Riot
Restless Breed

A year after their third studio effort, released under the name "Fire Down Under," Riot released another essential album for fans of the '80s Hard n' Heavy scene: "Restless Breed."

The album indeed very well represents the typical characteristics of this genre, which brought many more famous artists to the forefront, gifting us with a fresh, varied, and inspired record. It also feeds listeners' doubts about why the band led by Mark Reale achieved much less success than other more renowned groups.

The biting "Hard Lovin' Man" is tasked with introducing the listener to the mood of the album, at least as far as the production, less aggressive and sharp than its predecessor in favor of a more Hard-Rock oriented sound. The other novelty is Rhett Forrester, a charismatic frontman making his first studio appearance with a non-amateur band, following Guy Speranza's departure. The warm and at times gritty voice of the new singer fits the album's sound very well from the get-go, presenting inspired vocal lines that are rarely over the top, contributing to the excellent success of the different album tracks.

Next up is "C.I.A", an excellent song characterized by Mark Reale's commendable guitar work and Forrester's alternating rough singing in the verses and clean and emotional in the chorus.

In third position finally comes the spectacular title track, probably the best song of the whole set, with the usual Reale churning out guitar riffs and solos worthy of the best guitarists of the period. The splendid introduction, the interlude halfway through the track, and Forrester's performance, which perhaps reaches its full expression here, are noteworthy. 

With "When I was Young" and "Loanshark", it's time to focus on the excellent work of the rhythm section marked by Leming (bass)/Slavin (drums). The first case is a successful cover of a song by the Animals driven by an almost epic gallop, while the second is a song with an almost syncopated rhythm in the verses, opposed to a more "regular" and stunning groove in the chorus, where I feel the need to highlight the performance of the whole group, particularly that of the earthquake-like (in this case) vocalist Forrester.

After passing the halfway point, we proceed on increasingly calm tracks, first with "Loved by You", a distinctly hard-rock song with a quieter interlude complete with harmonica, then with the intriguing "Over to You" and concluding with the ballad "Showdown," where Forrester's warm voice overshadows a splendid clean soundscape, over which Reale's sinuous guitar cries emerge, almost as if it were a secondary voice.

The dreamy (it could not be otherwise) "Dream Away" presents itself as particular and well-executed, while in the closing we find what is perhaps the most Heavy song of the lot. Completing the work is the brief yet earthquake-like "Violent Crimes", where everything becomes more powerful and faster thanks to the rhythm dictated by the Leming/Slavin pair and Reale's inevitable driven and decisive riffing, all crowned by Forrester's nth full-throated performance.

I would have liked to avoid such a track-by-track review, but I realize that, at least for me, it's very difficult to avoid when dealing with an album like this (as with many others, of course). This work is indeed characterized by a series of songs that may seem similar only after a superficial listen, but which reveal peculiarities through a more in-depth "key of reading" that differentiate them just enough to justify great appreciation from me and the band's various fans.

Rating 4 only because, to be objective, the band's best album probably remains "Thundersteel", but subjectively I can only recommend this album to anyone who delights in anything that approaches Hard Rock or Heavy Metal. Enjoy listening!