History
Riot was formed in the summer of 1975 by guitarist Mark Reale with vocalist Guy Speranza, second guitarist Louie "L.A." Kouvaris, bassist Phil Feit and drummer Peter Bitelli. [1] During sessions for the group's debut album Rock City at the end of 1976, Feit was replaced by Jimmy Iommi, who completed the recording. [1] The band toured in promotion of the release throughout 1977 and 1978, before Kouvaris left during the writing of the band's sophomore album towards the end of the year. [2] He was replaced by Rick Ventura, who completed the writing and recording of 1979's Narita . [3] Before the album was released in the summer of 1979, Iommi and Bitelli were dismissed from Riot, with Feit returning on bass and Sandy Slavin taking over on drums. [1] Feit was replaced by Kip Leming in the summer of 1980. [1]
The band released its third album Fire Down Under in 1981, before Speranza left at the end of the year and departed the music business completely. [1] Shortly into the next year, Riot replaced Speranza with Rhett Forrester, who debuted on Restless Breed in the spring. [4] This was followed by Born in America the next year, before the group eventually disbanded after difficulties with its management and record label, performing a final show in May 1984. [1] Reale, the sole remaining original member of the band, reformed Riot in early 1986 after relocating to San Antonio, Texas and briefly working under the name Narita. [1] Alongside Reale, Slavin and new bassist Don Van Stavern was former Jag Panzer vocalist Harry Conklin, [5] who performed one show before Forrester returned for a brief second spell.
By late 1986, Riot had returned to New York, and Forrester and Slavin had been replaced with Tony Moore and Mark Edwards, respectively. [6] During 1987, Edwards was replaced by former Juggernaut drummer Bobby Jarzombek, who completed work on the 1988 album Thundersteel . [7] This four-piece lineup also recorded The Privilege of Power in 1989, before Mike Flyntz joined as second guitarist before a Japanese tour at the end of the year. [8] Shortly after The Privilege of Power's early 1990 release, Pete Perez replaced Van Stavern on bass, with the new lineup releasing Riot in Japan – Live!! from the subsequent tour. [9] By 1992, Moore had been replaced by Mike DiMeo. [10] This lineup recorded 1993's Nightbreaker and four tracks for 1995's The Brethren of the Long House , before Jarzombek left. [11]
John Macaluso completed work on The Brethren of the Long House, before Jarzombek returned in time for the recording of Inishmore in 1997. [11] Shine On and Sons of Society followed, before Jarzombek was hired for Halford in early 2000. [11] [12] He was replaced by Pat Magrath for European touring in 2000. [13] The next year, Bobby Rondinelli joined for the recording of Through the Storm , which was released in 2002. [10] After a short hiatus, Riot returned in October 2003 with new drummer Frank Gilchriest of Virgin Steele. [14] The new lineup recorded Army of One that year, although it remained unreleased until 2006. [15] In the meantime, Riot performed with bassist Randy Coven in place of Perez for two shows – the first in August 2004, the second in February 2005 at a Spanish festival. [16]
Riot's performance at Atarfe Vega Rock in February 2005 also saw the debut of a new singer, Mike Tirelli, who was said to be a temporary replacement for DiMeo while he was working with his new band, the Lizards. [17] In April that year, it was reported that DiMeo had "officially left" the band, although this announcement was reversed just a few days later. [18] Despite this, the group continued to perform with Tirelli as their frontman throughout 2006 and 2007. [19] After a short break, Riot announced in December 2008 that the Thundersteel lineup of Tony Moore, Mark Reale, Mike Flyntz, Don Van Stavern and Bobby Jarzombek had reformed, with recording and touring planned for the next year. [20] Moore left again a year later, but returned in September 2010 as they continued writing and recording. [21]
Immortal Soul was released in 2011, before founding and sole constant member Mark Reale died on January 25, 2012. [22] The band had played its final few booked shows of the month without Reale, "at the strong urging of [his] family". [23] The remaining members of Riot teased a continuation of the group following Reale's death, eventually returning in November 2013 with new vocalist Todd Michael Hall, under the name Riot V. [24] The rest of the lineup returned from the last incarnation, before Nick Lee was added on guitar and Jarzombek was replaced by returning drummer Frank Gilchriest, both in January 2014. [25] This lineup has remained intact ever since, releasing the studio albums Unleash the Fire in 2014 and Armor of Light in 2018. [26]
