On Wednesday, January 24, 2018 the metal community gathered to Anaheim for the Hall of Heavy Metal History induction ceremony. Cult New York heavy metal band and godfathers of power metal RIOT V was inducted alongside BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward, DREAM THEATER keyboardist Jordan Rudess, bass virtuoso Billy Sheehan, and other metal royalty for their contributions and influence on the community.
"I am honored and psyched to be inducted into this years Heavy Metal History Hall of Fame with RIOT!" comments Don Van Stavern. "The 30-plus year in existence is a testament to the longevity of a band through the fans love of our music. I am also honored to be inducted with legendary musicians like Bill Ward from BLACK SABBATH, Carmen Appice and of course last year's recipients the greats Lemmy, Randy Rhoads and Dio and that's an honor and award itself!"
Today, the band revealed that they will release their 16th album entitled, »Armor Of Light«, on April 27th via Nuclear Blast. The album was produced by Chris "The Wizard" Collier (METAL CHURCH, FLOTSAM & JETSAM, SLIPKNOT, KORN a.o.), while the cover artwork was created by Mariusz Gandzel (CRYSTAL VIPER a.o.).
The new songs promises to please fans of the »Thundersteel«-era of RIOT, as main song writer and long time Mark Reale music collaborator Don Van Stavern undertakes a lot of the writing as he did on »Thundersteel,« »The Privilege Of Power« and the latest offering »Unleash The Fire«.
Don van Stavern adds:
"This next offering will please long time fans and create new ones, as the material is fresh and power metal at its finest."
Stay tuned for more information on »Armor Of Light«.
Since their legendary debut album »Rock City« (1977), RIOT has released numerous heavy metal classics, including »Fire Down Under« (with classics like 'Swords And Tequila'), their masterpiece »Thundersteel« (1988), and the unforgotten »The Privilege Of Powe« (1990).
After the death of Mark Reale and the departure of Tony Moore, Todd Michael Hall (from Michigan, USA), completed the line-up of the band, which in the meantime performed under the name of RIOT V under the auspices of the two long term members and main songwriters Donnie van Stavern (bass) and Mike Flyntz (guitar). With the critically acclaimed »Unleash The Fire« (2014), a pure power metal jewel once again underlined the musical importance and influence of the quintet.
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').