Vicious Rumors

Though they have never reached superstar heights, the American power metal band Vicious Rumors earn recognition for remaining loyal to their core sound and for steadily producing sincere, trend-defying recordings that resonate strongly with supporters. Guitarist Geoff Thorpe established Vicious Rumors in Santa Rosa, California, in 1980. The founding roster included vocalist Mark Tate, guitarist Jim Cassero, bassist Jeff Barnacle, and drummer Walt Perkins. That same year the group first drew attention by staging Metal Mondays at Bill Graham’s Old Waldorf nightclub, an event widely viewed as the origin of the Bay Area metal scene—the largest, most enduring, and most significant metal community in the United States. After issuing several independent singles and appearing on notable metal compilations, Vicious Rumors secured their initial recording agreement in 1984 with the rising Shrapnel Records label run by northern Californian metal promoter Mike Varney. By then multiple drummers had rotated through the slot left by Perkins before Larry Howe took the position on a permanent basis, remaining for a decade. Mark Tate gave way to vocalist Gary St. Pierre from Hawaii, Chuck Moomy succeeded Jim Cassero on guitar, and Dave Starr replaced Jeff Barnacle on bass.

The band’s first full-length album, Soldiers of the Night, appeared in 1986 and met with particular enthusiasm across Europe. East Coast guitar virtuoso Vinnie Moore joined briefly after Moomy’s exit but departed soon afterward to launch his own instrumental career. Before Moore left, St. Pierre was also dismissed, clearing the way for the classic Digital Dictator lineup of vocalist Carl Albert, guitarists Geoff Thorpe and Mark McGee, bassist Dave Starr, and drummer Larry Howe. This configuration remained intact for nine years. Shrapnel issued the follow-up Digital Dictator in 1988; as domestic interest increased, the band moved to Atlantic Records. Their self-titled Atlantic debut arrived in 1990 and was promoted through extensive touring. Although still far from major-league U.S. metal status, Vicious Rumors appeared poised at the start of the nineties to gain wider visibility alongside acts such as Mötley Crüe and Queensrÿche. Momentum held with the 1991 release Welcome to the Ball and the 1992 live album Plug in and Hang on: Live in Tokyo, which documented a highly successful Japanese tour.

A period of inactivity caused by an injury to Thorpe led Atlantic to drop the band, a decision influenced both by the group’s reduced schedule and by the waning American popularity of melodic power metal. Subsequent European and Japanese contracts followed, accompanied by further personnel shifts as the group persisted through the nineties. Word of Mouth came out in 1994, and the band continued to tour in the United States and Europe. While preparing the next album, Something Burning, vocalist Carl Albert died on April 22, 1995. Vicious Rumors chose to carry on, issuing an Albert tribute EP and a live album capturing the singer’s final performance. Something Burning finally appeared in 1996, with Geoff Thorpe handling lead vocals in addition to guitar. The record strengthened the band’s European standing, drawing favorable notices and another successful tour.

Although Thorpe’s singing proved capable, it could not match Albert’s range, prompting the search for a new vocalist so that earlier material could return to the set list. Brian O’Connor joined for the 1998 album Cyber-Christ and its accompanying tour. In 2000 Morgan Thorn replaced O’Connor and featured on the 2001 release Sadistic Symphony. After that album the band entered a brief hiatus, regrouping in 2006 to issue their ninth studio album, Warball, which marked a return to the more traditional, less experimental power metal approach of their earlier work. They then signed with the German hard rock label SPV, resulting in the releases Razorback Killers in 2011, Electric Punishment in 2013, and Concussion Protocol in 2016.