Vicious Rumors - Welcome To The Ball (1991)

Now here's a band who belong to every metal collection - I've only covered one VR album so far, that being the superb 'Soldiers of the Night,', and 'Welcome...' is as equally stirring. Extremely underrated band these guys, and strangely it's this sort of stuff - however mesmeric - that seems to be hardest to find nowadays, especially on vinyl. Vicious Rumors prowl that murky landscape between thrash and power metal,and are mde all the more grittier by Carl Albert's fiery rasp - imagine a melting pot of Exodus, Savatage, Overkill, old Helloween, Meliah Rage, Metal Church et al, - now, that's not to say that VR sound like any of these guys, far from it, but when you hear the thrashy chug of 'Abandoned' or the mystical flutterings which open 'You Only Live Twice' you'll appreciate the metal magic of these guys. Hard to believe VR formed in 1979! These guys are the sort of musicians who'll never let you down, the vocals just soar above the fiery guitar work and hammering drums, the short sharp shock that is 'Ends of the Earth' is a true battering ram of a thrasher with an epic power metal edge, whilst 'When Love Comes Down' as all the sultry magic of a hair metal ballad with Thorpe and McGee's guitar trickles, and the climax these guys build to is just spine-chilling. Vicious Rumors are a true heavy metal band, and there's nothing more you can ask for.
8/10