Vocalist JAMES RIVERA Talks About Upcoming VICIOUS RUMORS Album

May 18, 2006

Steve Saks of LivingForMetal.com recently conducted an interview with HELSTAR/VICIOUS RUMORS vocalist James Rivera. An excerpt from the chat follows:

LivingForMetal.com: How did [your collaboration with VICIOUS RUMORS] come about? I can't believe Brad Gillis is playing guitar with them now?

Rivera: "Well, Brad Gillis was already there before me, and what happened was Geoff Thorpe lost the original band but started getting the original band back almost, but Mark McGee didn't work and Geoff asked, 'What do you think about James Rivera singing with the band?' So, he sent me some music to see what I could do with it, but then he goes, 'Mark McGee is not gonna be involved. Remember I told you it was gonna be all original members blah blah blah, but I've got somebody else now with me in the band now,'..and was like, 'Who's that?'...'Brad Gillis.' And I was like 'Whoa,' and of course that got me even more excited."

LivingForMetal.com: I'm sure you had the "Speak of the Devil" [OZZY OSBOURNE] album he played on ?

Rivera: "Oh, yeah. So basically that's how that turned into that. And basically they had been friends forever and Brad was looking to get back into metal. So I went down there in November and recorded the first two-song demo at Brad's home of the new stuff I wrote for them and they were floored — loved it. And we had a photo shoot the next day and the band was born."

LivingForMetal.com: So are you still recording it now?

Rivera: "I'm done with my vocals. They were laying down the last solos, and are starting to mix next week than they will be done."

LivingForMetal.com: What can we expect from the new VICIOUS RUMORS album, besides Brad Gillis' amazing guitar leads?

Rivera: "Once again, I don't know what it is about me, I always seem to bring a little darkness into everything I do, but well you know that's my roots. The new VICIOUS RUMORS is basically the heaviest and darkest VICIOUS RUMORS album that they have ever done. And the band themselves, they are ecstatic. My opinion from them is that they are blessed and just very happy that I came into the situation and they think that's what steered it that dark and heavy way even more so, and Geoff just had been writing heavier stuff. A good 80% of it is back to the traditional VR sound, the Carl Albert-era spin on it, but then it goes to another era of heaviness and darkness which they have never done before."

Read the entire interview at LivingForMetal.com.

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