Following VR's most successful year ever, the band continued to play shows in America as well as returning to Europe in mid '93. As the band began formulating new ideas for the next record, "Word of Mouth", things in the industry seemed to be changing and the next thing we knew, we were changing record companies. We signed with Rising Sun Records in Europe and Alfa/Brunette in Japan. As we began working on new song ideas, some other obstacles were headed our way. Geoff came down with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. He couldn't play for about 8 months. During this time Larry, Dave and I continued working on songs for "Word of Mouth". Geoff and I had worked on some of the ideas prior to his injury, so the classic VR writing style remained intact. I'm especially proud of "Word of Mouth". It was a challenging time for the band. Larry and Dave weren't getting along, Geoff couldn't play and I was left holding the bag. The result is what some believe to be the band's finest release. The writing had shown much growth and there was a lot of pent up aggression and angst in the performances. That surely will always add that extra something to a recording, but sometimes going through it can be rather draining. Longtime bassist Dave Starr wasn't showing much interest in the songs being written and was also dealing with some personal issues. For the sake of the recording and vibe within the band as well as Dave's well being, the band parted ways with Dave Starr. In retrospect we should have stuck together and worked out our situation with Dave before recording "Word of Mouth", but sometimes you have to do what seems right at the time. Carl suggested bassist Tommy Sisco. Carl had done an album with Tommy in their previous band 'Villain'. Tommy's energy and style added a freshness to the band, and the chemistry was instant. Tommy played bass on the songs "Dreaming", "Against the Grain", "The Voice", "Ministry of Fear", "No Fate", "Thinking of You" and "Sense of Security". The bass on the rest of the songs was played by me. I sang a lot more harmony vocals on "Word of Mouth" than on any other VR album. I also traded off on lead vocals with Carl in the song "The Voice". "The Voice" is a song I wrote about the 7 years I'd been in the band and how much faith you need to pull yourself through the tuff times and challenges. The songs "All Rights Reserved", "No Fate" and "Against the Grain" are crushing VR classics. Videos for the songs "Against the Grain" and "The Voice" were made. Both videos were aired on MTV Europe and Japan. The track "Dreaming" is one of my personal fav's from "Word of Mouth". It's very melodic and atmospheric with lush guitar layers and a mandolin creating a unique vibe unheard on any other VR song. "Thunder and Rain" is a two part epic that was dedicated to our great friend Criss Oliva. Criss was lead guitarist for the band Savatage, and he and I became very close during the time VR and Savatage toured together in 1991. His life was taken tragically in a car accident in 1993, and I was devastated when he died. The lyrics for "Thunder and Rain pt. 2" poured out of me in about 15 minutes and the music took about 20. I knew I had to dedicate it to him on the record. After sharing it with Geoff, we decided to take this other idea we'd been working on and attach it to the beginning of the song and make it a two part song. "Thunder and Rain" is unlike any other song. Its dynamics and emotion evoke a deep and moving feeling in me every time I hear it. Carl hadn't sung the song more than 2 or 3 times at rehearsals before going into the studio. The drums, rhythm guitars and Carl's vocal tracks were all cut live. To be honest, once we heard Carl's first take, we knew we had to keep it. Fortunately Larry just happened to totally nail the drum track, otherwise we would have had to do it again and lost that amazing vocal performance. I must say that both Carl and Larry were always amazingly fast in the studio. I don't think Larry ever spent more than 12 hours cutting all his drum tracks for a given record. Carl was completely unbelievable. Always ready to go and would pull out the most amazing off-the-cuff ideas. Even on tour, sometimes Carl would wake up a half hour before a gig and go out on stage and sing notes so high that I'm surprised dogs didn't come running. We only had to cancel one gig in 9 years because Carl was too sick to perform. He truly was one of a kind! "Word of Mouth" took the band back on the road for another worldwide trek. The band played shows throughout the US and headed to Europe for a month long tour called the "Ultimate Power Force Tour" featuring Vicious Rumors, Metal Church, Zodiac Mindwarp and original Iron Maiden vocalist - Paul Dianno! It was an amazing tour taking us to more new places such as Greece and the Czech Republic. We shared a double-decker tour bus with Paul Dianno and his band Killers! A few times I had the pleasure of performing a punishing rendition of the Iron Maiden classic "Wrathchild" with Paul. The shows were mostly sold out and Vicious Rumors were taking no prisoners. We had overcome quite a lot, and the band was very excited to take the new music to the stage. The reviews were again exceptional and many new fans and friends were made. VR also played 3 shows with German Metal Legends Accept. I'll never forget on my birthday in 1994 at a music hall in Austria, Carl Albert, Paul Dianno and I got up and jammed with a bassist and drummer from Belgium and performed a heavy version of the blues classic "Rock Me Baby". We were all a little bit twisted that night for we had been celebrating my birthday on the bus for hours. At the end of the song Carl and Paul did a vocal scream-off that would tear your head off if you heard it! I still have a tape of that performance. It was recorded from the sound board. Definitely an epic moment! VR's 5th time in Europe was again an amazing experience!