Vicious Rumors: The Devil's Asylum

Fourteen albums in, US power metal legends Vicious Rumors return with their latest opus The Devil's Asylum . This comes five years after their previous album, Celebration Decay. The band line-up for The Devil's Asylum is:

Geoff Thorpe: Guitars, Vocals
Denver Cooper: Guitars
Larry Howe: Drums
Chalice (Brian Betterton): Vocals
Robin Utbult: Bass

Chalice brings a new vocal style to the band, and I think for most you are either going to like his singing or not. For the most part, he fits this style of music, but clearly the band has had better vocalists in my opinion, but he's ok. As for Thorpe taking on some lead vocals, perhaps that should have been reconsidered. Getting that out of the way, there are some really good songs here. "Bloodbath" is a crushing opener, catchy, pummeling, and Chalice's vocals are quite good and fit the music just fine. "Dogs of War" is another memorable track, Chalice's vocals are taking on a more gruff tone here, and I love the chorus, which really sticks in your head. Some tasty twin guitars from Thorpe and Denver Cooper. "Crack the Sky in Half" contains a wicked chugging riff to start things off, good intensity here, but it's mostly a mid-paced banger that reminds me of average Saxon. "High Hell Hammer" is another decent enough song, with another memorable chorus, but "Butcher's Block" is silly generic metal nonsense...not a fan of this one at all. Easily the worst song on the album. "Abusement Park" has some serious chug, though by this point into the album, I'm not 100% sure I like the production all that much in spots. The guitars are really muddy at times and Chalice's vocals are mixed perhaps a tad too high. Good song though, and some blazing lead guitars. "Wrong Side of Love" is a groovy metal masher, big fat riffs on the chorus, and very '80s sounding. It's as dumb as can be, but I dig it. "Boring Day in Hell" completely crushes, the riffs are killer, lots of groove, and Chalice's gruff vocals really mesh well with the intensity of this track. He's not a great singer by any means, but he's quite effective in spots. Some nice twin guitar harmonies kick off "In Blood We Trust", a very NWOBHM styled rager, with pummeling drums, and good intensity...this reminds me of VR's past glories. "Better Than Me" is a total headbanger right from the start, this one steamrolls yet is quite melodic. A real successful mid-paced thumper, reminds me of a heavier Queensryche, and might be Chalice's best vocal on the album...he's hitting on some Jon Oliva-meets-Geoff Tate vibes here. Crushing riffs, and shredding solos too! Last, "The Devil's Asylum" closes the album in near thrash intensity, the band again going old school with some ferocious riffs, jackhammer drumming, and fiery vocals. Might even be the best song on the album!

Despite a couple missteps on the album, and the production doesn't work for me on a few occasions, there are some really good songs here. The good far outweighs the couple of mediocre tracks, and pushes this to a 4/5.

Track Listing
1. Bloodbath 03:57
2. Dogs of War 03:56
3. Crack the Sky in Half 04:40 buy track
4. High Hell Hammer 03:56
5. Butchers Block 04:16
6. Abusement Park 04:09
7. Wrong Side of Love 04:02
8. Boring Day in Hell 05:32
9. In Blood We Trust 03:06
10. Better Than Me 03:39
11. The Devil's Asylum 04:25

Added: September 14th 2025
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 135
Language: english

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