It's easy to understand why guitarist Mark Reale decided to break up
Riot after their fifth full-length disc,
Born in America. The band had stopped progressing after their classic 1981 release, Fire Down Under, and the magic was clearly gone by the time that this offering hit record-store shelves in 1984. The group had gone from trend-setting outsiders to major label flops in the space of three years, due in part to the departure of vocalist Guy Speranza. Replacement
Rhett Forrester handles the vocal chores nicely on
Born in America, just as he had on his
Riot debut,
Restless Breed. It's the lackluster, cliché-ridden material -- not
Forrester's performances -- that holds this recording down. Only devoted
Riot fans should consider this second rate studio effort from one of America's few '80s metal innovators. ~ Vincent Jeffries