The Brethren of the Long House

The Brethren of the Long House is a conceptual eighth album on which Riot raises the history and culture of Native Americans as a grand theme. While keeping the drive of hard heavy metal, it boldly weaves in folk-music elements and solemn narrative. Mark Reale’s guitar and powerful vocals surely support that dramatic world. From a solemn introduction evoking the film The Last of the Mohicans to the powerful “Glory Calling,” the dashing “Rolling Thunder” and the title track “The Brethren of the Long House,” every song is large in scale, while a cover of Gary Moore’s “Out in the Fields” and a cut like “Ghost Dance” widen the work. Its ambitious appeal lies in pursuing clear thematics and grand narrative, not staying a mere heavy-metal album. It is the record on which Riot’s lyrical, dramatic side appears most strongly. Beyond the frame of melodic metal, it is a conceptual, engaging work, showing the band’s inexhaustible inquiry.