Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
To be Live In Japan, it is an act of worship and homage to a land of intrigue, fascination and beauty that few of us will ever be able to achieve but then not all of us have pursued the idea of causing our lives to be a riot, to glimpse at the communication possible and demonstrate the rampage that good hard rock can bring to the world.
The names may always be changing, the line-up not perhaps as fixed as other bands and the contemporary groups that were embraced when N.W.O.B.H.M. struck out but the language of the American heartland which was held dear by the British fans should not be dismissed and in Riot V’s Live In Japan, the barrier that so many put before themselves in the use of language is just a side step in the pursuit of a great time.
The double C.D. is filled with expression, the faith that still transcends the idea of language and time when placed in a context, a setting, that can be misinterpreted by others. Todd Michael Hall’s vocals take issue with the notion that there are places in the world that will not appreciate the human voice when used as a foreign tongue. It is baffling that some will openly endorse such philological debate as a point in which stir animosity, however Todd Michael Hall, alongside the excellent Dan van Stavern, Mike Flyntz, Nick Lee and Frank Gilchriest prove that such verbal thought is a ridiculous notion.
Live In Japan 2018 not only captures songs such as On Your Knees, Metal Soldiers, Wings Are For Angels, Messiah, Sign of The Crimson Storm, Johnny’s Back, Buried Alive and Swords and Tequila with honour, but it is also the first recording since the untimely passing of founding member of Riot, Mark Reale in 2012. If performing the songs were an honour, then to play in the name of history, of the insight and dedication that Mark Reale brought to the songs, then that is a privilege for the fans to once again revel in.
One of the points of the live album is to show the world that a group can work away from the studio, that there is always a persistence and love for the craft, the cynic may suggest that it comes down to money and the lucrative markets, but such thoughts can be dismissed when placed in the hands of a land that embraces a different culture, for if they respond in the way that Riot V’s audience do, then language, whether sonically or vocally, is the true winner.
A marvellously endowed album, alive and with a strong, forceful voice.
Riot V release Live In Japan 2018 via AFM Records on 2nd August.
Ian D. Hall