Quiet Riot's finest hour. After years of struggle, ups and downs, successes and failures, Quiet Riot finally made a truly great, cohesive, and complete album. Even in their breakthrough smash hit album Metal Health (1983), which contained such radio favorites "Metal Health (Bang Your Head)" and "Cum on Feel the Noize", they never managed to make a strong record from beginning to end. Inevitably it seems you'll run into a mediocre track or just some other filler. They would continue to decline in their subsequent recordings, Condition Critical and QR III respectively. While they were solid overall, they too contained great songs mixed in with forgettable ones. They hit rock bottom with a self-titled record in 1988 featuring Paul Shortino on vocals - and Quiet Riot without Kevin DuBrow is just not appealing.

     They surged back in the early 90s though - amidst a radically different music scene. The rock world, by 1993, was dominated by the grunge movement. Bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, and Soundgarden were changing the landscape and setting new precedents. Quiet Riot was a dinosaur by then, and instead of catering to the times, they rocked harder and made their best record yet. With Kevin DuBrow back in the fold, Terrified made for a thunderous return. It easily surpasses Metal Health as their finest work, and is a legitimately strong heavy metal album.

     From the opening confident thud of Frankie Banali's drums on "Cold Day In Hell", to the closing thrilling finale of "Resurrection", this is the closest thing to a masterpiece they have made. The album is full of catchy hooks, clever lyrics, biting melodies, a tremendous rythym section throughout, and terrific guitar work. Kevin DuBrow anchors the album with his charismatic delievery and really sells each song. There essentially are not weak points, as it roars all the way through and never lets up.

     Terrified can stand toe to toe with some of the more popular rock albums of the past few decades. I feel that by that point in their career, they needed to put their best foot forward because it was probably a now-or-never situation. For this album, they were signed by Moonstone Records (huh?), who are now apparently a defunct label. According to the liner notes, Quiet Riot was the first actual band to be signed to Moonstone, as they had only done soundtrack albums previously. So it seems someone finally gave them a shot and they certainly made the most of it.

     They finally matured here, but at the same time still exuding the rock and roll excess. It's the best of both worlds, treading the line between vulnerability and attitude. I highly recommend it to any rock fan out there. As far as I know, the album is no longer in print, but can still be found on eBay or half.com for a relatively low price. Additionally, I believe in 2002, Terrified was reissued with a new album cover and new moniker, called Cold Day In Hell. It was re-released in an attempt to jump on the band wagon as the original band lineup reunited at the beginning of the new millenium. Think about why it was reissued? Quiet Riot themselves must believe that this was their best work - they thought it was worth a second listen. Their finest hour.

TRACK HIGHLIGHTS:

"Cold Day In Hell"

"Loaded Gun"

"Terrified"

"Little Angel"

"Rude, Crude Mood"

"Dirty Lover"

"Psycho City"

-Kurt L.

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     Following their best album in their lengthy career (1993's obscure Terrified), the 1995 release Down to the Bone ultimately fails to continue Quiet Riot's rebirth. It certainly features some really strong and groovy songs but the overall package is rather weak. That certainly seems to be the trend with all of the records in Quiet Riots discography - a select few awesome songs that are surrounded by a heaping mess. I guarantee you if you packed all of the best songs of Quiet Riots career (not just a "greatest hits package" because they would absolutely ignore their 90s efforts) into one cohesive CD, then you'd have one terrific album.

     It's such a shame, but that's Quiet Riot's career was like. Greatness marred by medocrity. Rockin' tunes like "Wings of a Cloud" and "Trouble Again" and a respectable cover of the Kinks "All Day and All of the Night" are choked by the rest of the album which is nothing to rave about.

     I've always like Quiet Riot, and I can tell you that they truly do have some surprisingly good material - if it were only not buried underneath such garbage sometimes. Not to sound too harsh, but it's the way it is. Anyway, trust me when I tell you, the highlghts are worth a listen, just not the rest.

TRACK HIGHLIGHTS:

"Wings of a Cloud"

"Trouble Again"

"All Day and All of the Night"

-Kurt L.

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     With Rehab, which ultimately became their last release - due to lead singer Kevin DuBrow's untimely and tragic overdose induced death at age 52 - this is an album that isn't a tremendous departure from their previous work. It's basically what you expect it to be - a record filled with some party hard hair metal anthems, and a few rather catchy and hard hitting numbers. However, like most QR albums, they run out of steam after a while and burn out before the closing note is struck.

     Rehab does display some ambition - like in the bluesy "Old Habits Die Hard." It also features frustration, like in tracks "It Sucks To Be You", which is terrible. From the outset though, it hooks you right away with two of QR's best songs ever. "Free" displays a strength that harkens back decades - and Kevin DuBrow's voice didn't seem to age one bit either, he sounds great - the next song, "Blind Faith" is arguably one of their best songs in their entire catalog. It is  reflective, and it surely must speak on a very personal level for DuBrow - if you look at the lyrics, you'll likely see why. After that, there are a spot few others that are decent, but the latter half of the album is mostly forgettable.

     So is this album worth a listen? It is a difficult one to recommend considering its deep flaws. Frankly, the best advice if you are a big QR fan is to download "Free" and "Blind Faith" off iTunes and you can pretty much spare the rest, even the decent ones. Overall, Quiet Riot's final album is much like the rest of their work, it has its highs and its lows. It can wow and it can disappoint. In any case, Kevin DuBrow was a fine musician and it is a shame that his life was taken so young. May he Rest In Peace.

TRACK HIGHLIGHTS:

"Blind Faith"

"Free"

"South of Heaven"

"Old Habits Die Hard"

"Black Reign"

-Kurt L.

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     Following the early success of Quiet Riot, it seems that everything since their 1983 smash hit album Metal Health was a struggle. With their album sales and popularity tanking in the mid to late 80s, finally hitting rock bottom with the abysmal self-titled Quiet Riot in 1988 (the album that featured Paul Shortino on lead vocals), it seems that the 90s weren't any kinder to the heavy metal act. It seems that with each album Quiet Riot released in the 90s, it was distributed through a different record label. Be in Moonstone Records for the brilliant 1993 album Terrified (the best QR album in my opinion), or Kamikaze Records in 1995 for Down To The Bone, or in 1999 with Alive and Well by Cleopatra, there was a new label with each passing album. Why was this? What happened? These are questions that I simply cannot answer, but it is indeed a curious thought.

     As for Alive and Well, the album is just weak. Aside from Terrified, there aren't many flawless Quiet Riot albums to be heard. Alive and Well suffers from some incredibly bland song progression and utterly banal lyrics. Immature songs like "Slam Dunk (Way To Go!)" really drag this album down. "Angry" is another stinker. This record even includes an unsatisfying cover of AC/DC's "Highway to Hell."

     Two songs of the first nine new recordings are actually good. The opening track, "Don't Know What I Want" is vintage Quiet Riot and has a great hook and some really awesome and thunderous drums. "Overworked and Underpaid" is another solid effort. Unfortunately the rest is poor.

     The other saving grace of this album is the latter half of it which is comprised of re-recorded songs from the QR library. They re-record some of their best and most successful songs, and the new iterations are actually very impressive. I love the new iteration of the QR classic, "Don't Wanna Let You Go" with its refreshing acoustic approach. Also, "The Wild and The Young" is also a spirited re-recording that boasts a very enthusiastic and energetic sound. Other hits like "Cum on Feel the Noize" and "Metal Health (Bang Your Head)" are also a treat to hear all over again.

     These re-recorded tracks are a great addition and ultimately salvage what is otherwise a rather bad overall product. However, these re-recorded songs also serve as a reminder that QR's most popular and past material is eons better than the compositions on the rest of Alive and Well. I commend Quiet Riot though for including these re-recorded tracks. Frankly, I wish more bands would do that in their own newer albums. I'd love to hear Van Halen re-record "Runnin' With The Devil" or the Scorpions to re-record "Rock You Like A Hurricane", to use them as examples. The re-recording of certain songs can be construed as a compromise to the original versions, but I feel it's just a nice service for the fans.

     Alive and Well as a whole is something of a mixed bag. It has some very strong moments, be it the two solid new songs, or the new versions of QR classics. However, the rest of the package is marred with a directionless sense of songwriting and composition.

TRACK HIGHLIGHTS:

"Don't Know What I Want"

"Don't Wanna Let You Go 1999"

"The Wild And The Young 1999"

"Cum on Feel the Noize 1999"

"Metal Health (Bang Your Head) 1999"

"Overworked and Underpaid"

-Kurt L.

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     This album is atrocious! It is amazingly bland and boring and the production is dull and muddled. I know Quiet Riot before the release of this 1988 bomb were never truly the most gifted of song-writers, but were capable enough for the most part to string together a few good, entertaining songs (even though their most popular hits are actually covers). Indeed, this would again be the case after they reunited with DuBrow in the 1990s, as Quiet Riot would regain its songwriting skill and its focus. Without DuBrow though, all of that presence is lost, leaving a wide gaping void in this record.

     To be fair, Paul Shortino is a decent singer with some solid chops. He doesn't dazzle by any stretch, but he is servicable. Unfortunately for Quiet Riot, he doesn't exude or convey any sense of energy and it drains the life out of this dismal experience. DuBrow, even in the confines of a lesser song, can at least sell it with his genuine enthusiasm, but here, not only does Shortino lack energy, but the entire band sounds deflated.

     Of this mess, I have found that there is only one song I like off this album - and honestly, I like it a lot. "Don't Wanna Be Your Fool" is a great, great song! It has an awesome 1980s sound with a great vocal performance from Shortino and some cool guitar licks from guitarist Carlos Cavazo. So, if you were ever interested, then I'd say just download this song off iTunes or something and skip the rest of the tracks.

     I must say that I am a huge Quiet Riot fan, having listened to practically all of their albums, and this one, by far, is the worst. Without DuBrow, the album suffers enough, but the songs themselves (with the exception of the one I mentioned before!) are terrible. Not only does this album fail on a musical level, it also features a truly hideous album cover, one that indeed repulses the eyes, thus failing in the aesthetic sense as well.

     Thankfully the rest of Quiet Riot and Kevin DuBrow came back to their senses and reunited to make the bands best effort, Terrified, in 1993.

     Stay away from this album, stay far away, and leave it to decay in the damp, dank basements of music history.

TRACK HIGHLIGHTS:

"Don't Wanna Be Your Fool"

-Kurt L.

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     The first of its kind! An Ethos Video Review of the Quiet Riot discography. Enjoy and thanks for watching!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaeecFPt_2w

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     It is amazing how the entire mainstream career of Quiet Riot is based on a cover song – “Cum on Feel the Noize”, originally by the band Slade. Sure, for most of the 20^th century, it seemed that many great artists launched their careers on songs other people wrote, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it just feels different when a rock band does so in the contemporary environment - such as it is for Quiet Riot with their 1983 mainstream phenomenon Metal Health; a wildly successful “heavy metal” album that launched the somewhat stagnant careers of the band into the stratosphere. Quiet Riot had already been making a few records back in the late 1970s (two of them released in Japan), but finally in 1983, they got their moment in the sun.

        Unfortunately for Quiet Riot, this is as far as the band got. While they had been recording regularly until 2006 with their last album Rehab, the mainstream rock scene has totally forgotten about this hair-metal act. This would be the first and last album of theirs to come even close to selling six million records, and of course even topping the Billboard Top 200 charts. It was a very impressive display for the fairly obscure band, as they embodied many of the elements of “rock star excess” and flaunted it with a carefree attitude. And that is one of the strengths of Metal Health, it has plenty of attitude - it is a rock solid (no pun intended) record.

        Since the release of Metal Health, Quiet Riot have been reduced to being “one-hit wonders”, with that one hit being the aforementioned “Cum on Feel The Noize”, which is, I must say, a great, great rock song, with tons of energy and a terrific carefree demeanor. However, I have always felt that Quiet Riot was much better than the record sales showed, especially in their later works. They, as musicians, are far better and much more captivating than that of their contemporaries like Poison, Ratt, Tesla, Dokken, or Twisted Sister. Quiet Riot is not a perfect band by any stretch, but boy do they have some rockin’ tunes! Looking at Metal Health alone, it has plenty of memorable songs. Aside from the hit-single that I mentioned, the title track is also a heavy metal classic, as well as the sweet ballad “Don’t Wanna Let You Go”, one of the band’s best efforts. “Love’s A Bitch” is actually a great song, with a terrific vocal performance by lead singer Kevin DuBrow and some thrilling guitar work by Carlos Cavazo. Some songs, like “Slick Black Cadillac”, are just kind of dull and uninspiring filler. However, there’s a pretty solid bunch of songs, albeit some of the tracks have some corny lyrics, but overall, it’s actually fairly strong.

        Quiet Riot never had a follow-up album that was nearly as successful, but musically, they did improve, while still stumbling a bit here and there. The band features a core of talented musicians, I’ve already mentioned DuBrow and Cavazo, but also, Frankie Banali, the band’s drummer, is one of the best rock ‘n roll drummers out there.

        Metal Health is indeed a 1980s heavy metal, arena rock, hair metal classic that embodies the time perfectly, and is still a lot of fun to listen to today. I would hope that in the annals of rock history, they will be given a little more credit because they did, down the line, make some pretty darn good albums, but, I know that they will forever be remembered for this one. If you’re a fan of the genre, then Metal Health is for you, but considering how popular it was, you may have heard it already, and maybe you even owned it once before.

TRACK HIGHLIGHTS:

“Cum on Feel the Noize”
“Don’t Wanna Let You Go”
“Metal Health”

“Love’s A Bitch”
“Battle Axe”

“Breathless”

-Kurt L.

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