The third outing for these American Power Metal specialists and their self titled release sees them continuing firmly in the way they set out. When I first heard this album I was extremely impressed, as the guitar work and approach to the material is excellent, best of all though are the vocals of the late 'Carl Albert' who's 'Geoff Tate' meets Power Metal style are pretty stunning. On further listens though problems do occur, the main offender being the lyrics which are fairly average and predictable, the other is the gang style chants on some choruses which makes the tracks sound a bit crude and dated. Overlooking these two blips this is a quality offering from a talented yet overlooked group.

Discounting the intro to 'Don't Wait for Me' which is a blatant copy of 'Neon Knights' from the 'Sabbs' this is a worthy opener, the lively rhythm is a treat while the soaring vocals on the choruses are sweet, this all combines with some screaming guitar solos from both 'Geoff Thorpe' and 'Mark McGee'. 'World Church' promises plenty with a dark plodding intro but lyrically I find this track disappointing, the chorus is especially weak and is made even worse by some awful gang style chanting. Much better is the brisk blazer 'On the Edge' which holds a thunderous rhythm throughout and is complimented with shredding guitar solos and more of those ripping vocals. Next up is 'Ship of Fools', the intro to which is lifted straight from 'King Crimson's' 'Court of the Crimson King', for me this track doesn't work quite as well as the swifter heavier numbers. As with a few potentially good songs on this album the simplistic choruses give this track a drawn-out repetitive feel, on a brighter note the instrumentation and vocals are as usual impressive. The pace picks up a little for 'Can you Hear It', a track which at times is reminiscent of some of 'Dio's' work, but also has similarities with 'Ship of Fools'. Altogether a respectable cut with superb vocals, plenty of choice guitar licks and generally better lyrics than some of the previous songs. The disjointed intro to 'Down to the Temple' starts this number off on the wrong footing, fortunately it picks up with a crunching chorus and some more tasty fret work, lyrically it's a bit light though and doesn't quite make the grade. Back on track is the busy blazer 'Hellraiser', a fast paced gem, highlighting smoking vocals, a thumping rhythm and a blood pumping chorus. 'Electric Twilight' is a short 'Mark McGee' led instrumental, a pretty nice piece with a great melody and overall quite reminiscent of 'Savatage's' lighter material. 'Thrill of the Hunt' is next and fuelled throughout by heavy bass work and in turn a pulsating rhythm, regrettably the lyrics and lighter vocal approach don't match the harder driving melody and sections come off a little awkward. Last up is 'Axe and Smash' and the nasty plodding intro promises a jewel, but for some reason they decided to make the rest of the track lighter with a dull chorus, despite this it's still a decent cut with choice solos and more of 'Carl Albert's' splendid vocals.

There's some real quality tucked away in this release, unfortunately it just falls short when it comes to consistency. This is probably what held 'Vicious Rumors' back from making the transition to being a top name in Metal, as the instrumentation and vocals are top notch.