The band Riot Act has released their new album, “Closer To The Flame” (April 1, 2022) on Global Rock Records. By Milwaukee Tom
Riot Act is the band that had featured former Riot members Rick Ventura on Guitar and fellow original Riot guitarist Lou Kouvaris. Sadly, Lou passed away in March of 2020. After a period of uncertainty, the band decided to carry on… and that is good news for us!
The band’s roster is Rick Ventura - Guitar, Don Chaffin - Vocals, Paul Ranieri - Bass and Claudio Galinski on Drums. They’re primarily a New York based band, Claudo is Argentinian but is located in New York, and the 3 other members are originally from the New York area.
“Closer To The Flame” features 10 original Tracks that clock in at around 37 minutes. There is also a 2nd disc/side of 12 re-recorded Riot Tracks from Riot’s first 3 albums, such as “Rock City,” “Road Racin” and “Swords and Tequila.” And those re-recordings are very good.
On to the new Tracks…
This is a straight ahead, hard rock album with most of the Songs being mid to up-tempo. The Tracks are shorter and to the point, there aren’t any long, drawn out boring Tracks here. Quite the opposite. These are catchy, really good songs that will keep you interested throughout the entire album. There’s a slower Song - “Almost There,” and a faster Track, “Right Between The Eyes,” for a bit of a change up. The other standouts like “Straight For Your Heart” and “Rock Love and Roll,” kick it into high gear. This is a real good album and all the players do a great job. There are times when Don’s voice sounds quite similar to the original lead singer of Riot, Guy Speranza. But it isn’t a forced thing, Don’s an excellent vocalist in his own right. And, if you like bass guitar, you’re going to like this album. The bass is immense, and Paul is a monster player. Claudio and of course Rick, add their great playing to create a very good, catchy, straight ahead hard rock album. Well done guys!
7.5 Rating out of 10.
Track Listing:
01. Closer To The Flame
02. Wanted
03. Straight For Your Heart
04. Smoking Gun
05. Almost There
06. Stand Or Fall
07. Love Come Round
08. Angelina
09. Right Between The Eyes
10. Rock Love And Roll
CD2 - Classic Riot songs (re-recorded):
01. Rock City
02. 49er
03. Swords And Tequila
04. Overdrive
05. No Lies
06. Tokyo Rose
07. Warrior
08. Don’t Hold Back
09. White Rock
10. Outlaw
11. Road Racing
12. Altar Of The King