Legendary San Francisco Bay Area metallers, Vicious Rumors, have been confirmed as special guest on former Accept frontman Udo Dirkschneider's upcoming European tour. Writer / musician Joel Gausten recently caught up with Vicious Rumors guitarist Geoff Thorpe, who discussed the band’s new Concussion Protocol album, their upcoming tour with Dirkschneider, the ongoing relevance of the Bay Area music scene and the key to survival for a band that was around long before the Big 4. An excerpt from the chat appears below:
 
Gausten: Udo Dirkschneider is obviously a legend in this scene. What is your experience with Udo and Accept, either as a fan or as a peer?
 
Thorpe: "I’ve gotta tell you, I’m a huge fan. I’ve always loved Accept. During my early days in California when I first discovered Accept, a lot of my friends didn’t know who they were, so they were even more special, like, ‘This is MY band.’ I’ve always loved Accept’s music, and we’ve been fortunate enough to have a history with them. We toured with Accept in ’94 and in ’96, both when Udo was the singer. Not only am I a fan, but we’re colleagues and we have a mutual respect for each other. It’s a dream come true for me to have Mr. Dirkschneider invite Vicious Rumors personally to join him on this tour. It’s just an honor. Talk about living the dream of your life; in 37 years, that’s what I’ve been able to do with Vicious Rumors."
 
Gausten: Obviously, you guys were around during the original glory days of the Bay Area scene. One of your first shows was with Exodus, so you were back there at Ground Zero. In terms of metal, how do you think that area has changed over the years? How would you compare what’s there today to what was there back in the early '80s?
 
Thorpe: "That’s a great question. The thing for Vicious Rumors is that we were very lucky and it was very special for us and all those bands. Testament, Exodus, Vicious Rumors, Megadeth, Metallica – of course, Metallica is hard to compare because they’re Led Zeppelin now; they broke it so big. But with the Bay Area sound that came out of the early '80s, we didn’t know at the time that we were going to be looked at worldwide for something this special and this unique. We were just all local bands trying to do our thing. But the fact that it turned out to be this thing that the world has looked to and reveres has really made it possible for all those bands I mentioned to still have great careers and still work 30 years later. As far as the difference between then and today, it is quite a bit different. The scene is not nearly as big, and there’s not nearly as many places to play. But you’ve still got great bands coming out of the Bay Area and pushing the envelope of classic and futuristic sounds of Metal and music, and there are a lot of great musicians in the area. I think the San Francisco Bay Area is just one of those places in the world, like London and a few other major cities, that just has this creative output. Every few decades or so, something really special happens, and we were just lucky enough to be a part of that in the '80s."
 
Gausten: You’re 37 years into this with Vicious Rumors, and you’re one of the few bands in the scene that has consistently put out strong material since your first album. Since you’ve been there since day one, what has been the key to keeping this band alive for so long?

Thorpe: "Man, it’s the fans. Without the fans, there’s nothing. It’s just fire and passion and loving what we do. If I didn’t, I’m pretty sure I would have got out a long time ago. It’s a vey hard business; it can be a very cold business. But the reaction and response that we get from the fans when we meet them... We’re not the type of band that stays in our dressing room or in our hotel; we’re very accessible to fans and it’s very easy to meet us. We thrive on it; if we didn’t have the fans’ support, there’s no way we could have done it all these years. It’s really just about fire and passion, man. And when you have a chance to live your Heavy Metal dream for 37 years... I consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world."
 
The complete interview is available at this location.

The first confirmed tour dates are as follows:

October
31 - Stavanger, Norway – Folken

November
1 - Oslo, Norway – Vulcan Arena
3 - Umea, Sweden – Idun
4 - Borlänge, Sweden – Liljan
5 - Örebro, Sweden – Frimis Salonger
6 - Linköping, Sweden – Garden

December
7 - Vacha, Germany - Vachwerk
8 - Dornbirn, Austria – Conrad Sohm
9 - Brno, Czech Republic – Hala Vodova
11 - Oberhausen, Germany – Turbinenhalle
13 - Milan, Italy – Live Club
15 - Nürnberg, Germany - Löwensaal
16 - Memmingen, Germany – Kaminwerk
18 - Solingen, Germany – Cobra (sold out)

More dates will be added soon

Vicious Rumors have released a new lyric video for the song "Chasing The Priest", taken from their 12th studio album, Concussion Protocol, released on August 26th as a digipak version (incl. poster), 2LP gatefold red vinyl edition and download.

Leader Geoff Thorpe says about the song and the video: "In our dark tale of the earth's final days man turns his back on religious concepts! The song 'Chasing the Priest' was written by myself along with Nick, Tilen, and Larry in a house we rented last summer next to and old Church in the Netherlands. The band was in the beginning of the songwriting process for the album "Concussion Protocol" We hope you enjoy our dark tale in metal madness as much as we enjoyed making it for you!! This video was produced by Jimmie Evans lll at Electric Punishment studios in Santa Rosa California. Turn it up and see you on tour!! Metal on!"

Check out the artwork and tracklisting, as well as a teaser video, below:

Concussion Protocol tracklisting:
“Concussion Protocol”
“Chemical Slaves”
“Victims Of A Digital World”
“Chasing The Priest”
“Last Of Our Kind”
“1000 Years”
“Circle Of Secrets”
“Take It Or Leave It”
“Bastards”
“Every Blessing Is A Curse”
“Life For A Life”

Teaser:

The album features 11 brand new songs and tells a chilling story of an armageddon by a global killer asteroid and how humanity unravels in the wake of the news. It's the first concept album for the band. The album was produced by Geoff Thorpe and longtime co-producer and engineer Juan Urteaga at the world famous Trident studios in Pacheco, California (Machine Head, Testament, Heathen, Exodus, Dragonlord, Ted Nugent).  A video for the first single "Take It Or Leave It''  has been filmed a couple of months ago and is coming soon.

The fully re-vitalized band now features newcomer Nick Holleman on vocals, Tilen Hudrap on bass and Thaen Rasmussen on guitar ... alongside veteran guitarist Geoff Thorpe and drummer Larry Howe. Guest solos on Concussion Protocol by VR brothers from the band`s rich history, Brad Gillis (Nightranger, Ozzy Osbourne) and Steve Smyth (One Machine, Nevermore, Testament, Forbidden, VR 1995-1999) only add to the madness.

Geoff Thorpe states: "The album is relentless and crushing in true, classic VR style but with many twists and turns. Believe me, you're in for a treat, VRazors! If you've ever been a fan of VR, Sabbath, Priest or Maiden and a little bay area style thrash thrown in for good measure, then this album is definitely for you!!Everything you love about VR is present throughout the whole album!!!''