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Riot V > Nightbreaker > Reviews > hells_unicorn
Riot V - Nightbreaker

Breaking the Night Apart. - 95%

hells_unicorn, January 19th, 2007

Riot is, by default, an underrated and underappreciated band. They’ve overseen 30 years of evolution in the metal genre and have weathered every storm and backlash visited upon metal with such a stalwart vigor that it would make even such true metal acts as Manowar and Virgin Steele humble in their presence. They were at the forefront of the NWOBHM, despite being from New York, and beat both Rainbow and Judas Priest for the prize of composing the first double bass driven speed metal song. But their true power would not be tested until the time in which metal was on the verge of a massive decline, the grunge dominated 1990s.

1994 was the last frail gasp for metal in America, at least in the musical sense. Aside from Dio. Black Sabbath, MegaDeth, and a few others everybody was jumping on the groove bandwagon or diving back into the underground to explore the darker side of music in the Death Metal scene. By contrast, Riot would recruit a new vocalist and pump out a metal classic that rivaled the high octane comeback album “Thundersteel”.

“Nightbreaker” is an unapologetic hold over from the glory days of the 80s traditional metal scene, it has a good sense of variety to it but it doesn’t seek innovation at the cost of quality. You have heavy rock tracks such as “Soldier” and “Medicine Man” which scream early 80s Judas Priest. There is a good collection of slower riff monsters such as “Magic Maker” and “Babylon” that sound like the glory days of acts such as Accept and the Scorpions. Mid-tempo crushers such as “Burn” and “Outlaw” have some interesting surprises to it, the latter having an extended acoustic jam followed by a Van Halen inspired set of riffs, the former going in a Deep Purple/Rainbow direction and highlighting an excellent job by the drummer.

Things get a bit more experimental with “A whiter shade of pale”, which has an anthem-like atmosphere and actually may have been the source of inspiration for Freedom Call’s “The Wanderer” off the Crystal Empire album. “In your eyes” is a somber sounding love ballad with the stereotypical electric piano verses followed by a hard edged chorus, it’s a bit cliché, but it’s still good. The bonus track “Faded Hero” is a sort of epic ballad that has some interesting twists and turns, definitely a highlight of the album.

However, despite the large collection of great songs so far, Riot’s true strength is found in its faster songs. You’ve got a great cooker with an infectiously catchy chorus in “Destiny”, and an equally aggressive yet more politically charged lyrically driven fast track in “Silent Scream”. But the best one of the bunch is the title track, it’s got all of the attributes of the best tracks off of Thundersteel, yet Mike DiMeo’s vocal interpretation is a bit more varied in the range department, while Tony Moore’s vocals tended to stay up in the stratosphere.

In conclusion, this is an album that refused to conform to its time and like the other releases that followed it is consistent in its delivery. If you are cut from the traditional metal fold, this album is definitely a lost treasure worth seeking out. Fans of Power Metal who liked Thundersteel are also encouraged to pick this one up, as are fans of Gamma Ray, Freedom Call, Primal Fear, Iron Savior, Firewind and Falconer. Its production quality is a bit dated and the spirit of the 80s is heavily present, but it is definitely worth the price