Following the success of their 1990 eponymous major-label debut, Vicious Rumors embarked on a grueling tour supporting several other A-level pop-metal acts and then returned to the studio for their follow-up. The results were less than commercially successful, but that’s more of a reflection on music and cultural mainstream shifts away from heavy metal and embracing the new-to-them music that was known as grunge. Welcome to the Ball pretty much treads the same water as their last album, but does it in a way that is tight and focused. “Abandoned” sounds a bit like Iron Maiden’s epic anthem “Caught Somewhere in Time” and Carl Albert has never sounded more like Bruce Dickinson — but that’s a mere oversight when listening to the quality of this album as a whole. This was also the second in a series of releases reissued in 2005 on the Wounded Bird imprint, and would be worth seeking out for both die-hard fans and metal fanatics alike. – Rob Theakston
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