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My first acquaintance with the band was when I bought their 'Soldiers of the Night" album sometime around 1985. Guitar virtuoso Vinnie Moore put a big stamp on that record with his guitar soli. Their second album 'Digital Dictator' however is in my opinion still their best and that is because of the very strong songs and of course the mighty vocals of Carl Albert (RIP). The next 2 releases, 'Vicious Rumors' and 'Welcome to the Ball' are good albums, but both of them just didn't have the same strong songs, although they really tried hard to make them a second 'Digital Dictator'. After that they never reached that high level again. Like Metal Church (with David Wayne), they have never found a singer, who can reach the same level as Carl. On this new album you can hear that Vicious Rumors knows that their best albums with the best songs were written in the late eighties. Most of the songs on this new album are in the same style as 'Digital Dictator' and 'Vicious Rumors'. The track 'I Am the Gun' shows that immediately, a fast track in the same style of "A Minute to Kill" opens the album. Other fast tracks are "Black X List" and "D-Block", both of these tracks could have been on their 'Razorback Killers' album too. I was never was a big fan of Brian Allen's vocals, but I have to admit that he still improves his singing and does a good job here. On the first singing line of "Escape" he sounds like Ronnie James Dio, and also his aggressive singing in the faster part at the end of the song impresses, it's only in the high parts he misses the bend and sounds a bit false. No he isn't a second Carl, but he has developed into the second best singer the band has ever had. "Dime Store Prophet" is a nice mid tempo track with heavy riffs, but the song "Together We Unite" is one of the worst Vicious Rumors tracks ever. It is an ode to the fans, but why not write a song in Vicious Rumors style then? It is a commercial slow song, with sing-a-long parts, a bit like Judas Priest's "United", it really sucks. The last track on the album is a Kiss cover, with Geoff Thorpe on vocals, not exactly my cup of tea. The first half of the album is the best, after "Dime Store Prophet" the only strong track is "Thirst for a Kill", a fast track with a nice galloping rhythm. The eighth track "Eternally", a slow track, is again a weaker song. If you like 'Razorback Killers' and their eighties albums, there is enough stuff her to please you. Not a bad album at all, but next time 10 strong tracks instead of 7, please. | ||||||||||||||||||
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