{"id":47234,"date":"2014-11-29T08:31:38","date_gmt":"2014-11-29T13:31:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=47234"},"modified":"2014-11-29T08:31:38","modified_gmt":"2014-11-29T13:31:38","slug":"riot-v-unleash-the-fire-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/riot-v-unleash-the-fire-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Riot V | Unleash The Fire<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"RIOTAs for Riot, the band wouldn\u2019t have needed any introduction among the metal circle \u2013 there\u2019s an entire generation of fans who banged their heads and pumped their fists to anthems such as \u201cWarrior\u201d or \u201cThundersteel\u201d this exceptional band produced. But as we all know, Riot\u2019s history ended in 2012 with the passing of its founding member, a guitarist Mark Reale\u2026 or maybe it didn\u2019t\u2026? In the end it turns out it wasn\u2019t calling all things Riot quits as Mike Flyntz (guitar) and Don Van Stavern (bass), who played in the band\u2019s last line-up until Reale\u2019s untimely death, decided to carry on. They adopted a \u201cnew\u201d name \u2013 which is Riot with \u201cV\u201d added, not particularly brilliant or innovative, but instantly recognizable among the fans. Subsequently, the new line-up was formed, consisting of the two plus a guitarist Nick Lee, a drummer Frank Gilchriest (Virgin Steele, Riot\u2019s Army of One) and a singer Todd Michael Hall (Burning Starr, Reverence). Fast forward to October 2014 and now we can take a closer look upon the first release by the reformed Riot V \u2013 Unleash The Fire<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Said to be a continuation of Riot\u2019s legacy, the so-called Riot V members are apparently not to speak idly. Skimming through the subsequent song titles on the back cover of Unleash The Fire<\/em>, from \u201cRide Hard Live Free\u201d and \u201cMetal Warrior\u201d to \u201cReturn Of The Outlaw,\u201d you may have a feeling the content on the album is solely based on metal clich\u00e9s and epic stories about leather-clad warriors riding through the storm on their steel horses. Many a headbanger would have cracked a smile at such a prospect, as metal nowadays often deflects from such aesthetics. Fortunately, also music-wise Unleash The Fire<\/em> is everything the same orthodox metalheads \u2013 staunch Riot fans in particular \u2013 could have ever asked for. Even the cover artwork has a potential to become an instant classic as the references are simply obvious.<\/p>\n

An opening part to \u201cRide Hard Live Free\u201d is a piece of grandiose, monumental guitar wizardry that smoothly morphs into a fast-paced power metal gallop, completed with high-pitched vocals of Todd Michael Hall that are considerably reminiscent of Tony Moore\u2019s much favored singing manner. \u201cMetal Warrior\u201d is another wonderfully clich\u00e9d heavy\/power metal piece that simply has it all, a guitar-laden stampede with an almost anthem-ic lyrical quality to it, studded with an excess of \u201cwings of steel,\u201d \u201cheavy metal thunders\u201d and \u201cblackened shields.\u201d Speaking shortly, you\u2019ll end up having your both fists raised up high and bringing some serious damage to your vocal chords as well as the household\u2019s supplies of glasses while trying to imitate the Hall\u2019s equilibristic final scream. And remember it\u2019s just the song number two\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cFall From The Sky\u201d is a bit different sound-wise. It\u2019s flavored with distant echoes of thrash metal and perhaps slightly rawer, especially due to the restless rhythm section that\u2019s given more exposure to it within the song\u2019s structure. \u201cBring The Hammer Down\u201d and the title track bring a handful of fast riffs and more modern, slightly distorted guitar sound into the picture. With its powerful melody and classic metal vibe to it, \u201cLand Of The Rising Sun\u201d is the monumental sound of 1988 Thundersteel<\/em> album re-visited, and a perfect treat for every old-school headbanger. \u201cKill To Survive\u201d juxtaposes modern-sounding, heavy riffs with the majestic power metal-esque vocals and huge choruses, its follow-up \u201cReturn Of The Outlaw\u201d being a bit more straightforward, but nevertheless neatly melodic track. With its soaring melody, a ballad-esque, atmospheric \u201cImmortal\u201d is one of the album\u2019s highlights together with the next track \u201cTake Me Back\u201d \u2013 a solid dose of rich lead guitar work in the background of the captivating, powerful choruses. Again, Tood Michael Hall\u2019s vocal performance, a dead ringer for the fan favorite Tony Moore, is to be distinguished and appreciated here. \u201cFight Fight Fight\u201d is a track Hammerfall and DragonForce should both have studied meticulously one note after another so as to reach Riot\u2019s level of excellence in terms of perfect melodies versus the furious pace. It\u2019s also embroidered with a splendid, majestic guitar solo that has almost neoclassical feeling and vibe to it. Due to the wistful guitar sound and heartrendingly emotional vocal parts, \u201cUntil We Meet Again\u201d bears a close resemblance to what is perhaps the best-known song of Riot\u2019s aforementioned Thundersteel<\/em> \u2013 \u201cBloodstreets\u201d. Lyric-wise, this next-to-last track on the album is a tribute to the band\u2019s deceased member Mark Reale together with the bonus track which is a live rendition of \u201cThundersteel\u201d featuring Reale on guitar. Some less obvious references to Reale\u2019s persona are also embroiled into the other songs, to be found and interpreted by a careful listener.<\/p>\n

Unleash The Fire<\/em> is an album full of well-tried formulas, worn-out tricks and metal clich\u00e9s exploited to the utmost \u2013 not only a worthy successor of Thundersteel<\/em>, but even a mirrored reflection of Riot\u2019s 1988 endeavor. There\u2019s nothing new in this handful of majestic, guitar-laden, power metal anthems adorned with the equilibristic vocal parts sung in a high-pitched voice\u2026 but there\u2019s just a thin line between the \u201cclich\u00e9d\u201d and \u201cclassic\u201d in metal sometimes. And with the assumption Riot V was founded so as to continue the legacy of the classic Riot sound, it\u2019s a logical continuation rather than a process of recycling of the old ideas caused by the lack of new ones. All these considerations aside, however, the facts are that Unleash The Fire<\/em> is simply a great album on its own \u2013 a well-performed one with multitude of references to the classic heavy and power metal sound that are simply enjoyable for the listener. Especially those who find the Tony Moore-fronted incarnation of Riot and the Thundersteel<\/em> era the most appealing will treasure the new album the most. Riot V is thus a fine successor to its mother band\u2019s legacy, their effort being not only one of the best heavy\/power metal albums of the year 2014, but also the one the late Mark Reale would have probably been proud of. Much recommended.<\/p>\n

Genre: Power Metal, Heavy Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nDon Van Stavern \u2013 bass
\nMike Flyntz \u2013 guitars
\nNick Lee \u2013 guitars
\nTodd Michael Hall \u2013 vocals
\nFrank Gilchriest \u2013 drums<\/p>\n

Track List:
\n1.\tRide Hard Live Free
\n2.\tMetal Warrior
\n3.\tFall from the Sky
\n4.\tBring the Hammer Down
\n5.\tUnleash the Fire
\n6.\tLand of the Rising Sun
\n7.\tKill to Survive
\n8.\tReturn of the Outlaw
\n9.\tImmortal
\n10.\tTake Me Back
\n11.\tFight Fight Fight
\n12.\tUntil We Meet Again
\n13.\tThundersteel (live bonus track)<\/p>\n

Label: Steamhammer, SPV<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.areyoureadytoriot.com\/<\/a> – https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/riotrockcity<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Senior Columnist — As for Riot, the band wouldn\u2019t have needed any introduction among the metal circle \u2013 there\u2019s an entire generation of fans who banged their heads and pumped their […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":47235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[2317,2491,10361,1097,3362,10359,1524,1859,10360,10358],"class_list":{"0":"post-47234","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-heavy-metal","10":"tag-mark-reale","11":"tag-power-metal","12":"tag-riot","13":"tag-riot-v","14":"tag-spv","15":"tag-steamhammer","16":"tag-todd-michael-hall","17":"tag-unleash-the-fire"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}