RIOT

***BRAND NEW ‘UNLEASH THE FIRE’ STUDIO ALBUM RELEASED OCTOBER 27TH ON STEAMHAMMER / SPV***

The surviving members of the most recent lineup of legendary US metal pioneers RIOT are back and are set to release a brand new studio album, ‘Unleash The Fire’, on Steamhammer / SPV on October 27th. The album will be unleashed as a digipak CD with one bonus track, a double gatefold coloured blue vinyl version, also with one bonus track (and the CD in a cardboard sleeve), plus as a standard jewel case CD and download.

‘Unleash The Fire’, the follow up to 2011’s reunion record ‘Immortal Soul’, is the first release from the band without the late great founding guitarist Mark Reale, who finally lost his life long battle with Crohns disease in 2012. The band were encouraged at the request of Mark and the Reale estate to forge ahead in his honour, to keep the music and spirit of RIOT alive, and have dedicated this new offering to him.

‘Unleash The Fire’ promises to please fans of the ‘Thundersteel’ era of RIOT, as main song writer and long-time Reale music collaborator Don Van Stavern does much of the writing - as he did on ‘Thundersteel’ and ‘The Privilege of Power’. Don is joined by long time RIOT band mate, song writer and Reale’s guitar partner of over 20 years Mike Flyntz, to create what they feel is something they are proud to call a RIOT record, with which Reale would have readily concurred.

RIOT V's lineup also features new vocalist Todd Michael Hall (Burning Starr, Reverence), RIOT's Army Of One drummer Frank Gilchriest (Virgin Steele, Liege Lord), plus virtuoso guitarist Nick Lee, a former Mike Flyntz guitar student. The continuing members decided to alter the name to RIOT V to mark the fifth chapter of the band's long history, as well as Todd Michael Hall being the group’s fifth singer.

Bursting out of New York City at the end of the Seventies with three ground-breaking albums in succession, 'Rock City' (Capital), 'Narita' (Capital) and 'Fire Down Under' (Elektra), featuring vocalist Guy Sperenza, and then another iconic period with ‘Restless Breed’ (Elektra) and ‘Born In America’, featuring vocalist Rhett Forrester, RIOT quickly became one of the biggest cult metal bands in the world. Stunning performances in the UK at the first ever Castle Donington Festival in 1980 with Rainbow & Scorpions, and Port Vale supporting Ozzy Osbourne the following year, plus support slots with the likes of Sammy Hagar, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Rush and Kiss cemented their reputation as the hottest ticket to see.

With the Eighties developing into a metal-fest, a new-look new-sound RIOT bounced back, transforming from an edgy hard rock band into a power metal assault. Guitarist
Mark Reale recruited metal bassist Don Van Stavern (S.A. Slayer) and collaborated
on songs for the widely-acclaimed release ‘Thundersteel’ (1988). Reale and Van Stavern joined vocalist Tony Moore, drummer Bobby Jarzombek and Mark’s guitar cohort, Mike Flyntz who completed the twin axe attack. RIOT was reborn, and followed ‘Thundersteel’ two years later with the jaw-dropping conceptual album ‘The Privilege Of Power’ featuring an elite list of guest performers.

With the departure of Van Stavern and Moore, Reale shifted gears with a new look RIOT featuring vocalist Mike Dimeo, bassist Pete Perez and drummer Frank Gilchriest. This line up released RIOT's "Army Of One" album and toured regularly, but eventually, following many industry, media and fan requests for the reformation of the legendary ‘Thundersteel’ and ‘Privilege of Power’ power metal line-up, Reale contacted former members and the plan was put into action!

RIOT’s classic ‘Thundersteel’ line-up reformed for a limited reunion in 2009 and delivered another ground breaking disc ‘Immortal Soul’, released on Steamhammer / SPV in November 2011. Classic Rock Society reviewed the album in their Jan / Feb 2012 issue, stating that “This is classic Riot and as good as anything they did back in their glory years such is their enthusiasm and energy. This is no mere cash in on an established trademark but a continuation and extension of a glorious career and shows that they have much to offer for many years to come. Aspiring new bands should listen to ‘Immortal Soul’ and set their yardstick against it and if they can get even half way as good then they will be special indeed.”

Already in 2014, this new onslaught of RIOT V have already headlined sold out shows in Germany, Greece, Italy and Spain, headlined the Headbangers Open Air, Metal Assault and Metal Apocalypse festivals, plus played special guest slots at the Bang Your Head festival with Twisted Sister & Anthrax, and Metal Days festival with Megadeth & Volbeat.

RIOT have had a tumultuous history of member, label and management changes throughout the band’s 30 plus year career, but one thing’s for sure; a band’s longevity is through good music, and if this new record is any proof, they will be around for many more years to come.

RIOT

***NEW ‘IMMORTAL SOUL’ STUDIO ALBUM RELEASED NOVEMBER 14TH ON STEAMHAMMER / SPV***

Legendary US metal outfit Riot have signed to SPV/Steamhammer to release their brand new studio album "Immortal Soul" on November 14th. ‘Immortal Soul’ sees TONY MOORE, MARK REALE, DON VAN STAVERN and BOBBY JARZOMBEK – the line-up responsible for the band’s hugely acclaimed ‘Thundersteel’ (1988) and ‘The Privilege Of Power’ (1990) albums – re-united once more, together with MIKE FLYNTZ who as the additional live guitarist helped bring these two acclaimed albums to life on stage.

Few bands deserve to be talked about in such revered terms as RIOT. Bursting through from New York City at the end of the Seventies with three ground-breaking albums on the trot ('Rock City', 'Narita' and 'Fire Down Under') RIOT quickly became one of the biggest cult metal bands in the world. Stunning performances in the UK at the first ever Castle Donington Festival in 1980 and Port Vale the following year, and support slots with SAMMY HAGAR in Europe and AC/DC in the United States cemented their reputation as the hottest ticket to see. With line-up changes knocking their momentum and the Eighties developing into a Thrashfest a new-look RIOT bounced back in 1988 with the widely-acclaimed ‘Thundersteel'. Although the faces might have looked unfamiliar, with only guitarist MARK REALE now left from the band's formative years, the aggression and musicianship remained unrivalled and unchallengeable. With TONY MOORE's distinctive vocals, the muscle and might of bassist DON VAN STAVERN and drummer BOBBY JARZOMBEK powering the songs along, and Reale's precision playing RIOT were reborn, and followed 'Thundersteel' two years later with the jaw-dropping 'The Privilege Of Power', an inspiring and at times truly epic album. However, by this time the music world was turning into a very different place, and RIOT found themselves struggling against a tide of apathy. Reale continued to guide the ship through the next two decades, delivering albums of consistent, quality metal, culminating in 2006's 'Army Of One' – a true statement of intent, as if one were needed.

But now the army of one is an army of five once more as RIOT's classic 'Thundersteel' and 'Privilege…' line-up has re-united, adding guitarist MIKE FLYNTZ who played in the live band at that time. RIOT are justifiably proud of their upcoming release. As bassist DON VAN STAVERN says: “‘Immortal Soul’ picks up where ‘Thundersteel’ left off, 20 years later! It has the same intensity, creativeness and passion that we put into our music. It’s another ball buster and I can’t wait to unleash it on the masses.” Guitarist MIKE FLYNTZ is equally as enthusiastic. “I have been performing the songs from the ‘Thundersteel’ era for over 21 years. It has been an honour to write and record ‘Immortal Soul’ with Tony, Don, Bobby, and Mark. I am very proud of my contribution to this record and also very proud to play along with such inspirational musicians. I hope everyone enjoys this album as much as I do.” For drummer BOBBY JARZOMBEK, “‘Immortal Soul’ is a special record for me because in all the years that I’ve been playing and recording various projects, I’ve never been completely involved in any other CD from the very first day of writing, to the very last day of mixing. I’m really looking forward to the live shows, and including some new ‘Immortal Soul’ songs into the set along with the Riot classics!” Founding member and guitarist MARK REALE, who has been RIOT’s guiding force since the band released ‘Rock City’ over thirty years ago, is quick to pay tribute to vocalist TONY MOORE’s input. “To me, the close collaboration with each of our vocalists has always been the decisive aspect in any RIOT release. That’s why it was absolutely inspiring for me at the studio that Tony directly took up many of my ideas and translated them brilliantly, or contributed his own suggestions from which our songs benefited greatly. He is simply the perfect RIOT frontman!” And as TONY MOORE himself points out, “It’s been nearly a quarter of a century since the five of us assembled in New York to create ‘Thundersteel’ and ‘The Privilege Of Power’, and the music world couldn’t be more different. The internet led us not only to discover that those albums had taken a special place in the history of metal, but also put us back in touch – and the result is ‘Immortal Soul’, an album that is100% true to the legacy of those 1980s recordings. It’s also packed with evidence of how we’ve all grown and changed as artists. It was recorded in five studios, in three different cities, and it’s absolutely a product of the most important changes in the recording industry over the last 20 years. We’re looking forard to sharing the details with our fans and friends around the world, along with the music. Enjoy!”