Thundersteel

Thundersteel
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 24, 1988
RecordedJanuary 1988 at Greene St. Recording, New York City
GenrePower metal
Length46:06
LabelCBS
Epic (Europe)
ProducerSteve Loeb, Rod Hui, Mark Reale
Riot chronology
Born in America
(1983)
Thundersteel
(1988)
Riot Live
(1989)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Classic Rock[2]
The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal[3]
Rock Hard9/10[4]

Thundersteel is the sixth studio album by the American heavy metal band Riot, released after coming back from a period of inactivity in the mid-1980s. It features a totally different line-up from that of the previous work, with guitarist Mark Reale being the only remaining member.

It was re-issued in 2003 by Collectables Records with slightly amended artwork and re-issued on 180g vinyl as a 2-LP set with The Privilege of Power by SPV on February 25, 2013.[5] The album originally charted at No. 150 on Billboard 200[6]

The song "Thundersteel" was originally written by Mark Reale and Don Van Stavern for 'Narita', a short-lived project Reale formed with members of S.A. Slayer following the demise of Riot in 1984. A demo released by Narita exists, with "Thundersteel" and two other tracks: "Liar" and "The Feeling Is Gone". The record's title song appears as a bonus track on 2013 album "Possession" by the Polish heavy metal band Crystal Viper.

The song "Flight of the Warrior" was covered by the Swedish heavy metal band HammerFall on their 2008 album Masterpieces. A cover of "Flight of the Warrior" also appears as a bonus track on the 2013 album Beneath the Surface by German metal band Alpha Tiger who've performed the song live as well.

  1. ^ O'Neill, Brian. "Riot Thundersteel review". AllMusic. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  2. ^ Barton, Geoff (February 2010). "Riot - Thundersteel/The Privilege of Power". Classic Rock. No. 141. p. 93.
  3. ^ Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 289. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  4. ^ "Riot - Thundersteel Review". Rock Hard. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  5. ^ "SPV launch an exciting new series of catalogue vinyl releases". Archived from the original on January 1, 2014.
  6. ^ "Thundersteel – Riot". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2010.