QR III

QR III is an ambitious fifth album on which Quiet Riot, while keeping its former straight metal feel, boldly takes in more keyboards and refined melody. From the raw party-metal direction of the first two albums, it steers greatly toward a melodic, arena-rock direction more conscious of the trends of the day. Kevin DuBrow’s distinctive voice comes to the fore as ever, yet the songs show a new face, different from before, through the smoothness of the choruses and arrangement. From the powerful drive of the opening hit “The Wild and the Young” to the drama of “Twilight Hotel,” the songs have a great arena-rock openness, while the aggression of “Down and Dirty” and cuts like “Slave to Love” and “Still of the Night” convey the work’s fullness. Carlos Cavazo’s guitar also deftly adapts to the new musicality. It can be heard as a record that, while firmly keeping the band’s native powerful momentum, steadily moved toward the refinement of the mid-1980s. Catchy melody conscious of a wider audience is scattered throughout. Showing another side of Quiet Riot, it is a melodic, fulfilling hard-rock work.