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Vicious Rumors, a band that despite having a 20+ year career is underrated and never mentioned in a conversation about the great 80's metal bands. That is very unfortunate because with their second album Digital Dictator they made as good and straightforward an album as it could have been. I am no expert of this band but when I listened to this record, I immediately became a fan. The disc starts out with the obligatory and predictable intro, and from there the title song hits and it is a good summary of what the rest of the album has to offer.

In short if I had to describe the album in two words it would be: 80's metal, plain and simple. Not surprising, since this album came out during that time and the band were right in the middle of the L.A. metal scene. Anyway, the disc is packed with excellent riffs, soaring leads, memorable choruses and the first class songwriting that made that decade so awesome. There are no ballads to speak of and that is a good thing.

The band was composed of talented musicians led by founding guitarist Geoff Thorpe and the solid mid-range vocals of Carl Albert (R.I.P.). It was the first album with the latter and he wasted little time in making his mark. He doesn't do it by making very high notes but he knows how to make catchy and memorable vocal lines. The rest of the band is solid as well and are capable to carry Thorpe's songwriting ideas. The only negatives against it is that this isn't a very original album. "R.H.L" has stupid lyrics and "Out of the Shadows" ends with a cheesy piano outro, but considering when it was made, this is just nitpicking.

I hadn't listened to this album in a long time, but when I heard it again I was instantly reminded of all the great things that Digital Dictator has to offer. I also heard many people saying that this is a Power Metal album. I disagree with that, there is nothing Power Metal about this. It is just a ripping 80's Heavy Metal album that will appeal to everyone. And while I don't consider this a classic it's surely an album that every metal fan should have, or a least listen to once in their lifetime.