Published on Oct 5, 1999
It’s kind of funny, but for all the time I spent in high school
as a headbanger, I never got into – or heard much of – the group
Riot. It’s not that they were an underground band; hell, I’d heard
from many of those thanks to friends. It wasn’t until the son of
our next door neighbor died and I inherited what was left of his
record collection that I first had a chance to experience this band
– and I wasn’t too impressed.
So listening to the band’s latest disc,
Sons Of Society, is kind of like walking on unplowed ground
for me, seeing that it’s been years since I listened to that
battered copy of
Narita. And it’s interesting to hear that Mike DiMeo and
crew create a killer disc by pushing forth the same musical
standards that you would have expected from this group all
along.
The band – vocalist/keyboardist DiMeo, guitarist/keyboardist
(and founding member) Mark Reale, guitarist Mike Flyntz, bassist
Pete Perez and drummer Bobby Jarzombek – take the ten tracks (plus
opening instrumental, done in a Middle Eastern theme) and make the
most of the time they’re given, putting the listener through a
musical wringer that leaves them happily gasping for breath most of
the time. They’re able to quickly recover from the rare misstep,
and replace that memory with a tune that you won’t be able to get
out of your head for days.
Take “On The Wings Of Life,” for example. A powerful hard rock
song wrapped around a killer chorus, this is a track that, if some
rock radio stations had some balls to program it, would be a hit
that would let the world know that this band is still out there,
and still demands your attention.
For the most part,
Sons Of Society is the kind of album that captivates you in
almost every song. Even the ballad “Cover Me” has enough power to
lock you into a serious groove. Sure, the nitpicker might say that
songs like “The Law,” “Twist Of Fate” and “Dragonfire” are
throwbacks to the old school hard rock – but so what? Those songs
had melody as well as musicianship, and I have no problem with
that. “Twist Of Fate” is one example of how this combination can
work well, like peas with carrots.
If this album has any Achilles’ heel, it would be the title
track, the band’s tip of the hat to thrash. With a chorus that is
poorly underdeveloped, this track just hangs there limp as a noodle
on a fork. The funny thing is that this song was probably a coat of
paint or two away from being on the same level as the bulk of the
material on this album – which makes its falling short of the mark
that much more noticeable.
There still might be a few listeners out there who pine for the
old days and one of Riot’s many different line-ups. Relax, sit
down, strap on the headphones and let this particular lineup stomp
your senses into acceptance. Truth is, if you didn’t know the
band’s history, you’d swear this lineup has been together since day
one – and that’s something magical they’ve achieved.
Sons Of Society is an album that should not only put Riot on
the road to superstardom in America, but should serve as a wake-up
call to fans of hard rock old and young that Riot is still around –
and they’re not going anywhere.