RIOT – Army Of One [Bonus Edition digipak reissue] (2017)

Metal Blade Records has just released “Army Of One [Bonus Edition]“, a digipak reissue of one of RIOT‘s modern-era best albums. Founded by the late, talented guitarist Mark Reale, Riot started in the late Seventies as a classic hard rock band, over the years evolving to a more traditional heavy metal style.
But “Army Of One”, originally released in 2006 by AOR / Metal Heaven Records, is a special album in their discography where the band returned to a rootsy hard rock sound mixed with ’90s oriented melodic hard rock.

And it’s not strange to hear this new sonic approach with Danger Danger’s Bruno Ravel producing, engineering and mixing the whole “Army Of One”.
Ravel also play keyboards, and brought former TNT vocalist Tony Harnell for harmony / backing vocals.
Yeah, Riot’s “Army Of One”, for the most part, sounds like a mix of Danger Danger circa Four The Hard Way (one of my favorite DD albums) and TNT.

Additionally, a hear traces of Westworld, the excellent melodic hard rock band formed by Mark Reale, Tony Harnell and Bruno Ravel few years before this recording, so you can see the connection.
On lead vocals there’s the great Mike Dimeo (later in Masterplan) but here adapting his style to the melodic nature of the album, and he does wonders.
Yeah, there’s a couple o metallic tracks like opening, title track ‘Army Of One’ in the vein of modern Rainbow or Axel Rudi Pell, but this CD is mostly melodic hard rock.

Just check follower ‘Knockin’ at My Door’, pure 2000’s like Danger Danger or TNT tune, with lots of harmony vocals and a midtempo pace. Great song.

And this continues with ‘Blinded’, atrack that bring to mind Jeff Scott Soto’s Talisman, ‘One More Alibi’ akin Phenomena, ‘It All Falls Down’ Tommy Denander’s Prisoner, while ‘Helpin’ Hand’ is a power ballad with again, Danger Danger on it.

Continuing on with the album, the only other speedy track picks up the second half of the album, ‘The Mystic’. It’s a punchy hard rocker with lots of attitude and energy where Reale shows off some his best licks during this track.
From here, Riot again brings out it’s more melodic side with ‘Still Alive’, and the excellent bluesy midtempo hard rocker ‘Alive in the City’ in the Whitesnake vein and where DiMeo sounds a lot like David Coverdale.

‘Shine’ is next, and it combines the best of both worlds with some very melodic guitar work placed over charging drum work. ‘Darker Shade of Light’ is another great compostion blending modern day Danger Danger, modern day Whitesnake, and even some ’80s Dio in the vocal phrasing. Outstanding song.
As bonus track on this reissue we have Riot’s classic ‘Road Racin’ recorded live in Japan in a extended version, and a different version of “Still Alive’.

Criminally ignored when originally released, this is a really welcomed reissue of Riot’s “Army Of One”, a rocking album plenty of melody and energy at the same time.
Highly Recommended

01 – Army of One
02 – Knockin’ at My Door
03 – Blinded
04 – One More Alibi
05 – It All Falls Down
06 – Helpin’ Hand
07 – The Mystic
08 – Still Alive
09 – Alive in the City
10 – Shine
11 – Stained Mirror
12 – Darker Side of Light
Bonus Tracks:
13 – Road Racin’ (Live in Japan)
14 – Still Alive (Rough Mix)

Mike Dimeo – Vocals, Organ
Mark Reale – Guitars
Mike Flyntz – Guitars
Pete Perez – Bass
Frank Gilchriest – Drums
with:
Bruno Ravel (Danger Danger) – Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Tony Harnell (ex TNT) – Backing Vocals
Produced, Engineed and Mixed by Bruno Ravel

BUY IT !
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