Celebration Decay

Let me be frank for a minute. (Which is confusing, given that both my grandfathers were named Frank, but not me.) I have very little background knowledge about Vicious Rumors beyond those general biographical details that can be gathered simply by looking at the band page on this website. The pertinent detail among those requires me to say that fully half of the group's permanent line-up debuted on this album (Gunnar DüGrey on guitar and Nick Courtney on vocals), while Greg Christian (ex-Testament) guests as bassist, which may imply a change in sound since the preceding Concussion Protocol. However, I can't claim that those changes made a specific impact, since Celebration Decay represents my first listen to Vicious Rumors and, as such, my frame of reference during this review falls squarely on the music of their 13th full-length. No comparisons, no discography insights. Okay, enough time with Frank.

What hits first on Celebration Decay is modernity, in a couple of different ways. The very first hit probably relates to the themes, since the title track opens with a siren and news broadcast about thermonuclear bombs, then goes on to feature lyrics about "Children murdered for going to school/Attention spans depleted," which all strikes me as aiming to be relevant and contemporary. A few seconds later, the other kind of modernity bruises your cheek as the clobbering tones of guitar, bass, and drums punch directly and firmly through bold production. It comes as little surprise that alongside band leader and guitarist Geoff Thorpe, the knob-twiddling duties were handled by Juan Urteaga, who has sat in on recent recordings by Hatriot, Machine Head, and indeed Testament, whose 21st century work sounds like an obvious reference here. As a particular fan of The Formation of Damnation and generally approving of the thrashers' subsequent releases, you would expect me to like the beefy tones present on Celebration Decay, though anyone hoping for subtle presentation or moody songs will certainly be dissatisfied. To make a point of the exception here, hearing the acoustic guitar that opens 'Darkness Divine' always boggles my mind, as I sort of expect the bass and drums to eat it up like a hollow wooden snack, and it's only the fact that the scales quickly turn dark and Courtney practically growls his way through the clean verses that reconciles me to its place on such a powerful album.

In fact, the modernity serves its purpose due to the obvious desire of Vicious Rumors to pack Celebration Decay with power. That bruising tone gets plenty of use with riffing, 'Pulse of the Dead' crashing in just like the Testament album I mentioned above and quite a bit of forceful chugging bulking up 2 hitman/serial killer songs ('Any Last Words' and 'Cold Blooded') beyond mere verbal threats. As anticipated, Courtney sings at a mean low pitch with some addition of sinister fry and smoother harmonies at choice moments, then using the upper register for significant wails; all this to say that Vicious Rumors' new vocalist has totally taken on the "new USPM" style, which essentially flips the priorities of the vocal role common to the acts of the '80s. The same evolution can be seen through the works of Metal Church, Jag Panzer, and even the European power/heavy acts like Helloween. To pull all these modern, powerful, and tough elements together, the performances from the guitarists juxtapose melody with heaviness in rougher fashion than traditional power metal, sort of setting up lurking melodies at the slower moments of 'Masquerade of Good Intentions', 'Asylum of Blood', and the title track, then rarely supplementing the heavier thrash parts with actual melody, despite some clinically executed lead work. The rhythm section presents nothing too fancy, and even the song titles attempt to convince of Vicious Rumors' toughness: 'Collision Course Disaster', 'Asylum of Blood', 'Pulse of the Dead'.

As a cocktail of styles and techniques, Celebration Decay might sound a bit dull and grey, but the songwriting truly drags the whole thing along. Aside from 'Arrival of Desolation', which pleases with chorus hooks, steady pace, and a slight epic feel, all of the 11 cuts remain under 5 minutes, allowing them to make an impact and display a couple of specific tricks without overburdening the listener. Making a 47 minute album in this hard-hitting heavy/power mould requires a bit of control alongside the bombast, and that's just what makes me feel positive about Vicious Rumors here. Most songs provide something memorable to hum after listening or something curious to digest over a couple more listens, while even placing 'Darkness Divine' and 'Long Way Home' together in the middle of the album reflects the sensible approach at work, since those less intense numbers provide a natural break and a bit of variety without drastically altering the formula. The Californian quartet might sound quite serious during this full-length, but there's plenty of cause for celebration when the result is this positive.

With age may come experience, but in metal circles, it seems that experience tends towards embracing newer practices while the younger entries into the style have been breaking in favor of older, more traditional expressions. Much like their slightly better known contemporaries Jag Panzer and Helstar, California-based veterans of the 80s USPM movement Vicious Rumors have been in no rush to outright revisit the days of yore where every other sung note shattered random glasses in the bar and the style’s NWOBHM tendency were on its shirtsleeve, though they have carried a remnant of that era with them in more recent times. The later advent of thrash metal and then the 90s groove metal craze has naturally played a role in how this band’s output has evolved since their seminal lead vocalist Carl Albert tragically died in a car accident in 1995, though a subsequent revolving door of lineup changes that has left founding member/guitarist Geoff Thorpe and long-running drummer Larry Howe as the only parts of this fold with a direct connection to their formative years also takes precedence.

Nevertheless, change is not necessarily a bad thing, and while the current incarnation of Vicious Rumors consists more of rank newcomers, the core of their modern sound has been maintained almost seamlessly. The template of sound that defines their latest installment and 13th studio LP Celebration Decay is mostly rooted in a biting, rugged mode of heavy/power metal that is fairly similar to what the likes of Tad Morose and Brainstorm have been bringing to the table of late. There is also a fairly strong modern thrash metal character to the production, which does make sense as former Testament bassist Greg Christian provides the bottom end of this opus in a guest capacity. Generally the riff work is of a punchy and aggressive character, almost like a simplified version of Jeff Loomis’ latter day work with Nevermore that’s been spiced up with more melodic lead guitar lines, while new arrival Nick Courtney’s vocal work balances a jagged growl somewhat reminiscent of Warrel Dane with a powerful cleaner element fairly similar to Harry Conklin and James Rivera.

What this album may lack in subtlety it largely compensates for by sheer impact, relying upon a beefy production offered up by Trident Studios mastermind Juan Urteaga, whose work with such noted thrash outfits as Testament, Heathen and Laaz Rockit has heavily shaped said style’s modern sound. As such, regardless to whether things lean towards a more melodically-tinged anthem or a pulsing groove fest, there is a consistently powerful and mechanistic quality to how the each note strikes the ears. Indeed, despite the songs generally being of a concise character, there is a fair amount of variety that is veiled by a colossal guitar, bass and drum barrage that gives more aggressive, speedy riff monsters such as “Collision Course Disaster” and “Celebration Decay” a sense of commonality with more restrained, groovy and hook-driven songs like “Long Way Home” and “Asylum Of Blood”. Then again, while the majority of this album’s foundation is a fairly static expression of rage, the guitar soloing proves highly dynamic and engaging, as is Courtney’s vocal delivery, which often runs the gamut of growls, shrieks and haggard croons associated with the style within a single song.

Naturally while the sonic character of this album is rigorously consistent, some segments of this chugging machine glisten a bit more brightly. Most of the standout moments on this album generally involves a greater degree of elaboration and a noticeable dose of this band’s iconic 80s USPM past. Perhaps the most blatant demonstration of both is the dense, guitar-harmony rich and galloping mini-epic “Arrival Of Desolation”, which leans the closest to the golden era that produced Digital Dictator and also sees the vocals taking on a cleaner, more old school power metal character. One the other hand, the swift speed-thrashing character of “Masquerade Of Good Intentions” and the dreary woe of power ballad “Darkness Divine” have far more of a cold, present day metallic flavor and are about as good. The more straight up, hook-driven bangers “Death Eternal” and “Pulse Of The Dead” also do a solid job of marrying an older school, fist-pumping mode of heavy metal with a darker, colder brand of ferocity that would not have been heard at any point in the 80s or early 90s.

This is yet another solid entry by a band that has been carrying the metal banner a lot longer than many of the thrash bands that were instrumental in pushing the aggression envelope to where this album resides. While it lacks the subtle charms and olden classicism that made the likes of Soldiers Of The Night and Digital Dictator cult classics, and it doesn’t quite surpass the early innovative pizzazz of transitional offering Welcome To The Ball, it definitely stands tall among the more recent offerings carrying the Vicious Rumors moniker. It will definitely carrying plenty of people for those who took to recent, thrash-infused USPM outings such as Vampiro and The Deviant Chord, and will likely also hold some charm for those who follow the likes of Mystic Prophecy and Primal Fear. For an album that prides itself on celebrating the cessation of being, it’s a solid and substantial offering that will inspire a livelier fan base of both young and old.

Originally written for Sonic Perspectives (www.sonicperspectives.com)