Who are you, and your first Riot experience

[MetalAges]

Tell the band a little about yourself, and what your first Riot experience was.

For me, I passed the Thundersteel album (ok, cassette) countless time the record shop (when they existed!)... I finally purchased and WOW. Amazing album, amazing musicianship, top notch songs and solos - just an all around superb album.

I ventured from there picking up their older stuff and have kept up with the bands ever since.

Oh, and as far as me, I'm Deron - I run UltimateMetal.com. Been listening to all forms of Metal since around 83-84 - proud to be old school but also keep up with the newer styles of Metal as well

And you?

 

[Diabolik]

My name is Bob, I have been into metal from around 84 or so. Back then I was more into thrash and power metal. I have seen your albums forever and it wasnt until a few years back that I really started to apreciate traditional classic metal. I picked up a few of the early disc at Metal Haven ( a now closed Metal Record store in Chicago ). After listening to those CD's for a few days I started to track down every thing I could. I now have your whole discography.

would love to see Riot live at least once in my lifetime.

 

[Hawk]

Back in 1977 I read a review by Kees Baars in the Dutch magazine Oor of 'Rock City'. I bought the album and I really liked it. Since then I followed the up and downs of Riot.

 

[DTJeff]

Being that I'm pretty young (about to turn 21) I've only been into Riot about 6 years now. I had heard from a few friends that I'd probably really dig Riot, but a friend had a copy of "Inishmore" sitting around - and I asked if I could borrow it, and it was absolutely love at first listen. I very quickly went on a mission to explore the rest of the discography as fast as possible, and now own all but two of the studio albums. I honestly love all eras of Riot a good bit, but my favorite album is "The Privilege of Power". I just love the combination of the aggressive, speed metal-ish elements with the more experimental, progressive side of things. Absolutely innovative album, I love it. Dimeo-era classics "Inishmore" and "The Brethren of the Longhouse" also remain favorites along with "Thundersteel" and "Fire Down Under". I also thought that 06's "Army of One" was outstanding. I've been dying to see the band live, and hoping that chance may finally come my way in support of the new record.

 

[Metalmanof73]

I'm an Australian metal fan and bought my first Riot cassette when I was living in asia. So I guess it was probably a copy, sorry.
I too looked at the Thundersteel album cover many times in the shop and took a punt on buying it. Best choice I ever made and my walkman got a major workout every night. It was the best metal around in the late 80's.

 

[Rexx]

My name is Rex, the first CD I bought of Riot was The "Privilege Of Power", then I bought "Thunder Steel". I was actually introduced to Riot before that with "Fire Down Under" "Restless Breed" and "Born In America".
All the Riot albums are great, "Nightbreaker" "The Brethren of the Long House" "Inishmore" "Sons of Society" "Through the Storm" "Army of One".

Now I've got 'Immortal Soul' to look forward to buying.

Too bad Riot only plays the same demographics, New York, Japan, Europe. They were once scheduled to play in Toronto Canada but canceled, that's about as close as I came to experiencing a Riot concert.

 

[Wyvern]

I'm Rolando from Costa Rica.

To me was 'Thundersteel' in a tape (oh those days) an American acquaintance gave me around 1997 with various bands/songs.

Eventually another friend listened to it, and told me how good was the band and that I should get the album. After purchasing "Thundersteel" I was sold into the band, acquiring all the material (except Rhett era) and still follow them

Favorite albums: "Fire Down Under", "Thundersteel", "The Brethren of the Long House". Favorite songs: way too many.

Oh yeah, and eagerly awaiting "Immortal Soul"

 

[Hard Lovin' Man]

Hi everybody, I'm Matteo from Italy.

I'm a Riot fan since last year, when I've listened Thundersteel for the first time and I suddently fell in love for them, so I started getting all their material; now I have the whole studio discography, except for Nightbreaker (which I really like ) and Army of One. I can't choose my favourite album, I love every album they made from the debut to The Privilege of Power, and the rest of their discography is still awesome.

Hope this forum will get bigger and bigger, shine on warriors!

 

[drmetal8]

Started with Thundersteel for me back in 1988, which is still to this day one of my favorite albums of all time. Not a bad track on that album. I got The Privilege of Power when it came out (a masterpiece) and from there, the back catalog. I am a fan of every era of the band. I finally got to meet Mike Dimeo a few weeks ago and he signed all my Riot CDs that he sang on. He said that 'Army of One' is his favorite album that he has made. Very cool guy, btw. Really looking forward to the new album with Tony Moore!

 

[ashaman7122]

My name is Doc. My first exposure to Riot was thanks to Joe "The Godfather" Anthony on 99.5 KISS-FM in San Antonio, when my cousin and I first heard "Swords And Tequila" late one night. I was privileged to see the Rhett Forrester-fronted version of the band once and I have remained a fan through all of the eras. Even though the discography was hard to come by through metal's lean years (my Nightbreaker and Brethren new releases originally came from Japan), I have always supported the evolution of Riot through the years.

Just a few years back, I saw the San Antonio show with the Thundersteel line-up, and it was one of the best evenings of metal I have ever had. I am very glad the line-up has re-settled themselves to try to make a go of a full-fledged reunion...looked kinda shaky for a while....and I will gladly continue to support the band, this forum, and all of their future endeavors.

Rock on!

 

[Mr.Cow]

My name is Bernie. My first expierence with Riot was back in 1988 when i bought the Thundersteel LP. In my opinion one of the greatest metal albums ever! Tony Moore is one of my favorite singers. After his exit I was very disappointed. For me the best eras from Riot was with Guy Speranza and Tony Moore. Will see them 2 times here in Austria this year.
Keep on rocking!!!

 

[SickBoy]

Hi!
My name is Darko, I've been a diehard Riot fan ever since I've heard them about ten years ago... "Inishmore" was the album that got me into the band and I've been so excited with each and every album of theirs that I've discovered later on... I've even scoured the Ebay in search for japanese editions in order to hear otherwise unobtainable bonuses (and I'm glad I did!). So much great songwriting and musicianship and yet so underrated, what a shame!

I prefer DiMeo-Perez phase but I like all the albums and lineups.
Glad to see the band up and running again, hope you'll finally get the recognition you deserve...

 

[MysticX9]

I remember seeing FIRE DOWN UNDER in the new release section of a place called Cactus Records (back when there were records *haha*) and noticing the unusual seal cover; I told a friend about it and he said "I've heard it, it kicks ass!!!" So I bought it the next time I was there, and he was right! Still one of my favorite albums

 

[ThunderSteel Man]

Hey guys !

I remember walking in a local record store and seeing a big stand for Thundersteel in the store. The stand had the card "Riot is Back!" For some reason I ignored it.

I first heard Riot later during that summer of 1988. I spent a week in NY and purchased a metal compilation that had Swords and Tequila and Fire Down Under on it. I Loved those tracks, but it wouldnt be until later that fall that I would become a full fledge RIOT fan !

A friend of mine moved home from CA. In our sharing of music he said "oh hey they have a new album out...I have it-Thundersteel."

I had a boom box strapped in my 1974 Mustang and one day on the way to work I heard Thundersteel.

From there I went to a local underground record store and proceeded to buy Fire Down Under on vinyl. Found another store with Rock City- I bought both copies for like $8 and then I just bought the rest.

There's not a weak effort in the Riot catalog.

Thanks for the great music over the years-I hope Karma finally smiles on Riot and the festivals and sales work out.

Thundersteel Man !

 

[Jutze]

In early 1992 I began discovering heavy metal, attending my first metal concert in 1993 (Iron Maiden). My first Riot experience wasn't that spectacular, because it was just a two tracks from the Brethren of the Long House album (Glory Calling and the title track) on a teaser CD around 1996. I enjoyed the songs, but was - at that time - looking for more extreme stuff. I found it in Spastic Ink when their debut came out in 1997. Much to my surprise I realized that Bobby and Pete also played with Riot. In the summer of 1998 I finally became an actual Riot fan via "Angel Eyes" (and the whole Inishmore album, eventually), Fire Down Under and Thundersteel. A bit later I also found a copy of Privilege of Power (on vinyl). I loved the progressive touch of the whole thing.

Now my first Riot live experience is worth mentioning, I guess. When the band played at the Bang Your Head festival Germany in 1999 I went there primarily to see Riot. Little did I know that this was one of the last gigs of the Inishmore line-up. It was a beautiful day for an open air show and the audience was in a very good mood. So it was easy for the band to deliver a great show, filled with their most popular songs (Outlaw, Warrior, Swords & Tequila, Thundersteel) and a bunch of newer tracks (Angel Eyes was the opener, of course). As if that wasn't enough, they also introduced the brand-new (i.e., not yet released) title track of Sons of Society, which was a total blast. Bobby Jarzombek hit those drums with a determination I haven't seen since. Finally, Riot played a cover of "Emerald" (Thin Lizzy) - again a rare treat and a great song. (The song was a substitute for "Burn", which wasn't played, because Deep Purple were actually the headliner that day.) Mike DiMeo's vocals were a thrill and the axemen did a great job. And Ligaya sang powerful harmonies.

I only saw Riot once more, one year later in January 2000 during the Sons of Society tour (in Stuttgart, Germany). Again, the band delivered a very good show, albeit quite short (Anvil and Agent Steel played later on) and somewhat raw due to the club setting and the new drummer (who just wasn't Bobby J. but gave 110% and hit really hard on those skins). I'm looking forward to the upcoming Tour with Hammerfall and the new album - "Wings Are for Angels" is already a very promising track (love it!).

Cheers,
Johannes "Jutze" Schult

 

[Jasonic]

Hello! My first metal concert was Maiden too, in 85 on the World Slavery tour.

Like most, in the 80s was mostly into the young thrash scene. Eventually, got more into the NOISE Records stuff.

Anyhow, in the past few years I have been getting more heavily into US traditional stuff, ala Manilla Road, Omen, etc, etc.

RIOT have been on my never ending list of bands I need to check out, though have been seeing the albums for MANY years.

Thanks to Slacker radio, I have heard a lot of material, and it is all great. Primarily, the tracks I dug the most have been from THUNDERSTEEL and PRIVILEGE OF POWER.

Therefore, I know what my first RIOT CDs will be!
Glad to see the band is active again.

Interest in cult trad metal seems to be on the rise now for quite some time, so hopefully there will be a lot more interest in RIOT and other bands from the same ilk.

Welcome to UM!

 

[ken from canada]

My name is Ken. I cannot actually remember who or how Riot was introduced to me, but I have been a fan since Fire Down Under. After purchasing the record way back in 1981(82?) and being blown away by it, I hunted down both Rock City and Narita and played the grooves out of all three. I frequented a local metal shop where I lived and was in total shock when I saw a copy of Restless Breed. Even with a new and completely different sounding vocalist, I was still just blown away. Born In America was my next purchase and I was still just totally full on for Riot. All five were constant players for me through and into the late eighties.

Myself and the guys I hung with were all metal heads and were getting into the whole thrash scene in the mid eighties, though all the early eighties bands we were into still were in our musical library. Including Riot, who we all assumed had been long gone left to the past. Then one day, Thundersteel was upon us. Being an old school fan, I jumped on it right away and brought it home to be rocked. Holy crap, I still remember hearing this for the first time. I did not know what to think. This only sounded slightly like the Riot of old, but even though having a new, faster sound, it was so over the top, it was an instant classic. It fit nicely between the thrash we were into and the straight forward stuff we were still all about. Killer.

Sadly, shortly after Privilege Of Power, I got kind of lost with their catalog and have only in the last little while have been hunting down the missing parts in my collection which is the most of the nineties and this new millenniums output (the DiMeo albums).

 

[hailwood]

hi!

sorry for my english not so good. Stephane, from France.

back in 1981, i heard "swords and tequila" on a french radio (radio7). then i bought "fire down under" which is for me one of the best heavy metal album in 80's. i became a die hard fan and purchase all lp until "born in America".

A few years later, i discover the rest of the catalog. happy to see the band is steal alive 35 years later, i look forward "immortal soul"

cheers,

 

[crabsody]

Hello from Greece. I am Giannis. I first listened to thunder steel album 16 years ago. I love them. One of my favorites is Inishmore. I play drums and I love to play bloodstreets on them. I have seen the band two times live. I hope they will come to thessaloniki again soon.

 

[wkiml]

Gonna show my true age here, but my first Riot show was back around the time just before the release of Fire Down Under with Guy on vocals at a place on Long Island ( I actually have the show on DVD converted from VHS)

I had the Fire Down Under album cover painted on the back of my Denim . One night hanging out at Lamour's i get a tap on the shoulder and a guy tells me nice jacket. I turn around and it Rhett. We hung out had a few beers talked metal all night, a night I will never forget. Been a diehard fan since the beginning have all the albums in one form or another