Vicious Rumors-What a Great Night For Metal! [REVIEW]
Vicious Rumors at Reggies review by Justice Petersen
Reggies Chicago is like that really cool heavy metal bar you see in movies from the ’80s and ’90s that you want to exist, but are fairly certain doesn’t. Standing in a room full of leather-clad metalheads, one might get a sense of what it would’ve been like to have seen a show of a famous metal band from when they were still playing their club days. This is how it felt to see thrash metal band Vicious Rumors perform at Reggies on Wednesday night.
Vicious Rumors is a thrash metal band from the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in 1979 and still going strong today, the band is soaked in metal fame and glory. The current lineup consists of former Metal Church vocalist Ronnie Munroe [vocals], Geoff Thorpe [guitar], Larry Howe [drums], Gunnar DüGrey [guitar], and Robin Utbult [bass]. Thorpe and Howe have both been in the band since its formation.
To say you were in a thrash metal band in the Bay Area in the early 1980s is the equivalent of saying you were in a rock band in Seattle during the 1990s. An iconic music era, you are legends in your own right if you can say that you were involved in that scene. Several renowned Bay Area thrash bands include Exodus, Metallica, and Death Angel. Vicious Rumors toured and played with these bands in their early years and ultimately helped to establish and popularize the scene on a national scale. Not to be dramatic, but they are truly legends.
Before the concert, fans were slowly but steadily piling into the venue, where purple and red lights illuminated the stage, giving it an underground and sinister feel. Stickers and spray paint covered the concrete walls, almost serving as a history book of bands who’ve played before. People were talking about famous thrashers like Megadeth, Metallica, and Slayer. Two guys next to me were having a Socratic discussion on Exodus and the order of their discography, only to end up confirming it online.
Opening up for Vicious Rumors, who are currently on the U.S. leg of their “Over the Atlantic World Tour”, were Chicago thrash band Misfire and Canadian metal band Arrival of Autumn. Both openers proceeded to melt faces off and were perfect for preparing audiences for the head-banging brutality of Vicious Rumors.
Misfire is going to play at Milwaukee Metal Fest in May, and Arrival of Autumn’s new album “Kingdome Undone” is coming out May 26. Keep an eye on both of them.
As Vicious Rumors took the stage, they tore through their set with unparalleled speed. Performing through many of their more notable tracks, such as “Digital Dictator” and “Minute to Kill”, Vicious Rumors plays with the same fast-paced excitement and torment that they undoubtedly played with back in 1987 when those songs were first released. Vicious Rumors plays with delightful enthusiasm and insane talent, delivering raw heavy metal in its purest form. Combine Munroe’s operatic vocals with wailing electric guitars, fast bass riffs, and a bass drum you can feel in your soul, Vicious Rumors is undoubtedly vicious, but in the best way possible. If you question whether metal is still alive and kicking, Vicious Rumors will reassure your worries.
Co-headlining with Vicious Rumors are fellow Bay Area thrashers Heathen. Playing with a darker and heavier tone than Vicious Rumors, they were a perfect end to an electrifying set. Not only did every musician put on a skull-rattling performance, but after handshakes, head nods and words of thanks exchanged between myself and the artists, it’s clear that they are also incredibly down to earth.
I wasn’t around during the birth of such a passionate and merciless form of music. Many of those most famous thrash metal bands, if they’re still around, are playing in larger venues with ten feet between you and the band nowadays. However, seeing Vicious Rumors play live gives me a glimpse of what it may have been like to have been there in those San Francisco clubs – up close and personal with heavy metal and the crazy talented people who play it.
Just like Munroe said as he spoke to the audience that night, “What a great night for metal.”
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Links:
Vicious Rumors:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ViciousRumorsThisIsMetal/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/viciousrumors
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viciousrumorsband/
Reggies:
Official: https://www.reggieslive.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reggiesrockclub
Twitter: https://twitter.com/reggieslive
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reggieslive/