good ones.