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Debut album ‘Closer To The Flame’ certainly is soaked in the feel of 80’s, big riffs, even bigger vocals, thundering percussion and muscular melodies abound in a way that’s bound to appeal to fans of the era.

The punchy title track, along with ‘49ER’ and ‘Straight For Your Heart’ are full of classic American hard rock moves, Ventura shredding with style as Chaffin impresses with a mighty set of pipes.

Ranieri and Galinski both shine on the swinging ‘Overdrive’, their work shot through with a dirty, funky edge that sees the propulsive riffing complimented by their feel and some great vocal harmonies.

The foot comes off the gas for the Stonesy ballad ‘Almost There’ and it’s a real highlight of the album. Full of soul, it’s something that Aerosmith would have written at their peak. There’s the sound of 70’s staple the cowbell in the tough and jagged ‘Stand Or Fall’ and both the epic ‘Warrior’ and ‘Angelina’ capture that irresistible Riot sound.

The album closes with the fearsome ‘Right Between The Eyes’ which mixes elements of Angus Young riffs, Saxon’s meat and potatoes metal and some Robert Plant style vocals by Chaffin before closer ‘Rock Love And Roll’ brings things to a close with a bruising rocker that feels like a victory lap, the band knowing they’ve achieved exactly what they wanted.

This is a straight ahead, hard rock album with most of the Songs being mid to up-tempo. The Tracks are shorter and to the point, there aren’t any long, drawn out boring Tracks here. Quite the opposite. These are catchy, really good songs that will keep you interested throughout the entire album. There’s a slower Song – “Almost There,” and a faster Track, “Right Between The Eyes,” for a bit of a change up. The other standouts like “Straight For Your Heart” and “Rock Love and Roll,” kick it into high gear. This is a real good album and all the players do a great job. There are times when Don’s voice sounds quite similar to the original lead singer of Riot, Guy Speranza. But it isn’t a forced thing, Don’s an excellent vocalist in his own right. And, if you like bass guitar, you’re going to like this album. The bass is immense, and Paul is a monster player. Claudio and of course Rick, add their great playing to create a very good, catchy, straight ahead hard rock album. Well done guys!

RIOT ACT have just released their debut album “Closer To The Flame”. In the early months of 2020, RIOT ACT were born; with their first ever live performance in January. Following the devastating loss of founding member Lou Kouvaris, the band had an understandably tough few months. The hard rock fourpiece are now back with a vengeance with their first album “Closer To The Flame”, which was released on the 1^st April 2022 via Global Rock Records.

“Rock City” is the debut track on the B-side of this album. It begins with a MOTLEY CRUE type hook, which is very reminiscent of their classic song “Kickstart My Heart”. Next up is “49er”, which appears to take inspiration lyrically from the journey of aspiring musicians in the industry and how some of them win and some of them fall. “Swords and Tequila” has a MOTLEY CRUE and even a KISS feel about it, with the track’s infectious chorus really speaking for itself here. “Overdrive” appears to have drawn influence from STEEL PANTHER here, with Chaffin’s vocals sounding very similar to that of Ralph Saenz in parts. “No Lies” is up next, which speaks honestly about Chaffin’s experience with an untruthful past partner. “Tokyo Rose” is another song with a belter of a chorus, paired with a catchy guitar hook throughout – addictive for sure! “Warrior” is most definitely one of the faster paced songs on the entire release. The song is constantly changing, which brings the listener on an exciting musical journey.

The original Riot were active in the mid-70’s-early 80’s, performing at the inaugural ‘Monsters of Rock’ festival, now known as Download, in 1980, and they were tipped to go further and make a name for themselves. A volatile combination of bad luck, ego, record company hassles and the untimely deaths of three band members derailed any momentum the band generated, and led to the band being referred to as ‘Spinal Tap without the jokes.’

Rick Ventura has certainly been around, being one of the original Riot back in the late 70’s, and now one of the mainstays of the current inception of the band as Riot Act. He states while Riot V continue with their latter-day power metal evolution, “As Riot Act, we aim to recapture the sound of the early Riot of 77-83 and bring it into a new era.” I’ll admit to not being overly familiar with the original Riot so can offer no comment as to whether what’s on offer here improves/detracts from the original band, but the songs performed here are stronger and more dynamic than those offered up forty years later. Tracks like ‘Rock City’, ‘Outlaw’ and ’49er’, with guitar licks from Mike Flyntz of Riot V, plus Tokyo Rose, which sounds like an attempt at writing a hit single, are all good driving rockers, and if this is what the original Riot sounded like, it was indeed a pity they suffered the level of ignominy they did.

As one of the more well-known bands from the NYC hard rock underground scene during the early to mid-70’s while punk was dominating the landscape, RIOT had long forged a name for themselves starting with their debut album Rock City from 1977. With their sophomore efforts Narita and Fire Down Under, the band’s blend of street-savvy bluesy hard rock with elements of classic and even southern rock had caught the attention of then-younglings Steve Harris and Lars Ulrich among other aspiring teenage musical protégés looking for the ideal sound upon which to hone their first musical projects later on. And whether fronted by the powerful dynamic vocals of original singer Guy Speranza or the deep south suave and swole of his successor Rhett Forrester, RIOT were a heavy force to be reckoned with amongst their peers even if their hard-rockin’ and hard-livin’ style rarely translated fully into large album sales throughout their tumultuous careerspanning well over 4 decades. A shame in of itself as some of their best-known tracks such as “Swords And Tequila”, “No Lies”, “Warrior” and “Rock City” to name a few of their esteemed hits were the sound of raw, emotive meat-and-potatoes hard rock that managed to help birth a myriad of then-new subgenres such as thrash, speed and power metal. Unfortunately, the band’s musical habitat had changed with such frequency that it struggled to keep up despite its own tenacity and relentless touring, before finally coming to an abrupt halt with the passing of founder/guitarist Mark Reale in 2012. Its surviving members, with the blessing of Reale’s family, went on to form two alternate versions of the band afterwards: RIOT V, resurrected by bassist Don Van Stavernand two albums into its new lease on life as it continues with the band’s power metal evolution, and a newly-formed version who were the mutual brainchild of its classic-era members/guitarists Rick Ventura and Lou “LA” Kouvaris who, along with the solid rhythm section of Paul Ranieri (bass) and Claudio Galinski (drums), capture the band’s early years and sound.

This is the debut album from Riot Act, the band initially formed by former ‘classic era’ Riot members Rick Ventura and Lou Kouvaris and it is a must listen to for any classic hard rock fans. Riot Act performed at the Heavy Metal Hall of Fame in 2020; Rick and Lou were inducted as Riot members in 2018, Rick Ventura was a member of the original Riot from 1979-1984.

Riot Act are guitarist Rick Ventura, Don Chaffin on vocals, Paul Ranieri on bass and Claudio Galinski on drums.

As soon as this album started, I knew I was onto an absolute winner, there’s no messing about, there’s no self-indulgence, this is classic rock at its finest, delivered with passion and it needs to be played loud! This album may be a debut, but it is clear from the opening title track, just how tight the musicianship is. Every track is action packed, pure rock and I love it. I was only half-way through the album, foot-tapping, singing along (already to a song I’ve never heard before!) when it was obvious that this is an absolute belter and I immediately added it to my albums of 2022 list.