Metal Riot

California heavy metallers Vicious Rumors will be heading out on their European tour this weekend. With sadness, the band has announced that their vocalist, Brian Allen, will not be joining the band on tour during the month of May due to sudden family matters.

Brian will return to the band for the summer European tour in July/August 2013 and The Metal Masters Tour featuring Vicious Rumors, Leatherwolf and Seven Witches from September 18th to October 25th. Former Vicious Rumors vocalist and Helstar frontman James Rivera will be filling in for Brian Allen from May 3rd through June 1st.

Guitarist Geoff Thorpe commented: “James is part of the VR family and were so proud to have him join us at this hard time. Don’t miss this special line up of VR on the Electric Punishment Tour all over Europe. We want to thank all our partners, agents, promoters and fans in advance. The only bad tour is the one you don’t do!! See you at the shows for night after night of unforgettable Heavy Metal.”

The band’s new album, Electric Punishment, is out now in Germany and Europe via Steamhammer/SPV. It is set to be released in the US and Canada on May 7th.

Click here to review a list of tour dates, cities and venues.

California heavy metal band Vicious Rumors have released the cover artwork and track list of their upcoming album, Electric Punishment. The album is set to be released on April 26th in Germany, April 29th in the rest of Europe and on May 7th in the US/Canada via Steamhammer/SPV.

This is the band’s eleventh studio album. The cover artwork was done by German artist Christoph Schinzel who has also created covers for Anvil, Circle II Circle, Raven and Agent Steel in the past. Click right here to check out the track list and a bigger picture of the album’s artwork.

Guitarist Geoff Thorpe commented: “We have permanently grown, there have been no two identical albums in our career because each album has a new, fresh approach. Still we’ve never strayed from our course – perhaps precisely for this reason. We’ve remained faithful to our ideals and have always been honest with our fans. I think our loyal followers value that VICIOUS RUMORS have never jumped on any kind of bandwagon. Everything we do comes from the heart, and Electric Punishment documents that no other band on this planet sounds like VICIOUS RUMORS. To us, that’s an incentive, a challenge and a quality feature all in one. And it’s something our fans can rely on when we set off on our next monster tour in spring 2013.”