Rarely do you ever get to see a group that even with no original members, that they are still undeniably one of the best heavy metal groups on the scene today. RIOT is exactly one of those bands. And finally on Friday July 8th, I got to witness the fury that is this band live on stage at Reggie's Rock Club in downtown Chicago.
I showed up about a half hour early so I decided to check out a bit of what Reggies had to offer, including a very nice restaurant and a killer record store where I had to spend a bit of cash. After accidentally bumping into the band walking down the stairs (total Spinal Tap moment for me) I decided to enter the venue and watch the opening of the whole show.
Crusader- These guys hail from Chicago and really kicked ass for an opener. Usually opening bands kind of fall flat at most shows I've been to any way but these guys really had a good style. They were very old school speed metal with a bit of a NWOBHM flavor as well. I even got a bit of a Manowar feel as well which was pretty cool. For an opening act I really dug them.
Scars of Armageddon- I've known about these guys for a long time, since I did write ups for MHX Radio. However, I saw exactly how strong their following was Friday night. Holy shit these guys tore it up! They have extreme precision and are very catchy. They almost have a Helloween mixed with Dream Theater sound to me and I really dug it so I purchased their album. Definitely one of the best Chicago metal bands on the circuit.
Judas Rising- I felt a bit strange that cover band was opening this show as I don't usually see them play with anyone else other than well other cover bands. Needless to say these guys rocked and had a very fun attitude toward how they were playing. They didn't try and look EXACTLY like Priest well except the singer so it brought a flavor that these guys were having fun with it. It was a really fun set that featured some great cuts and they even featured Frank Gilchriest from Riot to play "Hell Bent For Leather".
Riot- Even though they now go by the name RIOT V because of the untimely passing of Mark Reale(rest in peace), I still prefer to call them Riot because it still feels a hundred percent genuine to me. When they opened with "Flight of The Warrior" they sounded like I would expect them too back in 88'. Todd Michael Hall just wow..,his voice is super unique because at his core he has a very over the top epic range but he is able to handle Rhett Forresters material as well(had to hold up the copy of Restless Breed I had on me when they played Hard Loving Man) as Guy Speranza era material as well. I only wish I could have heard a tune off of Born In America but it was still filled with cuts Riot have been known for as well as some more rare heard songs as well. I also want to point out that Nick Lee's fill in Lance Barnewold did a very stand up job and his soloing was very on point especially his solo in Fire Down Under which was a very big highlight. Of course Mike Flyntz and Donnie Van Stavern who are essentially the high profile members in the band at this point were very on point and just killed it.
Overall, it was definitely a highlight show of the year. I knew Riot would pull it off as I have been essentially obsessed with them since High School and I have always held them in regard to bands like Iron Maiden hell even AC DC who are my favorite of all time as most of you know. However, having such killer opening bands that kept the night from essentially having no dull moments really made it a show to never forget. Thank you to all the bands that played and thank you Riot for continuing Marks legacy and creating new music. Shine On!
Photo Credited to Riot
2 thumbs up ...
ReplyDeleteThankyou so very much for reading! It really was a great show, Riot are definitely on top of their game still
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