It's an ancient weapon signifying ultimate power. A killing tool used to destroy the week and control all humankind. Complete with deadly spiked prongs, the Shinkin is an eerie murderer. It has no sympathy for whom it strikes and no respect for life.

San Francisco based Vicious Rumors is just as brutal. Possessing an uncompromising passion and drive for wordly domination, this musical presence has quietly conquered progressive rock lovers this world over. 
Though it has taken this five-piece over ten years to slowly build a kingdom to reign, Vicious Rumors stand poised to overcome the masses with their newest assault, Welcome To The Ball. 

Vicious Rumors first surfaced in late 1979. After surviving numerous line-up changes ( including the likes of veteran guitarist vinnie Moore ), the band, bearing the killer dual-axe riffings of guitarist/founder Geoff Thorpe and guitarist Mark McGee, quickly attracted the educated ears of guitar guru Mike Varney. "We established a following in San Francisco playing the old Waldorf on Metal mondays", recalls Thorpe. "We ended up signing a two record deal with Shrapnel Records".

The results of this deal came in the form of the self-titled 1986 release and it's follow-up, the lethal Digital Dictator.
"Our second release, meant the end of our first record contract", states Thorpe. "At that point, we started shopping to major labels. Atlantic picked us up after about a year of showcasing."

Welcome To The Ball, released just a few weeks back, further explores the depth and agility of Vicious Rumors, also consisting of vocalist Carl Albert, bassist Dave Starr and drummer Larry Howe.
"Welcome To The Ball  has a double meaning. Part of our logo is based on a Japanese weapon called the Shinkin, which is a steel ball with blades on it. It's a way of saying welcome back to Vicious Rumors."

Once again tackling subjects of earthly values, Vicious Rumors have written eleven classics which should appeal to all concerned with everyday living. "We 've been experiencing so much stuff since we 've been together. There's been a lot of ups and downs. But we usually try to focus on more of the positive side of things," informs Thorpe. "This album takes a look at everything. There's a song called "Abandoned", which is about being shut out. It deals with the feelings of when you believe you can count on somebody and they don't come through. It's a betrayal song. 
Then there's a song called "Only Live Twice", which is sort of a life and after-live preparation track.
There's a ballad titled "When Love comes Down", which is a relationship type of song. 
And we also wrote a song called "Children" , which is about saving the world for our kids. That's a really important topic, especially since most of us have kids. So there's a lot of variety. 

The biting power and edge that is Vicious Rumors has again been captured by producer Michael Rosen ( Todd Rundgren, Testament ). The relationship between producer and artist is exceptionally strong in this situation due to the fact that it was Vicious Rumors that initially gave Rosen his big break. "We were his first major label gig", states Thorpe. "We're very proud of his accomplishments because we feel we helped launch his career."

"We've sort of done a two LP thing with producers. We worked with Steve Fontano on our first two LP's because we enjoyed working with him so much on the first album. we worked with Michael again because we really enjoyed working with him on our fist record. That isn't to say that is our definite pattern, but that's the way it's worked out in the past."

Considering the struggle Vicious Rumors has overcome, one must be curious about the band's current mindframe. Are they concerned about the heavy weight artists also releasing records this summer ?
"There's gonna be a lot of good music released this summer," says Thorpe. "I think that it can work to our advantage as well as our disadvantage. Positively speaking, there's gonna be so much good music out that people are gonna be buying music, They're gonna be looking to get what's going on. Hopefully if the press likes our new record, if the fans like it, then the buzz is gonna get around that this is another hot record to check out. There's always that fear of getting lost in the shuffle. When you're a local band, before you get signed to a major, your competition is the band next door. But then you get signed and all of a sudden your competition is Aerosmith and Guns 'N Roses. But that's what it's all about. "

Reflecting their two record span with Shrapnel, does Vicious Rumors feel it's been harder to generate interest from the general public, seeing that for the first two releases they were pushed by a guitar hero label? 
"We were one of the few bands on Shrapnel that was actually a band," states Thorpe. " I have no regrets about it. We used Shrapnel as a stepping stone and that was the original plan. Vicious Rumors have always believed in itself enough to stand on our own, no matter what label we were on. We weren't into doing a guitar-frenzied showcase just because we were on Shrapnel."

And about their major label debut?
"I think it was a really great record," responds the enthusiastic guitarist. "Unfortunately, there was a little bit of turmoil within the label at that time with our A&R person switching jobs. There were changes being made with the people that worked there, so unfortunately, being a new band on the roster, we got brushed under the rug. It was a frustrating year for us as far as just push from the label. But it looks quite a bit better now. Atlantic has new press people and we have a new A&R rep who's really into the band."

"The thing that's changed is the level of interest and support, "informs Thorpe on the change of Atlantic.
"Nick ( Ferrara )  has done a terriffic job with us. He's working with us. He's helping the momentum. It's exciting for us because we poor 100% of our heart and soul into this music and we believe in it 100%. Nick has been right there with us since we first hooked up with him."

The versatile hooks and riffs of Vicious Rumors should attract the attention of music listeners of all types. Combining melodic passion, hard-edged nuances and excellent lyrical ploys, this five-piece is a hotbed of molten potential just waiting to be tapped. And in a world where control and power still remain to be the ultimate high, having a hold on the ball that refuses to quit is the most overriding power to retain. Take hold !