The first three Riot albums are their best. There was something about Guy Speranza’s voice coupled with the killer hard rockin’ tunes that made them special. So when Speranza left because he couldn’t afford to do it no more, as he had a young family to take care of, it was a sad day indeed.
I’ve mentioned before how the whole vibe of the band changed when Rhett Forrester joined to accommodate his style of singing, and that continues throughout most of album number two. There are a couple of exceptions however: Wings Of Fire is a decent up temp rocker with a nice groove; Vigilante Killer which is my favourite track on the album, has a great groove and feels like Dianno era Maiden; and Heavy Metal Machine whose tempo is rockin’ the riff is just pure old school, and Rhett does his best Blackie Lawless impression (or is it the other way around?). There is a moment of high comedy with the inclusion of Devil Woman, a cover of a Cliff Richard tune. I mean c’mon, you can’t be struggling for material that mulch, surely.
7/10 from The Grooveman.
