UMUR
"Something Burning" is the sixth full-length studio album by US, California based power/heavy metal act Vicious Rumors. The album was released through Massacre Records in September 1996. It´s the successor to "Word Of Mouth" from 1994 and features a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as guitarist Mark McGhee has been replaced by Steve Smyth, and as lead vocalist Carl Albert sadly died from injuries sustained in a car accident in April 1995, guitarist Geoff Thorpe has taken on the lead vocal duties on the album, making Vicious Rumors a quartet on "Something Burning".
"Something Burning" did not only mark a major lineup change on the lead vocalist spot, but also a major change in musical style. Up until then every Vicious Rumors had been heavy metal/US power metal styled and with a world class singer like Carl Albert fronting the band, some of those releases were among the seminal albums in the US power metal style. "Something Burning" is almost the sound of a completely different band. Thorpe has a more raw voice and aggressive singing style, although still relatively melodic, but it´s actually not the vocals which are the most significant change. It´s the instrumental part of the music which is now made up of heavy groove laden riffs and rhythms. I don´t know if it was the terrible loss of Albert or maybe just the shifting musical tides of the early- mid 90s, but Vicious Rumors arguably play groove metal on "Something Burning".
As a starting point I have nothing against groove metal or groove thrash or whatever you want to label it, but I´m afraid this sounds a lot like a desperate attempt to stay relevant and honestly it comes off a bit insincere. The vers/chorus songwriting isn´t terribly interesting either and there´s a pedestrian atmosphere surrounding the whole project. The sound production is of a good quality, but not exactly the type of production I´d expect to hear on a Vicious Rumors album. This would have fit much better on an early 90s Seattle rock release.
I wouldn´t call "Something Burning" a terrible release, but it´s certainly not a great one either. If you want to hear music in this style, there are loads of other contemporary groove metal albums of there, which are much better and more interesting. Vicious Rumors should have stuck to their heavy metal/US power metal guns, have ridden through the storm of the heavy metal/US power metal unkind 90s, and they would have come out on top without losing fans and face, like they did with this release. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.