Avtor: Aleš Podbrežnik
Izvajalec: Quiet Riot
Založba: Frontiers Records
Izid: 2017
Trajanje: 49:55
Ocena: 4/5
Quiet Riot used to be a big name in eighties rock’n’roll. Their album »Metal Health« remains one of the brightest gems the eighties gave the entire rock universe! In 2007, their first and most iconic vocalist, Kevin Dubrow, died of a drug overdose. Drummer Frankie Banali, with the blessing of Dubrow’s mother, revived the band in 2010, but it took them quite a while to pull themselves together enough to hit the stage again. Eight years after »Rehab«, the last album with DuBrow, came »10«, and it showed exactly where the new Quiet Riot stood. A deeply discouraging record, and frankly one of the worst in the band’s whole story. It was a good sign and a loud alarm for Banali and the crew to sober up and start seriously asking themselves whether they should even be making new music.
But the lineup, where alongside Banali you’ve got the excellent guitarist Alex Grossi and Banali’s longtime sidekick, bassist Chuck Wright, who joined Quiet Riot in the eighties after playing in Giuffria, didn’t give up and announced a new album for this spring, titled »Road Rage«. Everything was set for the release, but at the last moment the band split with singer Seann Nicols, who had already sung all the new songs, and announced they’d completely replace his vocals with those of a new singer. The release date, logically, slid to later this year. In stepped the very young James Durbin, who had earned his stripes on the talent contest inside the infamous circus that is »American Idol«. If those shows are good for anything, it’s apparently at least for finding the candidates your lineup is missing.
Durbin nailed everything Banali and company asked of him. The takes with Nicols must have sounded absolutely dreadful. Durbin, on the other hand, brings a young, fresh-sounding, untamed voice full of power and serious explosiveness. He pumps high-octane fuel into the spirit of every track. He’s a proper air-raid siren when the song calls for it. He’s got that cocky, swaggering swagger, with a bit of cheeky grit on top. This voice would have been superb in the eighties, when Quiet Riot jumped on the giant glam rock wave. There’s little of that vibe on the new album though, just traces. But the album does bring something very good.
Namely, it’s very good. Finally. That was the main goal for the new Quiet Riot: to put out a top-quality record that gives the band back all the credibility they partly squandered with the seriously subpar previous album »10«. The material on »Road Rage« has a dirty, ragged, garage-y sound, but it stays tremendously alive! There’s a hint of noticeable punk grime in it, and above all it stands out that the band has gone back to the very essence of rock’n’roll. In places it seems inspired by the figures and work of the seventies rock pioneers, Led Zeppelin above all. On Make A Way the band isn’t even shy about flirting with southern rock. The energy of this album can come close to what those of you who know The Dead Daisies will recognize.
With »Road Rage«, then, Quiet Riot have plugged back into what »Rehab« left behind. »Road Rage« stands strong as a whole and doesn’t waste time or minutes. Both in ideas and in execution. Musicality and rhythmic catchiness ride hand in hand and are dialed in perfectly. Grossi impresses with devilish guitar acrobatics, the quartet has found the right edge and rock’n’roll boldness and is firing with a full set of balls. Finally, then. The songs deliver the needed variety of motifs, a diverse choice of rhythmic keys and, as a result, waves of changing moods. Durbin’s vocal performance adapts skillfully to the character of each composition, and the kid handles every situation with ease. There’s no point in singling out highlights. The album as a whole is remarkably consistent and tight. It delivers material that will pair brilliantly with the classic eighties Quiet Riot catalog, so it’s only right for the band to hit the stage as soon as possible and start playing it live. That’s the Quiet Riot we expect in Europe, too!
Quiet Riot – Freak Flag (official audio):
Zasedba
Frankie Banali – drums
Alex Grossi – guitar
Chuck Wright – bass guitar
James Durbin – vocals
Produkcija
Quiet Riot
Seznam skladb
1. Nothing But Trouble
2. Let It Go
3. Snake Charmer
4. Hey Lil’ Sister
5. I Don’t Need You Anymore
6. Sledge Hammer
7. Never You Mind8. Empty Rooms
9. Dirty Money
10. The Seeker
11. Road Rage
