Riot

Riot City – Electric Elite Review

By Steel Druhm on October 12, 2022 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 87 comments

“If you’re going to put a jaguar with cybernetic modifications and laser eyes on your album cover and frame it with lightning, you’re probably a fan of metallic excess and overkill. Welcome to the sophomore outing by Riot City, purveyors of a wild and highly over-the-top brand of retro 80s metal. Electric Elite sees them picking up where 2019s Burn the Night left off, burning everything in sight (night) with stratospheric vocals and frenzied old school riffage turned to 11.8.” 49% riot, 51% elite.

Yer Metal is Olde: Riot – Thundersteel

By Steel Druhm on March 25, 2021 in Yer Metal Is Olde, Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, 43 comments

“Unlike the other bands featured in these Retro-spective reviews, New York’s own Riot is a seminal, long running and well known act. Slogging away since 1977, they released classic albums like Rock City and Fire Down Under. So why are they included here you ask? Well, one of their albums seems to have been lost in time and forgotten even though I regard it as their best by far. That album is, or course, 1988’s Thundersteel.” Steel on Steel.

High Spirits – Hard to Stop Review

By Steel Druhm on July 31, 2020 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, 26 comments

“Hard to Stop seems an apropos title for a new High Spirits platter, as founder and solo performer Chris Black (Dawnbringer, Professor Black, Aktor) cannot easily be dissuaded from his quest to fuse the hard rock playfulness of Thin Lizzy into a metal format. On album number four, he’s once again assembled a collection of high energy rockers built around simple but effective hooks and harmonies.” Never stop never stopping.

Road Warrior – Power Review

By Huck N Roll on October 9, 2018 in 2018, Australian Metal, Gates of Hell Records, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Heavy Metal, Retro Metal, 48 comments

“Don’t judge a book by its cover, they say. Well, when I signed on to write about Power, the debut album from Australia’s Road Warrior, I didn’t know what the cover looked like. I figured Road Warrior, Australia, traditional metal, what could go wrong?” Humongous stuff.

Riot V – Armor of Light Review

By Steel Druhm on May 7, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Heavy Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Heavy Metal, 71 comments

“Riot (V) is one of America’s oldest, most enduring metal bands and the pride of New York City. From their launch way back in the late 1970s through countless lineup changes and setbacks, they’ve pushed forward with typical New Yorker stubbornness. In a way they’re the American Saxon, forever rocking onward though greater recognition and fame perpetually eludes them.” Is it time to Riot? Yes, yes it is.

Mistheria – Gemini Review

By GardensTale on December 15, 2017 in 2017, Italian Metal, Neo-Classical Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Rockshots Records, Progressive Metal, 36 comments

“If only it were that simple. Completely instrumental albums are more difficult to write, I think because we are automatically drawn to voices. Without a vocalist, the tracks must be carefully composed to guide the listener’s attention and keep a sense of structural flow and integrity. Gemini is not carefully composed. Gemini doesn’t have flow and barely any structure. Rather, Gemini is a group of very talented musicians wanking onto a biscuit and hoping you’ll eat it.” Don’t eat the buttermilked biscuits.

Vescera – Beyond the Fight Review

By Steel Druhm on April 4, 2017 in 2017, Heavy Metal, International Metal, Pure Steel Records, Reviews, Heavy Metal, 15 comments

“As a kid growing up in the 80s, one of my favorite metal bands was Connecticut’s own Obsession. After getting featured on Metal Massacre II way back in 82 they went on to release a killer EP and two very impressive albums of heavy but melodic metal merging speed with an almost hair metal approach loaded with hooks. A big part of Obsession’s charm came from the powerhouse, leather-lunged delivery of Michael Vescera. After Obsession folded up shop in 88, he became a kind of metal Ronin, wandering the Earth selling his talents to the likes of Loudness and Yngwie Malmsteen, even putting in a regrettable stint in Animetal USA, as well as fronting several super groups (MVP, The Reign of Terror) and his own eponymous act (Michael Vescera).” Ride on, Metal Gypsy.

Existance – Breaking the Rock Review

By GardensTale on October 21, 2016 in 2016, Black Velvet Records, Black Viper Records, French Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Heavy Metal, 13 comments

“Retro is the most marketable term for old junk we’ve ever come up with. The nostalgia driven desire to reproduce the splendor of 20 years ago, regardless of what year it is, pretty much started as soon as ’20 years ago’ no longer meant World War II, and it has only increased in magnitude and ubiquity since then.” We never step on a great line.

Blackwelder – Survival of the Fittest Review

By Steel Druhm on April 29, 2015 in 2015, American Metal, German Metal, GoldenCore Records, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Reviews, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 23 comments

“A new power metal super group? Oh joy! You know how we love super groups around here. This star studded lineup features vocal powerhouse Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear, ex-Gamma Ray) and his Primal Fear band mate Aquiles Priester on drums, rounded out by Bjorn Englen (Yngwie Malmsteen, Quiet Riot) on bass and the brutally unheralded Andrew Szucs on guitar.” Guitar-heavy power metal by a mostly unknown crew of power players and we’re supposed to call it a “super group”? Yes we are.

Thoughts and Musings on Defenders of the Old Festival III

By Steel Druhm on March 18, 2015 in Blog Posts, 15 comments

“As most readers are well aware, I am old. I grew up in the 80s as a precocious child of metal and still harbor a deep, abiding love for all things 80s and iron. Naturally, I’m the very demographic for a three-day festival mostly made up of bands from those bygone times. This is why Madam X and I decamped to Brooklyn, New York for the third Defenders of the Old Festival this past weekend (the first to be held in the lovely and historic borough of the Empire State).” Old meets old. Geezer Fight!