Artist: Riot City
Title: Electric Elite
Genre: Heavy Metal / Speed Metal
Release Date: 14th October 2022
Label: No Remorse Records
Album Review
If I should name one band to fill my heart with hope and the eternal flame of heavy metal when my thoughts are bleak and my days were long and exhausting it would be RIOT CITY. The first record ‘Burn The Night’ was one of the very best of pre-pandemic 2019, shining bright as the last moments of a dying star but after they decided to exchange their dope ass vocalist for mostly unknown Jordan Jacobs things escalated when it comes to batshit crazy bad-assery. Jordan hits the really high notes, those who are far above of some of the better vocalists in heavy metal (Eric Adams anyone?). So back to the new output, the first one with new stuff and Jordan on vocals. To describe this music, the songwriting and the pure epicness of what these Canadians sound like almost escapes my grasp on words. The overall attitude is a 100% JUDAS PRIEST while Jordan’s vocals remind me constantly of MANOWAR’s Eric Adams, the US Metal elements and the catchiness is clearly inspired by RIOT while the vocal escalations and the sometimes-complex arrangements and musical plot twists make me think of bands like ENFORCER and HAUNT.
When it comes to the songwriting there is a clear pattern: most of this material is up-tempo and more on the Speed Metal side of things, when the band hits the breaks, you can bet your ass it is getting as melodic as the definition allows. Tracks like ‘Return Of The Force’ for example just go forward and I mean FAST! But even if the band almost always puts the pedal to the metal, they always deliver their songs in a very melodic way. To point out single tracks is very hard because this feels like the best of parties, with great moments to be shared and conversations to be had and just like this it is almost impossible to pick a favourite moment. Aside from that I really love ‘Severed Ties’ because this unites all mentioned influences and adds a little bit of 80s HELLOWEEN and Michael Kiske vibe to the, already awesome, mix. On top of that ‘Severed Ties’ has one of the best vocal lines of the last five years which is a heavy statement in the times of bands like SEVEN SISTERS. You really should just blindly buy this it is a masterpiece...
Tracklist
01. Eye Of The Jaguar
02. Beyond The Stars
03. Tyrant
04. Ghost Of Reality
05. Return Of The Force
06. Paris Nights
07. Lucky Diamond
08. Severed Ties
Line-up
Jordan Jacobs – Vocals
Cale Savy – Guitars
Roldan Reimer – Guitars
Dustin Smith – Bass
Chad Vallier – Drums
Website
https://www.facebook.com/RIOTCITYOFFICIAL / https://riotcityofficial.bandcamp.com
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 10
Sound: 10
Total: 10 / 10
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