“Metal health will cure your crazy. Metal health will cure your mad. Metal health is what we all need…”

Quiet Riot have promoted the healing power of heavy metal for four decades. Through thick, thin and more adversity then any should bear, the purveyors of timeless anthems “Metal Health (Bang Your Head)”, “Cum On Feel The Noize” and “Mama Weer All Crazee Now” have endured, proudly waving the flag of a beloved, bygone era.

Yes, legendary bassist Rudy Sarzo lives and breathes heavy metal.

“Certain things that continue to happen in my life are as fresh today as they were 40 years ago, because I have to go on stage and play those songs,” Sarzo shared in a sit-down with BraveWords. “And the best way that I can deliver them is if I am right there where it all began, at the root of it all.”

Sarzo first joined Quiet Riot during its earliest inception in the late ‘70s, becoming enamored with the mastery of the late, great icon, Randy Rhoads. 

“Quiet Riot, when I joined in 1978 with Randy in the band, was the first time that I was ever part of a band that had a collective consciousness, meaning that we all believe in the same thing. There was a purpose. Our purpose was to get a record deal and to make a career out of playing music, music that we love. And so that was the foundation, and having played with Randy Rhoads, you know, he led by example. His musical integrity was beyond anybody that I knew before or since,” Sarzo said of the man he would share the stage with in Quiet Riot and as a member of Ozzy Osbourne’s band from 1981-82.

“The fact that I got to play with Randy in both Quiet Riot and Ozzy just left an indelible mark in me, because I was paying attention. Some people don't pay attention. Some people might have played with Randy and they didn't get what I got out of him because I had so much more room to grow.”

The sudden and tragic death of Rhoads at the age of 25 in March of ‘82 shook the rock landscape to its core, and nearly purged all joy of performing music from Sarzo. 

“When I played with Randy, he was an extension of the Quiet Riot home, the consciousness. Once I lost him, I lost that completely,” Sarzo shared, somberly, diving into the events that led to him rejoining the rejuvenated Quiet Riot. 

“Quiet Riot ceased to exist when Randy left to join Ozzy. That was ‘79. And then Kevin formed his band DuBrow and it did not become Quiet Riot again until October 1982. It was announced in the fan club newsletter that the band was called Quiet Riot again and that I was back in the band. Certain songs were just DuBrow songs, so Kevin had about two or three years to work on this material. And then of course, you've got Carlos that brought in ‘Metal Health’ and ‘Don't Want To Let You Go’. 

“When I went in to record ‘Thunderbird’, I was still a member of Ozzy, and then I stayed for about three more songs, and then it felt so good playing. I got the joy of playing again because here I am playing with Frankie, who I've known for ten years playing with him and then Kevin, my musical family. I was back with them, the musical consciousness that we all shared for a long time. I had to make one of the toughest decisions ever. I mean, musically, that was the toughest decision, to leave Ozzy after I finished recording the Speak Of The Devil record. I just needed to get the joy of making music again.

“As soon as I got together to do the ‘Thunderbird’ session, I knew that home is where my musical joy is, meaning Quiet Riot. So I basically did what I already did when Randy passed away; you have to go home. You have to go home and celebrate the memory. Because if you don't do that, if you don't go out there and play that music, it's just going through to the ether. People don't connect with it. They'll focus on other things. If that consciousness does not exist any longer, people will gravitate to something else. It's a different thought. But if you gather people in the name of the bandmates who are no longer with us and the legacy of the band and celebrate that, to me I've been doing that for 40 years since Randy passed away. Going back to the Metal Health version of the band, if you look at the back of the Metal Health cover it says ‘dedicated to the memory of Randy Rhoads’. That was what it was all about. So I am doing exactly the same thing now as I did then.” 

Fast-forward to 2023, and Metal Health, Quiet Riot’s platinum selling opus, celebrates its milestone 40th anniversary. Sarzo is back in the band, one with an entirely different shape and makeup then that of its heyday. 

DuBrow sadly passed away in 2007, with longtime drummer Frankie Banali succumbing to cancer in 2020. Sarzo is quick to point out that this incarnation of the band, which includes longtime friend and vocalist Jizzy Pearl, guitarist Alex Grossi and former Type O Negative drummer Johnny Kelly, were all hand-picked by legacy members of Quiet Riot to keep the spirit of the band alive. 

“I am blessed to be playing with them in Quiet Riot, but what I find is also really, really significant is the fact that if you pick each one of them, they have all been picked by a former member of the band,” Sarzo explains. 

“Alex has been in the band for over 20 years now. He was picked and groomed by Kevin in all things Quiet Riot. Then you bring in Jizzy. Kevin was a fan of Love/Hate, and he really respected Jizzy. Jizzy was picked by Frankie. Okay, now you got that. Now, another thing that a lot of people might not be aware of, when we were touring in the ‘90s, Quiet Riot, like around ‘97, Kevin was the first guy to bring Type O Negative into the bus and say, ‘check this out!’ We went, ‘Wow, this is really cool!’ So Frankie picking Johnny Kelley, the drummer from Type O Negative, it's not by accident. It's like it was destined.”

Watching Quiet Riot close out a jam-packed showcase at the Iceberg Alley Performance Tent in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador (alongside fellow era staples Great White and Slaughter), and it’s plain to see that the love, passion and brotherhood that made Quiet Riot a worldwide staple still remain. 

“We really have fun. We really enjoy ourselves,” Sarzo shared, tipping his hat to his bandmates who are no longer with us. 

“We have a setlist that is a celebration of the musical legacy of the band. With ‘Slick Black Cadillac’, when I play that song, I'm there playing with Randy on stage just like we used to do in clubs... I go back to that and every other song I connect with the roots of it or having been there for 45 years now, if you're talking about the Randy Rhoads version of the band. So to me, it's very special to have the opportunity to really celebrate the legacy and the members who are no longer with us.”

In addition to Sarzo, Quiet Riot’s current lineup includes longtime guitarist Alex Grossi, vocalist Jizzy Pearl. and drummer Johnny Kelly.

Tour dates:

July
14 - Cumberland, MD - Rock The Mountains
15 - Ferndale, WA - Silver Reef Casino
21 - Eugene, OR - Lane County Fair
23 - Edmonton, AL - K- Days Festival
25 - York, PA - York State Fair
28 - Vancouver, WA - Craft Beer & Wine Festival

August
4 - Jefferson City, MO - Cole County Fair
5 - Indianapolis, IN - Indiana State Fair
11 - Bloomfield, NE - Knox County Fair
12 - St. Michael, ND - Spirit Lake Casino
19 - Cocoa Beach , FL - Area 142
24 - Syracuse, NY - New York State Fair
25 - Island Lake, IL - Bands In The Sand Festival
26 - Walker, MN - Northern Lights Casino

September
1 - Lancaster, NH - Lancaster Fair
2 -  Derry, NH - Tupelo Music Hall
9 - Carolina, PR - Vivo Beach Rock Club
13 - Salt Lake City, UT - Utah State Fair
16 - Cottonwood, AZ - Riverfront Park
17 - Kennewick, WA - Clover Island
28 - Auburn, IN - Dekalb Fair
30 - Versailles, OH - BMI Speedway

October
7 - Rama, ON - Casino Rama
12 - Chester, NY - Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center
13 - Cohoes, NY - Cohoes Music Hall
14 - Dalton , MA - Stationary Music Hall
15 - Hudson Falls, NY - The Strand Theater
21 - New Buffalo, MI - Four Winds Casino

November
17 - St. Louis, MO - River City Casino

December
8 - Hollywood, CA - Whisky A Go Go

March
2 - Miami / Jamaica / Bahamas - Monsters Of Rock Cruise
9 - Great Yarmouth, UK - Hard Rock Hell AOR Festival

(Photos courtesy of Alex Grossi and Julie Bergonz)