More Than A Rumor

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Thrash giants ready for new one

US Bay Area heavy metal giants Vicious Rumors have confirmed the release of their mighty, melodious twelfth studio album, ‘Concussion Protocol’ on August 26th on Steamhammer / SPV. An inspired, cranium crunching offering, ‘Concussion Protocol’ will be available as a Digipak CD (plus poster), double gatefold red 180 gram vinyl LP with printed inner sleeves (plus CD in paper sleeve), and download.

‘Concussion Protocol’, packed with gigantic guitar rhythms and shredding solos, powerful, melodic vocals, thunderous double bass drums and hard driving bass guitar madness, is a major milestone album. The long time production team of Juan Uteaga and Vicious Rumors’ founder Geoff Thorpe deftly zeroed in on the new strengths of a fully revitalized band that now features talented newcomers Nick Holleman on vocals and Tilen Hudrap on bass, alongside Thorpe and Thaen Rasmussen on guitars, and veteran drummer Larry Howe. Uteaga and Thorpe, who have been solidifying their working relationship for the last ten years, perfectly captured the newly galvanized band – plus guest guitarists Steve Smyth and Brad Gillis – at the peak of their powers on ‘Concussion Protocol’.

Vicious_Rumors_Concussion_Protocol_1500x1500pxFrom the moment colossal album opener ‘Concussion Protocol’ gallops out of the speakers, until the last notes of massive closing track ‘Life For A Life’ fade away, you are taken on a sublime (50 minute plus) sonic rollercoaster ride of pure, cutting edge, metal adventure. The songs run the gamut, from the powerful, melodic ‘Take It Or Leave It’, the haunting ‘Circle Of Secrets’, the thought provoking ‘Victims Of A Digital World’, right through to the brutal, hard driving ‘1000 Years’.

‘Concussion Protocol’, the follow-up to 2013’s ‘Electric Punishment’ studio album, is an even more accomplished body of work than its predecessor, which won rave reviews the world over. Fireworks magazine’s John Tucker reviewed ‘Electric Punishment’ in the magazine’s May/June 2013 issue, stating; “For a band who released their first LP ‘Soldiers Of The Night’ back in 1985, age has neither blunted Vicious Rumors’ appeal nor their appetite for metal of mass destraction. Helmed by guitarist Geoff Thorpe the band have never strayed far from their roots, consistently delivering brash and exciting slabs of pure thoroughbred heavy metal; and it comes as little surprise that their eleventh studio album ‘Electric Punishment’ continues with this tradition. Blending and stylising influences from the likes of latter-day Judas Priest, Metallica and Anthrax, Thorpe and his partners-in-metal have crafted an album that’s as sharp as a cut-throat razor and possibly twice as deadly. Nicely paced, evenly balanced but forever on the edge ‘Electric Punishment’ takes its predecessors ‘Razorback Killers’ and ‘Warball’ and pushes them that little bit further as perhaps you’d expect from a band of this caliber.”

Vicious Rumors, renowned for their relentless, driving energy and commitment to excellence, have now excelled themselves on ‘Concussion Protocol’, a soon to be hailed all-time classic metal album.

www.spv.de / www.viciousrumors.com

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