Quiet Riot have been around since the late 70's, and of one of the oldest metal bands around. They had their highlight years in the mid-eighties, when they even got some MTV airplay. To me, they are always going to be the band that Randy Rhoads played in, before he joined Ozzy Osbourne.

METAL HEALTH (1983) EPIC/CBS

'Metal Health' was Quiet Riot's first international release. They got a lot of MTV airplay with their cover version of Slade's "Cum On Feel The Noize", and unfortunately that was something that would brand this band for life. They were labeled yet another glam band, when they in fact was sort of a gritty, hard rocking metal outfit. Alongside acts like Mötley Crüe and Ratt, these guys were all about partying, and having fun. People seem to forget about them when metal history is being discussed. And that is a shame, as they were a part of breaking this music into the mainstream back in the mid 80's. The music on 'Metal Health' is actually pretty good. From the catchy title track, to the softer side of songs like "Breathless". It worked well back in 1983, and I still think it works today!

Killer tracks: Metal Health, Don't Wanna Let You Go, Slick Black Cadillac, Love's A Bitch, Breathless

THE RANDY RHOADS YEARS (1993) RHINO

The first 2 Quiet Riot albums are almost impossible to get a hold of, simply because they were only released in Japan. I'm not even sure that they exist on CD. So this compilation, with even more unreleased tracks then previously available material, is a cool item indeed. I'm a huge admirer of Randy Rhoads, and state him as one of the 2 best guitarists in the world (the other one being Criss Oliva, from Savatage). And it's good to hear these recordings, to find out where Randy was coming from. The music can be classified as hard rock, or early melodic metal. This band is never mentioned when it comes to naming early metal bands, but they were in fact just that. The booklet includes nice song-by-song comments from Kevin Dubrow, along with other cool line-notes, pictures etc. A great collector's item indeed. "Afterglow (Of Your Love)" is a great Small Faces cover. 

Quiet Riot also appear on:  

V/A - '96% Puddel Rock'

Carlos Cavazo guest appearances:

W.A.S.P. - 'The Last Command'

Chuck Wright guest appearances:

W.A.S.P. - 'The Last Command'

Frankie Banali guest appearances:

Liberty 'N' Justice - 'Chasing A Cure'

Related artists:

Ozzy Osbourne, Impellitteri, W.A.S.P., Whitesnake, Rainbow, Sun Red Sun, Black Sabbath, Scorpions, Riot, Warlock, Doro, Dio, Yngwie Malmsteen, Hear 'n Aid