» Edit Band Information
» Edit Albums
» Add a Review
» Add an Album
» Add MP3
» Add News | Quiet Riot
Hard Rock |
For a very brief moment, Quiet Riot was a rock & roll phenomenon. Famously described as the first heavy metal band to top the pop chart (a
claim that greatly depends on one's exact definition of heavy metal), the Los Angeles quartet became an overnight sensation thanks to their
monster 1983 smash album Metal Health. But Quiet Riot's road to success had in fact been long and arduous, and when their star power
subsequently began to fade, their fall from grace was ironically accelerated by the man who was most responsible for taking them to the top:
singer Kevin DuBrow. Unable to suppress his ...read more
For a very brief moment, Quiet Riot was a rock & roll phenomenon. Famously described as the first heavy metal band to top the pop chart (a
claim that greatly depends on one's exact definition of heavy metal), the Los Angeles quartet became an overnight sensation thanks to their
monster 1983 smash album Metal Health. But Quiet Riot's road to success had in fact been long and arduous, and when their star power
subsequently began to fade, their fall from grace was ironically accelerated by the man who was most responsible for taking them to the top:
singer Kevin DuBrow. Unable to suppress his infamous motor mouth from assaulting many of Quiet Riot's peers, DuBrow gradually alienated
his fans and fellow musicians, and in the face of plummeting record sales, faced the iniquity of being fired from his own band. The dust
eventually settled and DuBrow was able to resurrect Quiet Riot in the 1990s, but despite their best efforts, the once chart-topping band
would remain forever exiled to the fringes of pop conscience, and what might once have been a full chapter in rock history has instead
become little more than a footnote.
The story of Quiet Riot begins with vocalist Kevin DuBrow and guitarist Randy Rhoads, who started the band in 1975 after disbanding an
earlier project named Violet Fox, and completed their first lineup with bassist Kelli Garni and drummer Drew Forsyth. Along with local scene
contemporaries like Van Halen, Xciter, and London, the band thrilled audiences packing the L.A. nightclubs, but found it difficult to land a
record deal during the disco-dominated late '70s. Eventually securing a contract with Columbia Records in Japan, they recorded two
moderately successful albums -- a 1978 eponymous debut and 1979's Quiet Riot II, featuring new bassist Rudy Sarzo -- before losing
Rhoads (and later Sarzo) to Ozzy Osbourne's band (and later a tragic plane accident, rock & roll martyrdom, immortality, etc.). Quiet Riot
disbanded and DuBrow formed a new band under his own name, working with several musicians over the next few years before signing with
independent Pasha Records, reverting to the Quiet Riot moniker, and entering the studio with new guitarist Carlos Cavazo and bassist
Chuck Wright to start work on a new album. The year was 1982 and, following Randy Rhoads' well-documented demise, former henchman
Sarzo quit Ozzy, pushed Wright out of the way, and brought friend and drummer Frankie Banali into the fold to complete the lineup and
sessions for what would become 1983's Metal Health. Driven by the irresistible double whammy of the title track's muscular bassline
(reputedly played by Wright before his dismissal) and a raucous rendition of the old Slade chestnut "Cum on Feel the Noize," the album
stormed up the U.S. charts, duly reaching the number one spot and going platinum five times over in the process. Their unexpected success
shocked everyone, not least of which the bandmembers, who found it pretty hard to cope with sudden stardom and the pitfalls that came with
it.
Pressured to capitalize on their hot streak, Quiet Riot was rushed back into the studio to whip together 1984's Condition Critical, but
unsurprisingly, the album was little more than a weak carbon copy of Metal Health -- even sinking so low as to include another chart-ready
Slade cover in "Mama Weer All Crazee Now." Fans were unimpressed, and panic set in as the band watched the record quickly sliding off the
charts to make way for fresher, up-and-coming L.A. glam metal contenders like Mötley Crüe and Ratt. An incensed DuBrow went on a
rampage, incessantly slagging fellow metal bands, members of the press, and his own record company, in the process quite literally burning
most every bridge he'd worked so hard to build. The abusive behavior also began wearing on his band mates, and by the time they re.
grouped to launch a comeback with 1986's QR III, Sarzo was long gone (later joining Whitesnake) and had been replaced by former bassist
Chuck Wright, most recently working with Giuffria. A failed experiment in ultra-glossy '80s metal, QR III was a third-rate Hysteria
possessing none of its predecessor's blue-collar grit and became an even bigger flop, sending Quiet Riot into an irreversible tailspin.
Mounting tension resulted in an all-out band mutiny at tour's end, with DuBrow finding himself abandoned at the hotel in Hawaii, while the
remaining musicians and crew left on an earlier flight back to L.A. Furious, he watched in disbelief from the sidelines as Rough Cutt vocalist
Paul Shortino stepped into his shoes and recorded 1988's simply named Quiet Riot with Cavazo, Banali, and new bassist Sean McNabb. The
album's absolutely abysmal sales offered little consolation, and DuBrow finally gave up on diplomacy and filed an injunction against his
former colleagues (apparently he still owned rights to the name), successfully bringing Quiet Riot to a stuttering halt. Frankie Banali said
"good riddance" and jumped ship to join L.A. shock-metal kings W.A.S.P., while the remaining bandmembers went to ground.
Then, come 1991, DuBrow and Cavazo began working together once again in a band called Heat. In time, they began using the Quiet Riot
name once again, eventually recording 1993's Terrified with bassist Kenny Hillery and a returning Banali. Down to the Bone followed two
years later, and in 1997, a one-off performance at a party hosted by industrial shock rocker Marilyn Manson lured bassist Rudy Sarzo back
to the fold. With their classic lineup intact once again, a re-energized Quiet Riot hit the road playing clubs across America. Public response
was less than enthusiastic, however, and the band usually couldn't get arrested -- except for DuBrow, who spent a night in jail after a tour
stop in Charlotte, NC, where an irate fan had sued him for injuries sustained at a previous show. This and other roadside misadventures were
captured on 1999's optimistically named Alive and Well live album, and 2001 saw the release of Guilty Pleasures, the first recording by the
band's classic lineup in 17 years. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, said album wasn't able to capture lightning in a bottle for a second time,
and Quiet Riot quietly broke up shortly thereafter. Unwilling to put the band to rest, DuBrow and Banali recruited guitarist Neil Citron and
bassist Tony Franklin for the recording of Rehab in 2006. Sadly, at age 52, DuBrow's singing career was cut short. His body was found in his
Las Vegas apartment on Sunday, November 25, 2007. « hide |
Similar Bands: Krokus, Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, Ozzy Osbourne, Ratt
Contributors: rockandmetaljunkie, bigdctherock, Alex101, HenchmanOfSanta, Dave de Sylvia, AleksiS, Carnifex, Edwin,
|
