Terrified

Terrified is an ambitious restart on which, after the flagship vocalist Kevin DuBrow officially returned to the band, Quiet Riot, while keeping straight hard-rock momentum, shifted toward a harder, 1990s guitar feel and shaded melody. It reflects an air of the era clearly different from the flamboyant 1980s peak. The guitar riffs are chopped thick and heavy, and the rhythm section, without rushing the songs hastily, carefully builds pressure. DuBrow’s vocals, while keeping their old roughness, firmly build a clear song outline in the choruses, not letting the songs end in mere weight. A record on which the band powerfully sought its own musicality in the early 1990s, a harsh era for glam-metal acts. Precisely because it was made in a period different from the flamboyant, hedonistic 1980s image, you can hear the sure rock-and-roll core Quiet Riot natively holds in a different, cooler sound. Rather than simply comparing with past smashes, one wants to note the low, heavy texture of the guitar and the songs’ tenacity. It announces a powerful restart after DuBrow’s return.