1. Riot spra… Read Full Bio ↴There are multiple artists that perform under the name:
1. Riot sprang from the basement of Mark Reale's home in Brooklyn, NY in the summer of 1976. In 1977 they had recorded and released their first album "Rock City" for New York's Firesign Records. Able to to obtain various licensing deals throughout the world, "Rock City" quickly found an audience. Capitol Records quickly signed Riot, who soon entered the studio to record their second album "Narita" which would be released in 1979. It was in 1981, however, that Riot released what is considered by most fans to be the band's most definitive album "Fire Down Under".
Early History
Riot began when Kon-Tiki members Mark Reale (guitar) and Peter Bitelli (drums) recruited Phil Fiet (bass) and Guy Speranza (vocals) and recorded a four-track demo which they hoped would be included in a proposed compilation of new rock bands. While waiting for the project to get off the ground they added Steve Costello on keyboards.
Reale took the various demos to New York based producer Steve Loeb, who also owned Greene Street Recording Studio and the independent label Fire-Sign Records. Loeb turned down the compilation proposal but signed Riot. The band added second guitarist Louie Kouvais, replaced Fiet with Jimmy Iommi and recorded its debut album, Rock City. After a promising start and support slots with AC/DC and Molly Hatchet, the band were unable to maintain momentum, and were on the verge of breaking up for good by 1979.
In that year however, the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal took off, and the band came to the attention of Neal Kay who spread the word about them in Britain. British fans bought imported copies of Rock City which was recorded and produced by Steve Loeb and released on Loeb's Fire Sign Records. Encouraged, Loeb recorded the band's new album Narita. In the course of recording, Kouvaris was replaced by band roadie Rick Ventura.
Subsequent to a successful support of Sammy Hagar on his US Texas tour Capitol Records offered Riot a worldwide deal for Narita, mostly to support Hagar. Capitol and Hagar needed a harder, younger edge to associate with him, so Riot was chosen if they agreed to support Hagar on his UK tour. Hagar and Riot had a successful tour, but Riot was dropped by Capitol as soon as they were finished promoting Hagar.
Riot's management, Billy Arnell, Ezra Cook and producer Steve Loeb spent their last dollars remaining from the Capitol advance retaining important indie FM radio promotions to promote the Riot album. They put it on as many radio stations around the country as possible, thus raising the radio profile enough to where Capitol picked up their option for another record. And thus began Riot's biggest selling album titled Fire Down Under.
When the record was completed some months later, Capitol turned the record down calling it "commercially unacceptable" which put the band in contractual limbo. Capitol also refused to let the band out of the contract and insisted if the band wanted off Capitol, they would have to sue. A campaign was organized and financed by producer Steve Loeb and managers Ezra Cook and Billy Arnell with fans around the world, but especially in the UK where the fans picketed the offices of EMI Records. Finally Elektra Records worked things out with Capitol's Rupert Perry and signed Riot and immediately released Fire Down Under which then soared into the Billboard Top 100 chart.
Breakup and Resurrection
Singer Guy Speranza had difficulty melding his religious convictions with his role in the band and was replaced by Rhett Forrester (b. 22 September 1956 – d. 22 January 1994) for the next album, Restless Breed (1983). Though a striking frontman, any hope of a major breakthrough was sunk by a combination of Forrester's erratic behaviour on the road and a changing of the guard at Elektra. The next album, Born in America, (1984) was self- financed by Steve Loeb and was released on Quality Records, an independent Canadian label. Support melted away, leading to the band's disintegration.
After stints with his own band (Narita) and abortive reformations of Riot, Reale mended fences with producer Steve Loeb in New York. He kept Don Van Stavern from Narita on bass, recruited Bobby Jarzombek (1988 - 1999) on drums and Greene Street Studio Manager Dave Harrington brought in Tony Moore for vocals. A resurrected Riot was born. Loeb cut a four track demo at his Greene Street Studio in Soho NY and along with real estate maven turned rock manager Vince Perazzo brought the band to CBS Associated, who offered the band a worldwide deal. Resultant albums Thundersteel (1988) and Privilege of Power (1990) renewed fan interest around the world, particularly in Japan, where they maintained their strongest subsequent following.
The revived band was from then on dogged by continual personnel and record company changes. But, by virtue of Loeb's willingness to self finance every record that followed until his departure from the production chair in 1995, Riot was able to continue making records. All told, Loeb produced or co-produced 13 Riot albums in his 19 year association with Mark Reale and the different configurations of Riot. Reale continued to steer the band into the turn of the century, releasing albums roughly every couple of years.
Rhett Forrester was shot dead during a robbery in Atlanta Georgia in 1994, and original vocalist Guy Speranza died of pancreatic cancer in 2003.
On January 25, 2012, founding band member Mark Reale died of complications resulting from Crohn's disease at the age of 56. Immediately following his death, the band, featuring the "Thundersteel" lineup, performed several previously-booked east coast shows and the "70,000 Tons of Metal" cruise ship gig without him. A new Riot compilation was released following the shows, and at the request of Mark's father, the name "Riot" was put to rest. However, some former members of the "Thundersteel"-era lineup began work putting together a new band performing music in the same vein as Riot. The band was officially re-launched as "Riot V", the name alluding to the addition of Todd Michael Hall as the fifth official singer, replacing Moore. Van Stavern revealed that Moore had chosen not to continue with the band to spend more time with his family.
In 2014, Nick Lee, a former student at the guitar classes run by Flyntz, joined as the new co-lead guitarist for the band, replacing deceased Reale, and Frank Gilchriest rejoined the band in place of Jarzombek, who had quit the band to focus on his activities with Fates Warning. Their new album Unleash The Fire was released in Japan, under the name Riot, in August 2014. This is the band's first release since the death of Reale.
Todd Michael Hall said about the "V" letter: "The official name for the band is Riot V, but we do have this confusion with the Japanese release versus the European release. I was told that the Japanese record label considered the release to be a continuation of the previous contract with "Riot", so they did not want to use the V"
2. Composing of Tom Davidson & Daniel Magid, is a duo of dubstep producers based in Los Angeles, California. They were originally from Israel.
They have released songs on Monstercat, Dim Mak and Insomniac records.
Altar Of The King
Riot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Through the fire and the light.
I hold my sword up,
Lightning, it strikes out.
Reach for the light,
Fight for my life.
A mystery 'till we meet,
The fountain of the king.
To the altar of the king.
To the altar of the king.
Evenings burning skies,
Reflects upon my eyes.
Out in the distance,
Utopia, resistance.
The power and the glory,
Through wild woods calling.
Evil is flowing,
Its own justice, to the fight.
At the altar of the king.
To the altar of the king.
The altar of the king.
Ohhh, ohhh.
Faster and faster
To the altar of the king.
To the altar of the king.
To the altar of the king.
To the altar of the king.
I'm so near her,
Sight's so clearer.
Riding faster, riding faster.
Evil is calling me, yeah.
The lyrics to Riot's song "Altar of the King" paint a picture of a warrior's journey. The first verse describes the warrior rushing through the night with his sword raised, lightning striking around him as he fights for his life. He seeks out the "fountain of the king," but it remains a mystery until he finds it. The chorus repeats the idea of coming to the "altar of the king," which could represent a place of worship or the place where the king resides. The second verse adds more imagery of a burning sky and the warrior riding through a utopia, resisting the evil that flows around him. The chorus repeats again, building in intensity with the repetition.
The final lines of the song reveal that the warrior was seeking a woman, as he nears her sight grows clearer. However, he must fight and resist the evil that calls to him. The song creates a sense of tension and urgency with its fast-paced rhythm and repetitive lyrics. It could be interpreted as a metaphor for the journey of life, with the goal of reaching a higher power or finding love.
Line by Line Meaning
On the night,
In the darkness of the night,
Through the fire and the light.
Amidst both danger and hope,
I hold my sword up,
I raise my weapon,
Lightning, it strikes out.
Thunderbolts electrify my fight.
Reach for the light,
I strive for salvation,
Fight for my life.
I struggle to survive.
A mystery 'till we meet,
The solution hidden until the encounter,
The fountain of the king.
The source of royalty's power.
To the altar of the king.
Towards the religious temple of the monarch.
To the altar of the king.
Towards the sacred space of the sovereign.
To the altar of the king.
Towards the holy site of the ruler.
Evenings burning skies,
The red-hued sky of evening,
Reflects upon my eyes.
Mirrored in my eyes.
Out in the distance,
Far in the horizon,
Utopia, resistance.
An imagined perfect world, a challenge to overcome.
The power and the glory,
The strength and splendor,
Through wild woods calling.
Summoned by the untamed forest.
Evil is flowing,
Malevolence is spreading,
Its own justice, to the fight.
Its self-created retribution to the battle.
At the altar of the king.
In front of the monarch's sanctified space.
To the altar of the king.
Towards the sacred area of the ruler.
The altar of the king.
The revered site of the leader.
Ohhh, ohhh.
Vocals expressing emotion.
Faster and faster
Increasing speed,
To the altar of the king.
Towards the holy location of the sovereign.
To the altar of the king.
Towards the revered space of the ruler.
To the altar of the king.
Towards the monarch's dignified site.
To the altar of the king.
Towards the holy area of the leader.
I'm so near her,
I am almost there,
Sight's so clearer.
My vision becoming more definite.
Riding faster, riding faster.
Speeding up my journey.
Evil is calling me, yeah.
Malevolence beckoning me forward.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: GUY SPERANZA, MARK REALE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Shishapangma 59
Great Masterpiece, without doubt !
Up all The Riot's !
All the Band, was incredible. Mark Reale, and Guy Speranza, will never dies.
Keep The Metal Flame, Alive ! 🤘🤘☝️
Stay metal !
Lucio - from Switzerland
K
Larry Cañonga
On the night,
Through the fire and the light.
I hold my sword up,
Lightning, it strikes out.
Reach for the light,
Fight for my life.
A mystery 'till we meet,
The fountain of the king.
To the altar of the king.
To the altar of the king.
To the altar of the king.
Evenings burning skies,
Reflects upon my eyes.
Out in the distance,
Utopia, resistance.
The power and the glory,
Through wild woods calling.
Evil is flowing,
Its own justice, to the fight.
At the altar of the king.
To the altar of the king.
The altar of the king.
Ohhh, ohhh.
Faster and faster
To the altar of the king.
To the altar of the king.
To the altar of the king.
To the altar of the king.
I'm so near her,
Sight's so clearer.
Riding faster, riding faster.
Evil is calling me, yeah.
sharpclay
Incredible group. Heard this album at a party in the early 80's and I was hooked. Bought this one and found Narita a few months later. Hardly anyone knew who they were back then ....... it was fun to watch the reactions of people hearing them for the first time. Everyone was blown away and wanted to know who they were. Its sad that the band did not get better marketing exposure and distribution.
Frank Mejias
It still is
1wervenom
Tears almost come to my eyes when I think about the 80s and this music that was in it. Man did I have fun....too much fun, can`t even believe I made it to 50. GREAT SONG, GREAT ALBUM!
Alan Valdivia
1wervenom are you 53 now?
Animal
All times
thomas jørgensen
Still to this Day 0509....2020 .....EPIC soul savoir ....never surrender🤘🤘🏿🤘🤘🏿🤘🤘🏿🤘🤘🏿❤️🤘🏿
Kenny Nordman
theres not a bad song on this whole album, one of my favorites
sharpclay
I been a Riot fan since 81. They are one of the best kept secrets in Rock n Roll and never got the credit they deserved.
john killen
Me too , I was 18 , I feel like I'm 18 again !
cstomp1
A rare album with not an ounce of filler. Great start to finish.