Released: May 10, 2024 via Atomic Fire Records
Production: Riot V, Bruno Ravel
Length: 51 min, 33 sec
Genre: Power Metal / Hard Rock
“Live and Breathe Heavy Metal”
Aaaaaahhh, where do I even start? Riot (now Riot V) are the most underrated hard rock / heavy metal band of all time in the whole wide universe. So I don’t whine on forever, I suggest you watch the three-part documentary Fight or Fall (part one here) and the four-part follow-up Immortal Soul (part one here) and make up your own mind. It’s fascinating how the band managed to be both ahead of and behind its time at once, and how not a single business, commercial or artistic decision was the right one or landed on fertile ground. Fate was spiced up hot with band member deaths, shaky lineups and inexplicable financial instability, which caused the band to fall apart and get put back together several times. Truly unbelievable — watching the documentaries recommended above, you have to wonder whether any group of people can really make so many wrong decisions over and over again.
On the other hand, the latest incarnation of Riot V takes first place on my list of club shows (Zagreb, Hard Place, Aug. 10, 2023) and very likely second place on my list of ALL the shows I’ve ever witnessed, right behind Sex Pistols at Hala Tivoli way back in 1996.
Mean Streets is the third album since the death of Mark Reale, the founder and, up until 2011 (the album Immortal Soul), the band’s only constant member. And a legendary guitarist, of course. It’s also, for the first time in their history, a third consecutive album with the same lineup.
With the first album under the name Riot V (Unleash the Fire from 2014), the guys led by bassist Don Van Stavern and guitarist Mike Flyntz kicked off with a blend of influences (both lyrically and musically) from the first three albums with vocalist Guy Speranza and the legendary Thundersteel era. Echoes of the eras with vocalists Rhett Forrester and Mike Di Meo sneak in here and there, but they’re not as pronounced.
On the previous album (Armor of Light from 2018) these influences weren’t as obvious, but on Mean Streets they’re back with full force. Whether that’s good or bad, you decide; personally, I think it’s already a bit too much and, above all, goes on too long. It’s about time they found their own musical voice, though on the other hand, I get that with the broad genre spectrum the band has covered since the release of their debut Rock City in 1977, that’s very hard to do.
To get these already slightly annoying references off my chest, let me just mention the intro to Hail to the Warriors, which sounds suspiciously like the intro to Buried Alive from the aforementioned Thundersteel, and then slides into Warrior territory. Then there’s High Noon, where we run into the outcast again (Outlaw from Fire Down Under), and finally the title track Mean Streets, which (with a modified opening riff and lyrical references alike) is the third part (Johnny’s Back, Still Your Man) of the homoerotic romance between Johnny and his buddy. “Mean Streets, take me back again, to the place where I became a man” Hello?! And there’s more where that came from.
As always with Riot, the spotlight belongs to the two guitarists and the vocalist. The guitarists, with their dizzying solos, wild riffs and unbeatable melodies. Mike Flyntz joined the band on the Thundersteel tour and was Mark’s protégé and student, just as Nick Lee is his now. Both can rest assured that Mark is nodding in approval and raising a toast to them from somewhere up above.
The singer, a man with vocal cords of steel and flawless pitch, ladies and gentlemen, is Todd Michael Hall. He cut his teeth in moderately successful American traditional / power metal bands Jack Starr’s Burning Star and Reverence, and these days he’s also running a solo career on the side, which I won’t get into too much. His voice and musical expression are a perfect mix of Guy Speranza and Tony Moore from the Thundersteel era. He’s unbeatable live too, and he’s the foundation on which the band could even begin the Riot V phase after Tony’s departure.
The album Mean Strets straight-up screams METAL. I’m convinced the band members are in a METAL state of mind even when they’re picking up the kids from school or driving their wives to go shopping. Seriously. From the opening Hail to the Warriors to the closing No More, we charge through impenetrable thickets of thunderous bass, machine-gun bursts of double bass drums, screaming solos and Todd’s stratospheric vocals. With a slight breather and detour in the form of the inexplicably commercial little number Before This Time.
Two creations deserve a special mention: Lost Dreams sort of continues the story they started with the track Insanity from the Immortal Soul album. The infectious opening riff grows into first-class power metal bombast, with triple-guitar solos and a killer chorus leading the charge. And the dark Love Beyond the Grave, which departs slightly from the otherwise omnipresent sonic and lyrical palette.
Personally, this album ranks highest of the three Riot V albums, and its problem lies in the fact that this is already the third time the same formula has been repeated almost down to the last detail. The same sound (which is fantastic by Riot standards, but typically modern and sterile), the same style, the same perfect vocals and the same abuse of double bass drums (Frankie-boy could chill out a bit during the recording sessions, really). Don and Mike will have to seriously talk things over after this tour, or the career could swerve in an unwanted direction.
All the nitpicks aside, this is still a high-quality piece of work, packed with melodic mastery, and it deserves a very positive rating. One more time.
Sweet picks: Mortal Eyes, Lost Dreams, Love Beyond the Grave, Lean Into It
8.5/10
Words by: Igorac
Tracklist:
1. Hail To The Warriors
2. Feel The Fire
3. Love Beyond The Grave
4. High Noon
5. Before This Time
6. Higher
7. Mean Streets
8. Open Road
9. Mortal Eyes
10. Lost Dreams
11. Lean Into It
12. No More
Musicians:
Todd Michael Hall – Vocals
Mike Flyntz – Guitars
Nick Lee – Guitars
Don Van Stavern – Bass
Frank Gilchriest – Drums
Technical crew:
Bruno Ravel – Recording, mixing
Bart Gabriel – Mastering
Gyula Havancsák – Cover art, design
Anthony Lopardo – Editing (drums, mix), Photography
Ray Marte – Editing (drums, mix)
Doug Julian – Photography
Randy Caballero – Photography
