Riot - Immortal Soul (2011)

New York legends Riot have always been a damned consistent band regardless of who was steering at the helm, but I have to admit a partiality to the years of Tony Moore's vocals, in which Mark Reale developed a more potent, power metal style to support all of that shrieking and wailing. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a lot of their older works like Fire Down Under and Restless Breed, and I'm even into some of their calmer melodic speed/trad stuff throughout the past decade (Inishmore, Sons of Society, etc), but Thundersteel? Come on...Thundersteel. That was fucking awesome, and naturally I have always privately pined for a return to that epic crusade of air raid overtures which is one of the finest USPM records I own.

Well, with Moore now firmly in the fold for the 14th full-length Immortal Soul, I'm sure I'm not alone in hoping that this would finally be the case, and Riot themselves seem well aware of such expectations, so the album is decidedly self-referential. "Riot" is no "Thundersteel", but it's a great use of the band's namesake to fuel a faster paced assortment of melodic speed licks and a chorus that seems so obvious that you wonder why they hadn't written it before. Reale and his six-string ally Mike Flyntz are on fire throughout, providing not only a skilled lead segment but lots of flighty fast-picking through the verses, and it's arguably the most 'power metal' that the veterans have felt in a very long time. "Still Your Man" resurrects the character of Johnny to create a spiritual successor anthem to "Johnny's Back" from Thundersteel, and there are lots of other pieces like "Sins of the Father" and "Believe" which just explode out of the speakers, ready made to thrill power metal aficionados on both sides of the pond.

But it's not all speed and bluster, for Riot still include a lot of their bluesy, hard-rock based fare like "Whiskey Man" and the groovier title track. There are no real power ballads here, which I am thankful for; about the closest you'll get is the intro to "Crawling", but in general the album favors its more lethal, fast paced content to the slower, rocking exceptions. Is Moore in such a fine shape as he was in the late 80s? Often, his vocals here are so shrill and piercing that they seem to lose their definition, and his lines are not so memorable as a Thundersteel or Privilege of Power, but at least he still has the range to probably shatter glass, and some of these songs are such spectacles of lightning that you'll hardly have time to concern yourself that he's a fraction rusty. As for skin basher Jarzombek...he's Jarzombek, and gives nothing less than his best, even if this is far from his most experimental and technical outlet.

With stock, clean production aesthetics, lots of glossy anthems and impeccable musicians that breathe this material reflexively as it if were air, this album easily blazes past its predecessors Army of One and Through the Storm in quality. I wouldn't deem it flawless, as a few of the songs are clearly a lot more fun than others and Moore feels a little shaky, and I really don't care for the lyrics. But one thing can be certain: Riot still matters. 36 years deep in career, most bands only WISH they could sound like this, but Mark Reale lives it. Just compare this to the newer Judas Priest abominations of the past year. Or Iron Maiden's latest, forgettable fare. Exactly.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

http://www.riotrockcity.com/

Riot - Fire Down Under (1981)

Fewer bands have gone on as long for as little credit as New York's Riot. Formed in 1976, the band is now 33 years deep into its career and still producing classic heavy metal music. To put it simply: the UK had the NWOBHM (a myriad of legendary bands and a few thousand lesser knowns). We had Riot.

And you know something? It's a pretty fair trade off. While I generally think of 1988's power metal platter Thundersteel as the best of this band's albums, they have a pretty standout discography, especially their early offerings. Fire Down Under is Riot's third full-length, and a damn good one. I'd describe the band as Rush-like with an injection of classic British metal ala Judas Priest. Hard rocking rhythms and a great singer. Guy Speranza was the original vocalist and he's got a smooth, high tone without ever going off into the Halfordsphere.

"Don't Look Back" is an energetic array of triplets, big bluesy solos, and a great echo to the chorus, excellent night driving music for the highway. "Altar of the King" offers an acoustic intro before another swinging bar metal fest of groovy, Zeppelin-inspired rhythms. "Outlaw" is immensely kickass, one of the most memorable tracks of Riot's entire back log. Who could forget that guitar lick? Listen, you will know the one. "Swords & Tequila" also smites some tail. "No Lies" is a decent rocker feeling very much like Rush. "Run for Your Life" is another high speed (well, for 1981) racer to burn asphalt to.

Fire Down Under boasts another of those timeless mixes which will sound just as good in the year 2081 as 1981. Pure 70s vibrant energy, direct tone, shuffling drum, and vocals doused in just enough reverb to capitalize on Speranza's power, while easily reproducible live. The solo work on this record is bluesy and burning, and no song runs too long. It's a great heavy metal disc, a classic that any collector will proudly claim. Yeah, so we had only Riot and a few other bands here worth a damn during that early metal explosion. They delivered, and this is one of their best.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (spend some electric nights on the danger line)

http://www.riotsweb.com/