VICIOUS RUMORS — Razorback Killers (review)

VICIOUS RUMORS — Razorback Killers album cover

Album · 2011 · US Power Metal

3.5/5 · 2011-04-16
J-Man

Vicious Rumors is a band who never really "hit it big" in terms of commercial sales, but is one of most consistent U.S. power metal bands out there. Since their inception in 1979, the band has been regularly churning out high-quality heavy metal albums to their dedicated fanbase. Razorback Killers, the band's tenth full-length album and first in nearly five years, is yet another impressive chapter in their already noteworthy discography. Vicious Rumors may not be the most revolutionary band anymore, but these veterans do still know how to deliver kick ass heavy metal in 2011 - and, in the end, that's all that really matters!

Razorback Killers is a hard-hitting album in a lot of ways. I'd consider it "power metal with balls", if you will. The music is really heavy and relentless; I hear a lot of influence from the Bay Area-thrash metal scene on Razorback Killers. Songs like "Razorback Blade" could barely be considered traditional/power metal in my opinion. My favorite track is probably the opening cut, "Murderball" - Brian Allen's vocals are just spectacular there. One of the best things about Vicious Rumors is the top-notch musicianship, and that certainly applies here. The blinding guitar work from Geoff Thorpe and Kiyoshi Morgan (as well as Mark McGee, Brad Gillis and Eric Peterson as guests) is excellent - if you're a guitar player of any sort, this is the type of album that you simply cannot resist. One of my only major gripes about this release is the production. Razorback Killers simply sounds far too polished and sterile for these ears. It's really a shame; the music has a decidedly raw heavy metal approach, but the over-stressed production values only diminish one of the album's finest assets. A rawer sound would've enhanced my enjoyment significantly.

Despite my gripes with the production, Razorback Killers really is an excellent album from Vicious Rumors. These American veterans show no signs of slowing down, and Razorback Killers is definitive proof of this. People who enjoy old school power metal with a modern production should love this one. Of course, albums like this have existed for the last 30 years, but when the music this good, it's hard to consider that a major setback. 3.5 stars and a solid recommendation are deserved for Razorback Killers.

more than 2 years ago
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Time Signature wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I especially love "Welcome to the Ball". As for the production, I don't per se dislike polished productions - there are some cases where I prefer a polished production to a raw one. But, I'll keep your words of caution in mind :-)

J-Man wrote:

more than 2 years ago

This album isn't as good as their stuff from the late 80's and early 90's, but it's still definitely worth checking out if you like their earlier albums. It's really a shame the production is so bad IMO... I would've enjoyed the album much more if it had a more bare-bones production.

Time Signature wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Comment 1: Power metal with balls.... I like the sound of that.
Comment 2: OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG VICUOUS RUMORS OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!