Review Summary: Gone but never forgotten
As a longtime Quiet Riot fan, it can be extremely hard to find someone to talk to about the one-hit-wonder group that made Metal history back in 1983. For me, Quiet Riot always put out quality albums, but it never resulted in sales. As albums came out, and time went by, Quiet Riot eroded from popularity, but I never forgot.
I remember when I was at an old, local store back in 2004 with my mom. My mom was looking to buy a couple of Kenny G records and said I could pick an album for myself as well. I looked on the shelves, bored out of my mind because I had no idea who any of these acts were. Then I saw a small album tucked away in the corner near the back of the store. It was
Guilty Pleasures by Quiet Riot. I don't quite know why I wanted it so bad, but nevertheless I convinced my mom to buy it for me. I remember listening to it and being downright amazed by what I heard. From those heavy guitar riffs to Kevin DuBrow's eccentric vocals and crazy drumming from Frankie Banali. I have been a fan ever since.
I didn't know Kevin DuBrow had died until about 2010, but I was extremely saddened when I heard about it. I then looked up and found out that Banali announced that Quiet Riot was officially over, making matters worse. Then, in 2014, something happened. Frankie Banali had done a complete 180 and announced that Quiet Riot had reformed with Jizzy Pearl handling vocal duties and a new album on the way. To say I was excited was an understatement. Sure, it wasn't the same without DuBrow, but any true fan would know that DuBrow wasn't the only one who made Quiet Riot what it was.
The album itself was short and sweet, containing six new studio tracks and four live tracks recorded before DuBrow's death back in '07. The first track
Rock In Peace was a Hard Rock track with some excellent vocals from Jizzy, who brings the same manic screeching vocals that DuBrow brought back in the day. Banali's drumming is also very good, with tracks like
Bang For Your Buck and
Band Down featuring great tempo and percussion rhythms. The one major flaw in this album though is in its sound quality. To be completely fair, Quiet Riot barely had a budget to work with, but that doesn't take away the fact that the sound quality is less than stellar.
My personal favorite track is
Backside of Water, an insane Heavy Metal track featuring pulsing drums, scratchy guitar riffs, and Jizzy going completely fucking ham on vocals. The lyrics are a bit cheesy, but it's Quiet Riot, so I expected such. Another glaring flaw on the album as well is that most of the tracks follow the same guidelines, making it hard to distinguish one song from another. Sure it keeps things consistent, but when most of the songs sound the same with very few differences, it can feel a bit redundant.
Quiet Riot's legacy isn't much. There aren't roves of fans going to reunion concerts, nobody's writing tribute articles for the band, and barely anyone is scowering the internet for upcoming Quiet Riot news. That's fine, but I refuse to forget. Quiet Riot was my God damned childhood, they defined my musical taste and were one of the first Heavy Metal bands I heard at such a young age. With
10 Banali reminds us what was left behind when Kevin DuBrow tragically passed in 2007; a band with heart, tenacity, and vigor.
10 is far from perfect, but I am not complaining, I'm just happy to listen to more Quiet Riot.
