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VICIOUS RUMORS
Electric Punishment

Steamhammer (2013)
Rating: 8.5/10

Now here’s a band that during the 1980s consistently produced high quality metal albums. Vicious Rumors were the sort of band who bridged the gap between power and thrash metal, a cold steel assault boasting melody and crunching precision.

Electric Punishment is the Californian band’s 11th album and like all those mini-classics previous, this one sticks to its guns, rarely straying from its chosen path of scorching hot metal. So many bands over the years, especially when the mid-90s grunge invasion took hold, strayed from their path and buckled under the weight of trend, but Vicious Rumors are one of those rare quantities. A band who’ve stuck to rocking hard and given the fans what they’ve always wanted.

This opus is a ten-track affair which closes with an intriguing cover of the Kiss song ‘Strange Ways’, but more on that later. Electric Punishment comes hot on the heels of 2012’s live album Live You To Death, and features a dazzling array of numbers which revolve around Geoff Thorpe’s molten guitar work.

Thorpe is the bands founding member and has come a long way since handing out flyers for his new band back in 1979. Despite varying personnel over the years, Vicious Rumors have always remained a solid metal act, criminally underrated, and never once being affected by its changing staff. This time round Thorpe is accompanied by vocalist Brian Allen, guitarist Thaen Rasmussen, bassist Stephen Goodwin and drummer Harry Lowe, with guest appearances from guitarists Brad Gillis (Night Ranger / ex-Ozzy Osbourne), Mark McGee and Bob Capka.

The album opener is an out-and-out thrasher in the form of ‘I Am The Gun’, which rushes headlong with its epic vocal wail and twin guitar attack. Again, the band bridge the gap between robust power metal and chuggernaut metal. Lowe is an accomplished drummer whose formidable beats sew together this beast of a track. Vicious Rumors have never deviated from their path over the years and yet somehow remain current with their brand of heavy metal. ‘I Am The Gun’ matches anything that the likes of Anthrax, Overkill, et al have written over the last few years.

‘Black X List’ is equally astounding, storming in with that rattling drum and swirling guitar; Thorpe’s handiwork a marvelous sound to behold. It’s the kind of track that sums up that classic Vicious Rumors sound, but if you’re still not convinced then the doom-laden chug of the title track should have you salivating. It’s another epic power metal pile-driver that builds slowly with that ferocious sneer and intimidating chug. This is an anthem for all those metalheads who today are searching for those seemingly lost times of the 80s. Vicious Rumors exude pride and menace all at once; their cauldron of metal is constantly stirred and spiced with the sort of ingredients that make the genre so potent.

‘D-Block’, ‘Escape (From Hell)’ and ‘Dime Store Prophet’ hold up the mid-section. ‘D-Block’ is another go-for-throat thrasher, the co-vocal attack (with Thorpe providing the melody) is spine-tingling to say the least. The seven-minute ‘Escape (From Hell)’ slows the pace, combining melodic majesty and more pensive chords, while ‘Dime Store Prophet’ is another rasping, rollicking rocker that injects the veins with pace leading us to the almost semi-ballad-esque and, dare I say it, “hair metal” sway of ‘Together We Unite’. This is a classic simmering slow-burner that seems to reflect on the past, raising a glass to all those fans and people who’ve been part of this incredible bands legacy. It really is an infectious track that will have the lighters (or in the modern sense, mobile phones) waving.

The real talent of Vicious Rumors however is their ability to shift between styles whilst all the while making sure their sound is still heavy. ‘Eternally’ is a jarring, almost remote number that relies on that staggering guitar work. But with ‘Thirst For A Kill’ we’re back to that savagery, leading us to the finale which is the aforementioned Kiss song ‘Strange Ways’ (originally from 1974’s Hotter Than Hell), and what a cracking little rocker this is, the drums a shuddering plod behind the vocal snarl. I have to admit to being wary of this track when I saw it listed, but it’s a fitting finale for this album, and once again Vicious Rumors have delivered another face-melter of a record. You knew what was coming, and yet every time they hit you right between the eyes like a cold steel arrow.

Neil Arnold

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