If ever there was a bad luck band, it just has to be Riot. If you consider how amazing this record is, Capitol records refused to release it after the band had recorded it saying it was “commercially unacceptable”. Capitol used Riot as a pawn to support Sammy Hagar on a UK tour, as they were popular with young fans in the UK, and he wasn’t. As soon as the tour was over, they dropped the band and held this album in their vaults refusing to release it. Finally, after pressure from the fans, the label sold it to Elektra who duly released it to world wide acclaim.
They played the first Donnington festival, and they were on the bill for the Port Vale Heavy Metal Holocaust. They should have been huge, and for that small window in time, hey had their shot. Vocalist, Guy Speranza, left after the tour cycle for this album saying he was disillusioned with the whole business and went to be a rat catcher. His replacement, Rhett Forrester, was shot after refusing to give up his car in a car jacking. Bad luck seemed to follow these guys around.
They managed to put out this monster of a record despite all of their troubles, and it still sounds great today. Definitely all killer no filler – great songs with awesome vocals, all the time keeping the melody with huge crunchy riffs and a groove that swings. Swords And Tequila, Fire Down Under, Don’t Hold Back, and Altar Of The King are all stunning tracks in their own right – all with superb riffs and grooves, but my favourite is Outlaw. This song grooves hard with killer riff, hooks, and chorus – with the added bonus of a great Mark Realle solo.
This is the Metal Blade reissue with two extra tracks, but like a lot of Metal Blade reissues, it’s a very noisy pressing. If you are lacking this album in your collection, then I suggest you track down an original copy.
10/10 from The Grooveman.
