Thundersteel

Thundersteel is a dramatic restart on which Riot bursts up high-speed riffs, sharply cutting drums and Tony Moore’s overwhelming high vocal all at once. Made after a long hiatus by Mark Reale with entirely new members, it is reborn from its former traditional metal into a landmark of power metal that raises speed to the limit. The songs have speed yet never lose the beautiful outline of melody and chorus. From the ferocious drive of the opening title track “Thundersteel” and the dramatic “Sign of the Crimson Storm” to the melancholy epic “Bloodstreets,” the album is full of a powerful will to press ever forward, while cuts like “Flight of the Warrior” and “Johnny’s Back” convey its overwhelming speed. Its immense value lies in updating the strength of traditional heavy metal with a sharpness and stylistic beauty that clearly lead to later power-metal acts. Tony Moore’s soaring, powerful high vocal is stunning in a word. Different from the German acts, it is a monumental masterpiece of American power metal — a record announcing Riot’s new golden era.