Review by Richard Henry for MPM
It’s hard to believe that these guys originally formed way back in 1975, nearly 50 years ago, after the loss of original founding member Mark Reale, it’s been down to bassist Donnie Van Stavern to steer the ship since 2012, let’s get stuck into this and see what a slab of metal we have for our listening pleasure!
Hail to the Warriors
Clean guitar intro with spoken intro running before it changes, really reminds me of Savatage Sirens in a way, then boom it kicks in, if you like you Priest and Primal Fear you will be in familiar territory straight away, Todd has a serious set of pipes on him and from the off you can hear his vocal range, great singalong chorus with some gang vocals in there as well, Mike and Nick do a lovely harmony part leading into the solos, some really nice playing in there, great start off track, sets the stall right out!
Feel the Fire
Now that’s a Priest riff right there, like British Steel album era, more a mid tempo rocker, I can’t think of the Priest song but it’s so like it, again nice vocal harmony parts and another belter of a chorus in there as well, some really nice drum work as well, staggered sort of double bass not just constant, lovely bluesy solo and some nice sweeps and licks in there as well, really suits the song, great playing so far on the first two tracks and the lead out of the solo with the unison parts is really cool, another great track!
Love Beyond the Grave
Lovely intro harmony part there, then the drums start hauling along and it slams into a great riff, then a slow groove to the verse and it’s just grinding away, more mid voice verse singing and again just shows the guys range, strong in every area, but again that gang vocal as the chorus hits really accents the section, I am loving that riff though, it’s just a solid metal anthem, and that’s the thing it’s so anthemic, another almost George Lynch sounding solo, loads of blues licks with some really tasty playing around it, honestly the playing is fantastic, then back into that huge chorus, belter track!
High Noon
Kicking in with a drum intro, this is a real up-tempo one, and honestly straight off i am thinking Vicious Rumors early 90s era for this one, that chorus is absolutely glorious as well, the verse really drives along before the tempo shifts to the pre chorus and into the chorus again, couple of drum breaks and into the solos which again the two guys are playing off each other and you can hear the two different sounds and styles before they launch into a lovely harmony section before we hit a climbing riff before another harmony section then back into that chorus, without doubt my favorite track so far!
Before this Time
A sort of metal shuffle groove on this and straight into the harmonies before we hit the verse riff, lower vocal in this and very strong, then it slips into half time for the pre-chorus and then the chorus is interesting with the descending chord sequence before it hits that intro harmony again, I’ll just add as well the production is first class, everything so clear and punchy, that middle section is really cool with a syncopated groove before we have more guitar harmonies and then a nice call and response classical style section, before we hit the pre-chorus again, actually a really cool arrangement to not have a solo and just the harmony part there, then into the chorus, another great track!
Higher
A stop start riff that then grinds into a slow groove with a harmony over the top of it, ominous sounding but then it climbs in key and starts to change and build, then boom into a pull off sounding riff, the drummer Frank is really earning his crust on this, there is some really intricate work going on when you really sit and listen to it, love the buildup into the chorus, these guys really know how to write an anthemic chorus, there isn’t a song so far that the chorus won’t stick in your head, I have a feeling I am going to write this for every song but the solos, then a cool harmony part as well, they haven’t put a foot wrong yet!
Mean Streets
Riff then a China and snare pattern in the gap, then it hits the metal shuffle again, plenty of side-to-side guitar action live for this, ala Priest, well that’s what’s in my head anyway, now that chorus absolutely reminds me of Primal Fear and Gamma Ray, it’s really got that vibe to it, that middle section is really cool with an angular riff before it changes back into the up-tempo part and the solos kick in, again really nice balance between the two lead players and then into another harmony section, then into that riff at the start and straight into the verse again, great vocals again in this, then it goes back into the pre-chorus and that huge chorus again!
Open Road
Sort of mid-tempo this one and a classic sort of Dio nearly sounding riff, before it changes into the verse and it’s a syncopated guitar and drum part greets you in this one, again nice use of the lower vocal in the verse with a background harmony before it starts to lift and change into the chorus, really good songwriting there to get it to the chorus, that break with the vocal harmony before hitting the intro riff again is really well done, then it changes completely for the middle section, that first solo is perfection, then you get a harmony section between the two guys, then a really nice tempo change as it builds into the chorus and the way they have done it with the slower part before it kicks in again is really well done, another banger track!
Mortal Eyes
Almost thrashy sort of start to this with just the drums and bass before the guitars kick in as well, yes I like this one, really kicks in on the verse as well, then the kicks come in on the pre-chorus and then as expected, the chorus is just massive, something that has happened on every track, but i really like the way they have connected all the different feels in tempos and shifts on this, it all connects together really well, dual guitar section comes in, not a harmony but a double section then the whammy bar madness comes in, then we have a climbing riff with both guitarists and Donnie following as well, then bang, back into the verse, pre-chorus and chorus again!
Lost Dreams
Kicking off with the guitars playing an open string pull off riff, nice bass tone in there and I love the way that riff climbs up as well, it slips into the verse and changes and then the pre chorus is climbing up and up then bang you are right into the chorus and again it will stick in your hear, the wall of vocals, so melodic as well as not losing the intensity the song already has, are the solos good, yeah, technical yet never lose melody, harmony part, check, it’s all there and its class, so well done, love the tapping part just before we head back into the pre chorus, it’s another solid slab of a track!
Lean into It
A really groovy sort of riff to open this one, start stop, it actually is like a heavier Whitesnake in a way, then the tempo changes and it starts to build and then it almost half times as it hits into the chorus, really well written, it’s a different feeling track than a lot of the other ones, almost Maiden on that chorus part, I could totally hear Bruce singing that, a really skanky blues solo right there, second solo the tempo increases and the playing does as well, then a really nice harmony section right after the solos that lead us right back into that chorus part again, then it gets heavier as it gets past the chorus and then a really nice tapping part takes us out of the song, and the drums are flying now, really nice end to the track!
No More
Straight into the double bass on this, again there is an almost classical counterpoint feel to that harmony guitar part, some nice bass playing going on under those static guitar chords in the verse, for some reason that pre chorus has Hammerfall in my head, then it slips into a half time shuffle for the chorus part, nice change of dynamics and that back into that intro harmony part again, nice change into that middle riff, the whole band drop down, and the tempos change and shift, nice solo there, really nice phrasing, the second solo is a bit more technical but really keeps the melody and like that it busts back into the pre-chorus, then back into the chorus again, killer track!
10 out of 10
If you are a fan of old school Vicious Rumors, Savatage, Gamma Ray and bands like Hammerfall and Metalium you will absolutely love this, every song has a killer chorus, if you’re a guitar player the work on here is sublime, great vocal performance as well, loved it, in fact I think I am going to stick it on again!!!
RIOT (V) are:
Todd Michael Hall | vocals
Mike Flyntz | guitars
Nick Lee | guitars
Don Van Stavern | bass
Frank Gilchriest | drums
RIOT (V) online:
www.areyoureadytoriot.com
www.facebook.com/riotrockcity
www.instagram.com/officialriotv
www.twitter.com/riotvmetal
www.youtube.com/officialriotnyctv
https://label.atomicfire-records.com/project/riot-v/
Photo Collage Credit:
Randy Caballero | Doug Julien | Anthony Lopardo
