RIOT — Mean Streets (review)

RIOT — Mean Streets album cover Album · 2024 · US Power Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Kev Rowland
Riot were a band who appeared in many ways to get more praise in the UK than they did in their home of New York, with both ‘Rock City’ and ‘Narita’ gaining lots of praise during the NWOBHM era although their sound was quite different. It was always Mark Reale’s band, and after his death in 2012 the question was whether or not to continue, but continue they did with a slight change to the name, and this is the third release with the same line-up of Todd Michael Hall (vocals), Nick Lee (guitars), Mike Flyntz (guitars), Don Van Stavern (bass), and Frank Gilchriest (drums). There may not be any original members left but both Stavern and Flyntz originally joined in the Eighties while Gilchrist was there more than 20 years ago, so while none played on the classics, they have every right to use the name.

This is American commercial metal with high vocals, some harmonies, all played in a style where the bottom end seems almost transparent and it all feels very Eighties, as if Bon Jovi had never really gone away. But you know what? I always enjoyed this style of music and felt the likes of Poison, WASP and the rest had far more musical chops than they were often given credit for, and these guys can trace their beginnings back to 1975 and a debut in 1977. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Riot deserved to be huge, and the reason that never happened was out of their control. In fact, Classic Rock wrote a great piece on them a few years ago which started with “In the late 70s, Riot were the Great White Hopes of American rock. But that was before the public ignored them, their label disowned them, and their singer quit. And then things got really bad…”.

Given what they have been through, there is no way Riot (V) should be here all those years later producing something which is a modern American hard rock/metal classic which brings back the days when they were young and hopeful, but they have. This is a superb release which made me smile the first time I played it, the grin getting wider with each song. This could well be their best release since ‘Fire Down Under’ more than 40 years ago, and that is saying something. Essential.
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