Armor of Light

In many ways, Riot's most devoted fans often agree to say that this band is dreadfully misjudged. Founders of the power metal genre for some, main vector of heavy metal between Occident and Japan for the others, this band swept such a great amount of traditional genres that it is quite complicated to stick them one unique identity: typical American hard rock with "Rock City" or "Born in America", speed/power with "Thundersteel" and the more modern releases, folk aspects with "The Brethren of the Long House" or "Inishmore"... But one common point lasts: everywhere Riot passes, Riot successes. The albums go on without disappointing the fans, in spite of the decades going by, thus forging to the band a solid reputation. But without for all that Riot isn't indifferent to time and the decease of Mark Reale in 2012 let the band in trouble: should they carry on without him, or split up like others do at the loss of their frontman? They chose the first option, hoping the upcoming albums would please the fans, while slightly modifying their name to "Riot V" (the Roman number, not the letter). And still today with Armor of Light, Riot V prove once again that they act more like an excellent tribute-band to themselves, honoring this way the memory of Mark Reale.

Fortified by their first album Unleash the Fire, the members of Riot V sustained their momentum four years later with Armor of Light that one could rename "Thundersteel II". Indeed, the album takes us back in many aspects to this speed/power sonority that made the biggest hours of glory of the band, back in 1988. Almost six songs out of twelve (without the bonuses) feature constant double-kick pedal, and all of them contain at least one solo and a powerful scream from the singer, which leads us to this conclusion: if Riot succeeded, it's also thanks to the musicians (more or less new) that were able to understand and reuse perfectly the methods and the codes of composition of the music, imposed by their predecessors. Todd Michael Hall, who sings since Unleash the Fire, manages very often to reach high-pitched notes with a notable strength and to keep them for a long time. Let's quote for this point "Victory", "Messiah", "Angel's Thunder" and "Armor of Light" for the most obvious examples. The guitars aren't to be undone, especially the soloist. Among them, Mike Flyntz, member since 1989 and who had time to assimilate the core of the band in order to lead the others musicians. It's the same with the bassist Don Von Stavern, the oldest member, who joined the band in 1986. We feel then that all these years spent among Riot's ranks borne fruit: we notice in this album at least one remarkable solo by song, sometimes almost neoclassic like in "Burn the Daylight" or "Armor of Light". As for the riffs, they manage to be diversified without being off-topic, building that way a guiding principle.

I said in the beginning that Riot already swept every single traditional metal genre through its existence: as a faithful tribute-band, Armor of Light does the same. There are plentiful of winks to the band's previous works. The opener "Victory", just as the eponymous track, "End of the World" or "Ready to Shine" feature a ton of melodic guitar leads, sustained by a constant-pattern drumming that reminds the most traditional European power metal possible. The most example would be the track "Messiah" where everything, from the main riff to the chorus, reminds of the famous song "Thundersteel". However, the band doesn't neglect its rock origins with the songs "Caught in the Witche's Eyes", maybe the song that let me the most dubious because of strange decisions like the fact to put trumpets on the pre-chorus... But it's just a question of taste. While talking about American hard rock influences, one must also point out songs like "Angel's Thunder" or "Burn the Daylight", where we would swear that the main riff comes from "Narita" or "Rock City". A quite interesting fact, from such hard rock-like riffs, the band still manages to create a chorus that really sounds power metal, which confirms the ease with which the band juggles from one genre to another. Another wink, more discreet this time, could lie in the song "San Antonio". If the lyrics praise the benefits of the Texan city, the fact that the band chose this place instead of another could lie in the fact that it is the place where Mark Reale died...

Actually, Riot V distinguish themselves because their album sounds way more European power metal than any other American power metal bands try to do, with all of these melodies and these double-kicks. As for Armor of Light, it appears to be an excellent mix of everything that Riot succeeds in, without eclipsing any instrument: the voice offer powerful screams and memorable chorus, the guitars bring superb riffs that don't sweat the lack of inspiration, the drumming never stays in the background and the bass even takes time for itself like at the beginning of "Angel's Thunder".

It is hard to get bored of this "Armor of Light" so much the songs are different and where it is hard to create proper boxes. We could almost make a track-by-track review so much each song has something different to offer: songs like "Victory", "End of the World", "Messiah", "Armor of Light" and "Ready to Shine" are clearly europower-headed, "Angel's Thunder", "Burn the Daylight", "San Antonio" and "Caught in the Witche's Eyes" sound more like an old hard rock tune and "Raining Fire" and "Heart of a Lion" are clearly darker and more aggressive. An interesting melting pot made by quite young members in the band's history, that let think that Riot still has a bright future in spite of his age.

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