RIOT |
| Riot’s an
interesting case study. For one thing, even people who’ve never heard
a note of heavy metal music, have to be familiar with the name “Riot.”
Hell, Riot’s been in existence for over twenty years now. But not only could you not blame anyone for writing the band off a decade earlier, forget the fact that for many, Riot was never considered one of the elite of the old-school hard-rockers in the first place…but who the hell are they to still be playing in front of audiences and recording albums as we near the new millennium? I mean, come on! But if resiliency could be redefined in one word and put into illustrative form, Mark Reale and his band of underdogs would be right there with a smile of guilt-free satisfaction. Their latest, “Shine On,” taken from the chorus that represents the plenty of fight still left in the old “warrior,” at the close of this recording, could well have been renamed “Second Coming” or “A Tale of Two Bands” and no one would argue. Yes, Riot, the very same that first made an impact in the hard rock circles with early titles like “rock City” and “Narita” eons ago, have truthfully never left. Except for a brief restructuring here and there and a retooling of their overall sound which is definitive of where they’re at today, Riot’s always remained true to their name and that which was founding guitarist Reale’s purpose. Anyone who’s followed the band—still—knows that it’s not nearly the same group that first performed on early ‘80’s classics like “Fire Down Under” and “Restless Breed.” Rather, due to the continual cycle that’s seen numerous entrances and exits with vocalists heading the list, their direction’s remained a constant while their style’s broadened immensely since the days before and after what was recognized as their most traditionally metal record, 1988’s “Thundersteel.” Building in that direction, they seemed to have really hit their niche in a style of melodically conceptual and aggressive music that started with the little known “Nightbreaker,” and continues up to the present; and thus, the new breed of Riot—honest, determined, passionate and purposefully aimed—a far cry from the past and an apparently firm footing for their future. So not surprisingly, “Shine On” does not hedge on the “dead” period from which Reale’s current performers played no role, but unlike I originally thought, they didn’t overdo the thematic stuff established from the last two records regarding the plight of the Indians and Irish either. The live recording is mostly embedded in the present, intertwined with a few classics, but where the style they’ve worked hard to developed better suits their cumulative strong points. Recorded in Japan, a sure bet for just about any band, past, present, or not yet conceived, the show opens innocently enough with the sounds of “Black Water,” a pleasing instrumental lead-in to “Angel Eyes,” both of which appear on their last studio release, the compelling, “Inishmore.” One especially nice highlight was the three-part “Cry For the Dying”—Irish Trilogy, which appears midway through the “show,” but they kind of overdid it I thought, with back to back instrumentals in “Inishmore” and “Danny Boy.” They did make it up quickly however, with the fight or flight responsiveness of “Liberty,” right afterward and “Gypsy,” again from the same album. And let me quickly point out how pleasing it is to find the songs listed in the proper order in which they appear for a change! A little disappointing was the sloppy rendition of one of their widely loved classics, “Swords and Tequila,” but honestly, I could get over that. It’s just that I couldn’t help feeling that the song just had no place anymore in their grand scheme of things—it just doesn’t fit when you relate it to what they’re doing new (I’ll again refer to the tale of two bands suggestion from before). The same might be said for “Soldier” and “Outlaw,” great tunes in another place and time, but now, I just don’t know…and dammit, where was “Maryanne,” a favorite of mine from the “Privilege of Power” disc! (Just kidding, gentlemen) “Warrior” on the other hand, proved a fitting conclusion to the disc and thus the “Shine On, Shine On,” raise your swords in the air kind of thing. And on that uplifting notion, long may Riot enjoy this latest resurgence in a career filled with so many more valleys than peaks—at least it would’ve seemed—that any lesser band would have been forced to mercifully succumb ages ago. Review by Vinnie Apicella. |