The RIOT Discography and Listening Party Thread: Now Playing-Armor Of Light

[wolfking]

There's a few guys in the Men Are From Mars........thread who have some fire down under apparently

   You're an absolute Riot Brent!

[The Walrus]

I don't get this band's obsession with seals and the resulting hilariously bad art. Can someone explain?

[Podaar]

I don't get this band's obsession with seals and the resulting hilariously bad art. Can someone explain?

A Quaalude and Mescaline cocktail. It was the seventies for chrissakes. 

[jjrock88]

Fire Down Under is one of the few Riot albums I've actually bought and is just classic metal 

Swords and Tequila has such a great guitar intro, did Iron Maiden ever acknowledge the similarities with that song and Two Minutes to Midnight.  Also just read that Power and the Glory from Saxon has a similar intro to Swords and Tequila; never noticed that before, but it sure does.  Riot clearly was more influential than they get credit for.

Would Fire Down Under be considered Riot's biggest album?

And of course I can't not acknowledge that Fire Down Under showcases more sweet seal action on the cover 

[TAC]

I don't get this band's obsession with seals and the resulting hilariously bad art. Can someone explain?

The idea behind the seal was that the seals are getting revenge on humans for clubbing baby seals.

[TAC]

And of course I can't not acknowledge that Fire Down Under showcases more sweet seal action on the cover 

It's like the seal was taking a yearbook picture.





OK...without further ado..

[TAC]

Fire Down Under





Released February 9, 1981



1. Swords And Tequila
2. Fire Down Under
3. Feel The Same
4. Outlaw
5. Don't Bring Me Down
6. Don't Hold Back
7. Altar Of The King
8. No Lies
9. Run For Your Life
10. Flashbacks


Lineup:

Guy Speranza-Vocals
Mark Reale-Guitar
Rick Ventura-Guitar
Kip Lemming-Bass
Sandy Slavin-Drums

After the Narita album cycle, the band took a few weeks off. During this time, Peter Bitelli was let go. Again, it seemed management and Steve Loeb wanted to isolate Mark Reale as much as they could, as they jettisoned original bassist Phil Feit while they were recording Rock City and Bitelli after Narita. Bassist Jimmy Iommi also leaves at this time, and enter Kip Lemming on bass and Sandy Slavin on drums. For many, this becomes the "classic" lineup, as Fire Down Under is widely regarded as Riot's best album.

[TAC]

Swords and Tequila has such a great guitar intro, did Iron Maiden ever acknowledge the similarities with that song and Two Minutes to Midnight.  Also just read that Power and the Glory from Saxon has a similar intro to Swords and Tequila; never noticed that before, but it sure does.  Riot clearly was more influential than they get credit for.

Yes Power And The Glory.

also:

Dio-Stand Up And Shout
Accept-Flash Rocking Man


I think the earliest is White Spirit's Midnight Chaser

Riff by ….Jannick Gers!!

[The Walrus]

I don't get this band's obsession with seals and the resulting hilariously bad art. Can someone explain?

The idea behind the seal was that the seals are getting revenge on humans for clubbing baby seals.

Wow. Very metal. 

[Lowdz]

I had that album with a different cover. A quick trip to the attic....






And hell yes, I loved this compilation

I have this too.

[TAC]

A few shots of the Fire Down Under lineup:



L-R: Lemming, Speranza, Slavin, Ventura, Reale




L-R: Speranza, Slavin, Ventura, Lemming, Reale

[wolfking]

I'll pull this cd out tomorrow night.

[Lowdz]

There's a few guys in the Men Are From Mars........thread who have some fire down under apparently

Is that where the Incels hang out? 😀

Sorry, got behind already.

Listened to Rock City the other day. Fairly enjoyable 70s hard rock. Some nice touches on top of some good riffing. It’s a hard listen now with the 70s production but if I’d heard this in 79 when I started on my musical journey I would have been all over it.

I’m playing Narita now. So much better than the previous album.

[wolfking]

Fire Down Under, now this is more like it, and more my style.  Cracker of an album this one.  Not much here not to like IMO.  Don't Hold Back, Run For Your Life, title track, intro track.  Faster, more metal, great guitar solos which is a given and a pretty good sound. 

[wolfking]

WTF is the deal with the song Flashbacks though?

[Lowdz]

Fire Down Under, now this is more like it, and more my style.  Cracker of an album this one.  Not much here not to like IMO.  Don't Hold Back, Run For Your Life, title track, intro track.  Faster, more metal, great guitar solos which is a given and a pretty good sound.

Agreed. Great album. Best one so far.

[wolfking]

Fire Down Under, now this is more like it, and more my style.  Cracker of an album this one.  Not much here not to like IMO.  Don't Hold Back, Run For Your Life, title track, intro track.  Faster, more metal, great guitar solos which is a given and a pretty good sound.

Agreed. Great album. Best one so far.

By far.

[TAC]

It's a great album. It's too bad that would be the last from that lineup. I love both Narita and FDU. Two of my all time favorite albums.




So I wasn't quite sure how I'd treat the live albums, so even though this was released much later, I thought I'd post this to close off the Speranza Era.....

[TAC]

Riot Live




Released 1989



1. Angel
2. Do It Up
3. Road Racin'
4. White Rock
5. Warrior
6. Narita
7. Tokyo Rose
8. Overdrive
9. Rock City
10 Back On The Non Stop
11. Kick Down The Wall
12. Road Racin'



Tracks 1-5 and 7-8 recorded April 19 and/or 20, 1980 at the Hammersmith Odeon.
Tracks 6 and 9-14 recorded August 16, 1980 at the Monsters of Rock festival in Donington Park.
(Copied from Wiki)

[TAC]

Also, this is a MUST WATCH if you like this Fire Down Under and its lineup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61c6FBDszM4&t=159s

Recorded on Long Island on 9/15/81.


I had this way back in the day during my bootleg trading days. I wore this video out!

[Imaginos]

Fire Down Under is a classic. It's the album that got me into the band, I heard Outlaw and was hooked. I've always thought Rick Ventura's contribution to the band was underrated. Admittedly, when I was younger his songs weren't my favorites, but these days No Lies might be my favorite on the album, and Feel The Same is great as well. His songs were much more melodic which I feel added some variety to the albums he wrote songs for.

The live album is great too, a little disappointing there's no FDU material on it, but there's other ways of finding live stuff from that tour. The version of Warrior with the extended intro and solo outro is the definitive version in my book. Also Back On The Non-Stop always perplexed me when I was a kid. It's the only release it appeared on, it's clearly not live, and it always just seemed shrouded in mystery to me. That being said, I never really liked it too much, at least not until I heard this version, which I like quite a bit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6LVsHvvFd4

[TAC]

Restless Breed






Released May 21, 1982


1. Hard Lovin' Man
2. C.I.A.
3. Restless Breed
4. When I Was Young
5. Loanshark
6. Loved By You
7. Over To You
8. Showdown
9. Dream Away
10. Violent Crimes



Lineup:
Rhett Forrester-Vocals
Mark Reale-Guitars
Rick Ventura-Guitars
Kip Lemming-Bass
Sandy Slavin-Drums

After the Fire Down Under cycle, Guy Speranza decided to leave the band. Apparently, he simply wasn't into it any longer, and left the music business altogether. Against everyone's advice, Mark Reale hired Rhett Forrester. Rhett was the polar opposite of Guy. He truly had a dynamic range, larger than life personality, and looked like a cross between Robert Plant and David Coverdale.


Here is a video of the title track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-VaKqxPeL4





Back cover band photo:



L-R: Lemming, Slavin, Forrester, Reale, Ventura

[TAC]

I first heard of Riot during the summer of 1982. My local rock radio station played Showdown for a while. Riot was touring that summer with Rainbow and Scorpions. Man, I would've loved to have seen that show. It was the summer between my 8th and 9th grades, and I was a year away from attending my first concert.

Let me just say that I fucking love Rhett Forrester. I thought his voice was amazing.

As far as the Restless Breed album goes, I still really like it. I love it, actually. But I was in on this from a young age, and it's always been a part of me. I like the crispness of the production which I feel is pretty clean, but I find that Rhett's voice really overshadows the rhythm guitars in the mix.  The video of the live version of the title track that I posted shows the latent guitar power of the album.

My favorite song on the album is the title track, but I love C.I.A, Loved By You, and Showdown. I also love their cover of The Animals' When I Was Young. Rhett does a great job with it.

[TAC]

I'm going to post this now.




This is a live EP released in late 1982.

Here is the youtube link to the playlist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yp5pP_815Y&list=PLzz17_Hs6TSUblECGEfyOwby0Iuo1NvJP&index=1


I got this when it came out and it blew me away. It contains 5 songs from the Restless Breed album, and is so much heavier than the studio versions. Plus Rhett kicks total ass. Be sure to check this out too.

[Stadler]

Rhett Forrester would make a great porn name, too.

Now that most of my work travel has been laid to waste, I want to dig in to this a little bit. 

[Zoom E]

Restless Breed is a great album too. Rhett had a totally different vocal style to Guy Speranza but I like both of them equally.

I bought a Rhett Forrester solo album too, which I think came out in 87 or 88.

[wolfking]

I will try and sneak a listen to this live one before we move on.

[TAC]

Now that most of my work travel has been laid to waste, I want to dig in to this a little bit.

Yes, you need to catch up.

Restless Breed is a great album too. Rhett had a totally different vocal style to Guy Speranza but I like both of them equally.

I bought a Rhett Forrester solo album too, which I think came out in 87 or 88.

Rhett's performance on the Restless Breed album is incredible. It's too bad he has such a limited discography, which does include Gone With The Wind, the solo album you mention, as well as an amazing album he made with Jack Starr. More on these later...

[jjrock88]

I demand a full seal on Riots album covers. It’s bullshit that Restless Breed only has a half seal on the album cover!

[Zoom E]

Now that most of my work travel has been laid to waste, I want to dig in to this a little bit.

Yes, you need to catch up.

Restless Breed is a great album too. Rhett had a totally different vocal style to Guy Speranza but I like both of them equally.

I bought a Rhett Forrester solo album too, which I think came out in 87 or 88.

Rhett's performance on the Restless Breed album is incredible. It's too bad he has such a limited discography, which does include Gone With The Wind, the solo album you mention, as well as an amazing album he made with Jack Starr. More on these later...

Gone With the Wind? The album I have is called Even the Score. Are these two different albums or the same album with different titles?

[Zoom E]

I demand a full seal on Riots album covers. It’s bullshit that Restless Breed only has a half seal on the album cover!

 

[TAC]

Gone With the Wind? The album I have is called Even the Score. Are these two different albums or the same album with different titles?

Different albums.

Gone With The Wind was released in 1984.
Even The Score in 1988.

I still own the vinyl of Gone With The Wind, but long ago gave away my old cassettes, which of course included Even The Score.

[Lowdz]

Riot Live

That is by far the best cover they’ve had so far 😀😀😀

[jjrock88]

 

[TAC]

I hope you guys are listening to the music.