Tag: riot

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.

The first three Riot albums are all killer records, and Fire Down Under is their best. They were just beginning to gain some traction with the release of Fire Down Under when vocalist Guy Speranza decided to leave the music biz altogether and become a rat catcher. His replacement Rhett Forrester first record for the band is this album. He’s a completely different style of vocalist to Speranza. Forrester has a much more gravelly tone to his voice and the music changed to fit his style. Consequently this record sounds like a completely different band.

If, like me, you loved the Speranza sound then this album was initially a disappointment, as it felt like a backward step and has a very 70’s sound. I have come to accept it more over the years and it does have some great songs, the best of which and my favourite is Loanshark. It has that classic Riot sound, as does the final track Violent Crimes. A very apt title as Forrester would be shot dead in an attempted carjacking.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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.