RIOT V, the band featuring members of legendary metal pioneers RIOT, has inked a deal with Atomic Fire Records. RIOT V‘s follow-up to 2018’s “Armor Of Light” album will arrive in early 2024.

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).

Van Stavern, who currently manages and handles affairs for the band, states: “Metal warriors, I’m pleased to announce that we have signed with the mighty Atomic Fire Records! Markus Wosgien and Flori Milz are not only label reps but friends and know our vision for the future of the band! We recorded in New York/Texas/Michigan, and mixed in New Jersey by Bruno Ravel (DANGER DANGER) who produced the comeback ‘Immortal Soul’ and mastered in Germany by Bart Gabriel. Look for the new release in early 2024 as we just finished it as we speak and it will be another crusher!”

Atomic Fire Records A&R Markus Wosgien raves: “We’re incredibly proud to re-unite with RIOT V! After parts of our team had been working on their ‘Armor Of Light’ campaign, we’re even happier that the band have decide to continue their path with the same crew. RIOT V are definitely one of the greats and only get better with age, although they’ve released so many true classics throughout their long-time career, starting in 1976, my year of birth. It’s a special magic connecting Donnie, Mike, Todd, Frank and Nick that actually makes every new record a milestone of the group’s history, and in my opinion, they’re one of the very best heavy metal acts of all time which is set to deliver yet another excellent opus with their upcoming album.”

Hardly any other metal act has such a long and absorbing history behind it. Since the quintet formed in 1975, they have been hit by several severe strokes of fate during their long career. Three deceased members — Rhett Forester (R.I.P. 1994),Guy Speranza (R.I.P. 2003) and Mark Reale (R.I.P. 2012) — have left their mark on the four decades of RIOT‘s band history.

After the death of Mark Reale and the departure of Tony Moore, Todd Michael Hall (from Michigan),completed the lineup of RIOT, which changed its name to RIOT V and moved forward under the auspices of the two long-term members and main songwriters Donnie van Stavern (bass) and Mike Flyntz (guitar).

Many artists name-check RIOT as an important influence of their musical career and have paid tribute to the power metal godfathers on multiple occasions. The list is long and includes several well-known acts such as HAMMERFALL (“Flight Of The Warrior”), LUCA TURILLI’S RHAPSODY (“Thundersteel”), AXEL RUDI PELL (“Warrior”) and newcomers such as NIGHT DEMON (“Road Racin'”), ALPHA TIGER (“Flight Of The Warrior”), SAVAGE MASTER (“Swords And Tequila”) and STALLION (“Rock City”).

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