RIOT – Immortal Soul

After a five year hiatus without new material to showcase, New York’s Riot is back with an old line-up and are ready to present Immortal Soul. Founder,  guitarist, and seemingly everlasting Metal magician Mark Reale has again gathered cohorts vocalist Tony Moore, bassist Don Van Stavern, second guitarist Mike Flyntz, and drummer Bobby Jarzombek to unleash delicately written new Metal upon their fans. Despite over 20 years elapsing since this line-up’s last collective recorded work together, not much differs, and Immortal Soul takes several cue’s off the classic Thundersteel, with elements of even early Riot thrown in for good measure.

The opener, simply titled “Riot” (about time for a song namesake after 30+ years, eh?), takes the blueprint of off “Thundersteel” (the track) to fittingly mark the return of this beloved band incarnation. The pace is frantic and the Metallic onslaught full on, which also accounts for “Sins Of The Father” and “Wings Are For Angels”, as well as the epic closer “Echoes”. Although the very likable “Insanity” could very well have felt right at home on Riot’s first three albums, Riot stemmed from an era when the distinctions between so-called Hard Rock and Heavy Metal weren’t as strict … case in point is a rocker such as “Whiskey Man”, which sufficiently walks the fine line. Mid-tempo Metal stompers such as the title track and “Fall Before Me” work just as well.

There are no ballad’s or specifically calm moments present on Immortal Soul, but the album is nicely varied in pace, with memorable choruses of classic Riot present, which again point to Riot’s excellence in capturing different moods, whilst not compromising one ounce. Obviously a must for Riot fans, Immortal Soul should also, if justice be done, bring younger listeners to this vastly underrated band that should had been up there with the Maiden’s and Priest’s of the world.