UMUR "Word Of Mouth" is the 5th full-length studio album by US, California based power/heavy metal act Vicious Rumors. The album was released through Rising Sun Productions in January 1994. It´s the successor to "Welcome To The Ball" from 1991. There´s been one lineup change since the predecessor as bassist Dave Starr has been replaced by Tommy Sisco. It would be the last Vicious Rumors studio album to feature lead vocals by Carl Albert, as he died from injuries sustained in a car accident in April 1995.

Stylistically the material on "Word Of Mouth" continue the US power/heavy metal style of the predecessors, but some contemporary influences have crept in. Especially the darker and heavier approach of the contemporary Seattle scene rears its ugly head a couple of times during the playing time, although it´s not a dominant influence. It´s just a touch and it´s only natural that the band also picked up on what was happening on the scene at the time. I´ve read other reviews saying that Vicious Rumors haven´t changed a bit and held the US power metal flag high on "Word Of Mouth", despite their chosen music style being completely out of fashion in 1994, but that sentiment simply isn´t 100% true. While the dominant style is still US power/heavy metal, Vicious Rumors do experiment with other sounds and styles on this release.

Tracks like album opener "Against The Grain", "No Fate" and "Sense Of Security" are unmistakably the sound of Vicious Rumors, featuring both heavy and fast riffs and rhythms, blistering solos, and Albert´s strong voice and commanding vocals in front. "Word Of Mouth" also features the obligatory power ballads, but there are also a couple of more experimental tracks and ideas on display, and while an adventurous approach to songwriting should always receive praise, "Word Of Mouth" unfortunately ends up lacking a clear direction and a consistent quality. The sound production is decent but not really great. Just take a listen to how the production values change between "No Fate" and "Sense Of Security". Odd and a bit amaturish. When that is said we´re still talking about Vicious Rumors, so of course this is still a quality release. It´s just uneven and overall could have been better. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

siLLy puPPy VICIOUS RUMORS is one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s longest lived classic heavy metal / US power metal bands having formed as far back as 1979 in the North Bay city of Santa Rosa. This band has been the baby of guitarist / vocalist Geoff Thorpe for its multi-decade existence and as one could expect has gone through various lineup changes and stylistic shifts as time goes on. While many of the Bay Area metal bands of the era gravitated towards the up and coming thrash metal scene, VICIOUS RUMORS was more interested in the anthemic metal of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and even KISS as a point of inspiration.

SOLDIERS OF THE NIGHT is the debut album that was released in 1985 and is the only album to feature both vocalist Gary St Pierre and guitarist Vinnie Moore. Moore would depart the band soon after this debut’s release and enjoy a fruitful solo career as one of the 80s most accomplished neoclassical shredders. Although his guitar talents are displayed on this debut they are a bit tamped down in comparison to Moore’s solo works such as “Mind’s Eye” which emerged the following year. St Pierre would hang around until 1987 before being replaced by Carl Albert who would join the band during their peak “classic” era which includes the three album run from “Digital Dictator” to “Welcome To The Ball.”

The band was quite active from 1981-85 on radio shows and playing live gigs locally with some of the early thrash bands like Death Angel, Exodus and Possessed. All of this exposure landed them on the Shrapnel Records label which was famous for signing guitar shredders who released solo material but also equally infamous for its dreadful production quality therefore SOLDIERS OF THE NIGHT suffers from a dismal production and mixing job with a weak almost monotonic overall effect. Fortunately the music is engaging enough to not diminish the overall effect but a modern remastering job is very much in need if even possible at this point in the game.

Very much in the style of the era, VICIOUS RUMORS was very much a typical sounding band of the day with galloping guitar riffs, bantering bass and drumming prowess with operatic vocals that narrated classic epic metal themes of going to battle and kicking ass. Vinnie Moore delivers some outstanding soloing however it is obvious that his talents were tamped down on SOLDIERS OF THE NIGHT. I can’t say St Pierre’s vocals are quite up to the task either as he had a goofy yelp turned into operatic screams. Not bad most of the time but sometimes he doesn’t quite hit the notes properly and after all this early era of metal was still about melody and harmony as dissonance and atonality were far from the norm at the time.

VICIOUS RUMORS delivered a fairly typical speed metal / early US power metal album with SOLDIERS OF THE NIGHT having been similar to bands like Metal Church, Liege Lord, Jag Panzer, Helstar and Armored Saint. Musically the eleven tracks are excellent with the instrumental guitar solo “Invader” showcasing Moore’s virtuoso guitar techniques. This album may not have been the band’s peak of creativity but certainly opened the doors for them to have a successful decade that found them enjoy a bit of success starting with the following “Digital Dictator.” Really the only thing not to like on this one is the crappy production. True the band’s sound was a bit generic in many ways but competent enough to thoroughly enjoy if you love the 1980s heavy metal style of playing. On the lower side of excellent but a solid debut.

UMUR "Welcome To The Ball" is the 4th full-length studio album by US, California based power/heavy metal act Vicious Rumors. The album was released through Atlantic Records in July 1991. It´s the successor to the eponymously titled album from 1989 and features the same lineup who recorded the predecessor.

"Welcome To The Ball" features a slightly harder edged sound and style than it´s direct predecessor, and although the majority of the material are still power/heavy metal, there are a couple of more thrash metal oriented parts found on the album too (an example is album opener "Abandoned"). The darker and heavier sound production also contributes to the feeling, that "Welcome To The Ball" is the heaviest Vicious Rumors album up until that point. The softer and in the case of the latter, more commercially oriented "Children" and "When Love Comes Down" pull in the other direction though, and "Welcome To The Ball" is a pretty diverse album within the confines of the US power/heavy metal genre.

The material on the 11 track, 45:03 minutes long album are overall well written, catchy, and memorable, but the real strength of Vicious Rumors is the brilliant musicianship. They are an incredibly well playing band, and each note and rhythm are played with great conviction and passion. Lead vocalist Carl Albert deserves a special mention as he is a singer extraordinaire and his performance here is among his strongest. He hits the perfect balance between raw and powerful heavy metal vocals and more melodic and paatos filled ditto. Upon conclusion "Welcome To The Ball" is another high quality release by Vicious Rumors and to my ears it would make a great starting point to newcommers to the band. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Vicious Rumors" is the eponymously titled 3rd full-length studio album by US, California based power/heavy metal act Vicious Rumors. The album was released through Atlantic Records in February 1989. It´s the successor to "Digital Dictator" from 1988 and features the exact same five-piece lineup who recorded the predecessor.

Stylistically Vicious Rumors continue to play the US power/heavy metal style of their first two albums and the material on this album are a natural successor to the music on especially "Digital Dictator (1988)". It´s hard rocking pounding heavy metal with the occasional thrashy edge and a lead vocalist in Carl Albert who are among the elite contemporary singers on the scene. The man is an absolute joy to listen to as he sings, screams, and snarls his way through the album. He has both the voice and the skills to pull off all vocal styles he tries his hand at. He is backed by a very well playing band too (I´d especially mention the really strong lead guitar playing), and the musicianship is overall on a very high level.

While most tracks on the album are hard rocking heavy metal tracks (some mid-paced and heavy and some a little faster), there is especially one track featured on the album which is more dynamic and adventurous. "Ship of Fools" features a slightly progressive edge to it (and a strong Queensrÿche influence), and is generally quite the interesting track. The opening trio of tracks "Don´t Wait For Me", "World Church", and "On The Edge" are also strong material too, and I´d also mention the fast-paced "Hellraiser" and the heavy "Down to The Temple" as standout tracks. It´s when the band cater to a more commercial audience on tracks like "Can You Hear It" and "Axe And Smash", that they are least interesting. All material on the 10 track, 39:44 minutes long album are well written and memorable though.

The album features a powerful, sharp, and detailed sounding production. It´s reverb laden which is a time-typical feature, but it´s well sounding and brings out the best in the material. Upon conclusion "Vicious Rumors" is a strong release by Vicious Rumors despite a couple of less remarkable tracks, but they are outweighted by the remarkable ones. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Digital Dictator" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, California based power/heavy metal act Vicious Rumors. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in February 1988. It´s the successor to "Soldiers Of The Night" from 1985 and features two lineup changes since the predecessor as guitarist Vinnie Moore has been replaced by Mark McGhee and lead vocalist Gary St. Pierre has been replaced by Carl Albert. Especially the latter change has a big impact on the music. Not that Gary St. Pierre isn´t a great vocalist, because he certainly is, but Carl Albert is just one of those "out of this world" singers, who bring something unique to the band they are fronting.

While the material on "Soldiers Of The Night (1985)" were mostly in a traditional heavy metal style and only occasionally touched a harder edged US power metal sound, the material on "Digital Dictator" are mostly in US power metal territory. In fact I´d say it´s the very epitome of the genre (think a combination of early Queensrÿche and early Savatage and you´re halfway there). Hard edged heavy metal riffs with the occasional thrashy edge, blistering guitar solos and skillful harmony work, a tight and hard pounding rhythm section, and Carl Albert´s expressive vocals in front (backed by the occasional riot gang shouting choir). He can sing both raw and aggressive (for the genre), and high pitched and melodic.

The material on the 10 track, 38:57 minutes long album are well written and memorable (and also relatively varied). So in addition to high level performances by all involved, the songwriting is top notch too. Add to that a powerful, raw, and detailed sound production, and "Digital Dictator" is a high quality release in all departments. It´s a step up from the debut album and the sound of a band coming into their own. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.