The Privilege of Power

The Privilege of Power is an extremely ambitious eighth album on which Riot, around steel riffs, a powerful forward beat and a proud high vocal, takes in bold, unusual arrangements including a brass section. On the foundation of the dashing power-metal style established on the previous Thundersteel, it steps into a grander, more theatrical musicality. Tony Moore’s outstanding singing powerfully pulls its complex construction together. From the aggression of the opener “On Your Knees” and the powerful drive of “Metal Soldiers” to the catchiness of “Runaway” and the grand “Storming the Gates of Hell,” every song is engaging. Boldly introducing experimental elements such as horn arrangements and sampled news audio, it puts out its own high intensity. Its significance lies in greatly expanding the band’s expressive possibilities with a large-scale production, not staying within the frame of traditional power metal. Including its experiment, which drew mixed views, it is a record strongly reflecting Riot’s ambition. Different from its predecessor, it is a grand, dense, ambitious power-metal work — Mark Reale’s guitar also in sharp form.