RIOT is a band name that makes every metalhead’s mind ring alert — in a positive way for sure. Many iconic musicians and bands listing them as an important influence, the New York City-born group has definitely paved the way for the hard ‘n’ heavy scene essentially. Their early musical steps — “Rock City” (1977),“Narita” (1979),“Fire Down Under” (1981) and “Restless Breed” (1982),to only name a few — made them grow fastly, following an artist development from hard rock to more metal sounds what resulted in their arguably most iconic record, “Thundersteel” (1988). The band’s path was unfortunately also marked by many strokes of fate which led to significant lineup changes. Especially the death of founding member Mark Reale made a big impact on the group and eventually Reale‘s “Thundersteel” bandmate and songwriting partner Don Van Stavern decided to continue the legacy and came up with an idea out of respect to add “V” (Roman numeral five) for the fifth chapter of the group as well as the recorded singer. 2013 was the year that RIOT V was born! The outfit kept writing and releasing music honoring their legacy — more successfully than ever before. The musical foundation titled “Unleash The Fire” was followed by another furious album that even made RIOT V hit the official German album chart for the very first time in their prominent history (“Armor Of Light” reached position No. 27).

“Mean Streets” track listing:
01. Hail To The Warriors
02. Feel The Fire
03. Love Beyond The Grave
04. High Noon
05. Before This Time
06. Higher
07. Mean Streets
08. Open Road
09. Mortal Eyes
10. Lost Dreams
11. Lean Into It
12. No More

RIOT V 2023 is:
Todd Michael Hall – vocals
Mike Flyntz – guitars
Nick Lee – guitars
Don Van Stavern – bass
Frank Gilchriest – drums