Quiet Riot: Road Rage
Quiet Riot
Road Rage
(Frontiers Music SRL)
Quiet Riotâs new album, Road Rage is a commercial rock gem. Drummer Frankie Banali, guitarist Alex Grossi, bassist Chuck Wright and new singer, American Idol-alum James Durbin present 11 songs that showcase Banaliâs hard hitting, expert songwriting and lots of styles, but all sound like Quiet Riot in the end.
âCanât Get Enoughâ opens, a Banali-led snare snapper with Grossi providing just the right amount of power chords. Then we are into âGetawayâ with its shouting âno noâsâ and a middle section that slows down to some blues like layering, where the band sounds pretty much like mid-70âs Aerosmith.
âWastedâ talks directly about Q.R.âs late lead singer and Banaliâs bestie, Kevin DuBrow wild ways. âStill Wildâ has Banali manning a âWhen The Levee Breaksâ drum opening , while the ballad, âThe Road,â pushes Durbin to his highest heights.
For all intents and purposes, Quiet Riot was done when DuBrow died in 2007. But Frankie Banali has worked hard to keep this band alive since reforming in 2010, and embarking on a series of tours, stating his case in a warts and all documentary, Quiet Riot â Well Now Youâre Here, and seeing lead singers come and go with a regularity that would have killed many other bands. The stick-to-it-ness has paid off though; Road Rage is a great rock record.