On October 7th, Epic Japan/Zoom are reissuing the following two classic RIOT albums with bonus material: Thundersteel (1988) and The Privilege Of Power (1990). Each title will be digitally remastered to their highest quality," according to Riot guitarist Mark Reale. Amazon pre-orders are available below:

Bravewords.com Editor-In-Chief Martin Popoff, in his The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal books (three volumes, covering the '70s, '80s and '90s) wrote the following on these two interesting and technical records:

Riot - Thundersteel (Epic/CBS ‘88)

Alas Riot roams no more, whilst leader Mark Reale walks off with the name, enlisting gleaming new machines to send his unit into hyperspace. Thundersteel employs the services of robot-precise speed metal merchants, turning Riot into a 78 RPM maelstrom of traditional OTT, sorta like a red, white and blue Helloween, complete with a yelper higher than Speranza, and ear-piercing staccato bombardments from all corners of the instrumental fortress. Fraught with major bite, yet crammed with too much science and not enough blood, sweat and tears, Thundersteel has Reale punishing the world. Damn rights, we deserve it. So it’s not exactly Riot, and it’s a bit conceptually dated (see Shrapnel and Metal Blade circa ‘85), but a panzer division by any other name is still a body-bagging flesh-eating machine. Recommended for their head-shredding qualities: Bloodstreets and Run For Your Life.

Rating 7

Riot - The Privilege Of Power (CBS ‘90)

Fine German engineering permeates the Riot camp yet again, as the band blinds us with science while this time fusing a vengeful but inspired metal muse to the outer hulk of the careening contraption. The Privilege Of Power devastates with the most frenzied of metals, while inundating the listener between tracks with samplings from our brain-dead TV society. Also embellishing the show are sporadic blasts of horns, well-placed collisions of brass with brash, lending an eccentric ear to a much more filling feast than the fleeting atom-splitter that was Thundersteel. Here the most elegant pieces are the poppy, dynamic numbers like Runaway, Maryanne and Little Miss Death, although the bulldozing Metal Soldiers would have to be the crowning event, collapsing a history as wide as Priest, Accept, Metal Church and the real Riot into an apocalyptic dime-sized black cube hovering at knee-level under the perpetual energy of a million power chords layered through time. Oh were it not for the caca-cacophony of Reale’s OTT excursions, I’d be singing the praises of this record to the thinning ozone. Dispensing with my curmudgeonly grumbles however, Privilege is a buzzing creative romp, sent all the more skyward by Tony Moore’s clarion calls, forcing Reale to his acrobatic extremes. Spiritual when at a speed we want to comprehend.

Rating 8

Riot reunited Thundersteel/The Privilege Of Power era line-up of Mark Reale (guitar), Tony Moore (vocals), Don Van Stavern (bass), Bobby Jarzombek (drums), and Mike Flyntz (guitars) are preparing for a new studio album, tentatively scheduled for a late 2009 release.

Riot recently announced three October shows in Japan, one of the band's premier markets going back to the classic Rock City days.

Says Mark Reale: "We're excited to once again have the opportunity to play for our Japanese fans who've been so supportive over the years. This particular line-up only made it to Japan once before so this will be extra special for both us and the fans. See you soon!"

Exact dates are as follows:

October

23 - Shangri-La - Osaka, Japan
24 - Club Citta - Kawasaki, Japan
25 - Club Citta - Kawasaki, Japan