Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Vicious Rumors
Label: SPV Records
Release: 2014
Rating: 4.5/5
Vicious Rumors belong to the handful of the most important American heavy metal outfits. Through their activity (the band was formed back in 1979) they contributed enormously to the gradual popularization and development of American heavy metal in all its forms, especially to the rise of the early speed/thrash metal wave. Remember? It first exploded in Europe, and then the influence of the British new wave of metal slowly crossed over to the North American continent.
Vicious Rumors, one of the metal bands with the longest track record on the planet, have been relentlessly fired up again, especially since 2006. The album “Warball” (2006) put them back on the old tracks, and the next two, »Razorback Killers« (2011) and »Electric Punishment« (2013), cemented the band’s highly artistic stance, where you can feel the authenticity of the old school of metal skillfully crossed with modern sonic approaches, especially when it comes to production. Vicious Rumors’ sound is crushing today more than ever, and Thorpe can expect plenty, plenty of good things from the freshly renewed lineup in the future. But let’s take it from the top.
In 2013 the band’s eleventh studio album »Electric Punishment« came out. Soon after, Vicious Rumors went through another round of lineup shuffles. Thorpe swapped out a full three fifths of the band. Vocal duties were taken over by Dutch singer Nick Holleman (Powerized, Methusalem), Bob Capka stepped in on guitar, while the bass spot went to none other than Tilen Hudrap, a Slovenian musician. While we’re at it, Hudrap is not only the first non-American member of any Vicious Rumors lineup to date (Holleman joined the crew a bit later), but also the first Slovenian bassist in heavy metal, period, to take a permanent spot in the lineup of an internationally established and respected metal band. Earning the trust and favor of the great Geoff Thorpe, so that you join a band as legendary and respected, yet (generally speaking) still a tad overlooked, as Vicious Rumors, is no mean feat. Few Slovenian musicians have pulled off a move like that on the international scene to this day, if any, so it’s clear that Tilen Hudrap is not just an excellent bassist but also a guy who truly lives and breathes metal every day, and that’s what finally convinced Thorpe, who could really pick any of the best metal bassists in the world to join the crew. So it’s not just metal fans in Slovenia but the entire Slovenian music scene that has every right to be proud.
Enough of the emotional outpouring. What we have here is the band’s new live document titled »Live You To Death 2 – American Punishment«. The title has a double meaning. In a relatively short time it logically followed the previous live release »Live You To Death« (2012), and unlike its predecessor, recorded on European stages, this one features the songs the band played on its American tour. As expected, Vicious Rumors built this set around their cult and most notorious studio record »Digital Dictator« (1988), which coincides with the band’s appearance at the »infamous« 70.000 Tons of Metal festival, where Vicious Rumors played the album »Digital Dictator« in full for the first time in their history. This live document opens dreamily, and you actually think VR are going all the way with “Digital Dictator” here too. They play half of it. The first half, then they jump to two tracks from the then-current new studio album »Electric Punisment« (2013), which of course needed promotion, and that’s followed by nothing but material written in the eighties, led by three songs from the album »Vicious Rumors« (1990), two from »Welcome to the Ball« (1991), and, as expected, the closing title track of the debut studio album »Soldiers of the Night« (1985). The material on this release comes from the band’s shows in New York, Atlanta, Oakland and Chicago.
A wet dream for any fan of this band, then. The freshly renewed lineup delivered everything Thorpe expected and demanded of it. Unlike his predecessor Allen, Holleman is much closer to the late Carl Albert in interpretation and vocal color, which is a tremendous gain for Thorpe and co., especially with a view to the band’s moves in the near future, both in songwriting and in performance. Bob Capka superbly fills in for Thaen Rasmussen in all the dialogues with Thorpe’s guitar. Tilen Hudrap is all over the album with his pulsating bass, which brings technical brilliance to this document. No need to add that Larry Howe on drums remains the band’s utterly destructive constant! In short: a live document closely related to the first part, yet special and different. That it’s a one-off doesn’t even bother me, because given the drive and commitment the new crew radiates, with chief Thorpe at the helm, we can rightly assume that more live albums will follow this one.
Even though the true fans of the band have had »Live You To Death 2 – American Punishment« at home for ages, this release is a great educational primer for anyone who doesn’t know the band yet and has a soft spot for the old school of American »speed/thrash« metal. The band is nowhere near done! In August 2016 we’re waiting for a new one, the band’s 12th studio album, and after that it’s Vicious Rumors shows, shows, shows… Until you meet them face to face, let listening to this fresh and excellent live release shorten the wait.
Vicious Rumors – Worlds And Machines (live, official video):
Lineup
Nick Holleman – vocals
Geoff Thorpe – guitar, backing vocals
Bob Capka – guitar
Tilen Hudrap – bass guitar
Larry Howe – drums
Production
Geoff Thorpe
Tracklist
01. Digital Dictator
02. Minute To Kill
03. Towns On Fire
04. Lady Took A Chance
05. Worlds And Machines
06. I Am The Gun
07. Electric Punishment
08. You Only Live Twice
09. Mastermind
10. Don’t Wait For Me
11. World Church
12. Hellraiser
13. Soldiers Of The Night
