Riotgod
Release Date: August 17, 2010
Highlights: The whole fucking thing!
Before listening to the latest Riotgod album, you will want to make sure you have a couple of things. You’ll need a tray of some sorts to catch your melting face and some sort of adhesive to reapply it a few times. I kid you not. Riotgod has brought the face melt in a huge way and I can barely put to words just how pumped I am about this release and band.
I’m not frequently surprised or sucked in by a band. It seems that for every 10 I hear, maybe 1 or 2 have this effect on me. Riotgod has managed to put out an album that not only grabbed me and pulled me but but they made an album unlike any that I’ve heard in many many years. Think of Riotgod as the Captain Beyond of the 2000’s. Riotgod is cosmic stoner rock of epic proportions with songs that just don’t know how to not rock your face off.
On their debut release, Riotgod channels the greatest of the great in the vain of Rainbow, Captain Beyond and at times lead vocalist Sunshine sounds eerily like the bastard child of Ronnie James Dio and Rod Evans with a bit of Chris Cornell thrown in for good measure. The opening track “Light of the Sun” is cosmic face rock that sets the controls for this ride but it was “Crusader” had me literally out of my chair grooving’ like an idiot in my office. If Dio had been in Captain Beyond they would’ve done this song. This song literally breaks any walls down I may have had about this band and right away I was sold. The guitar work of Garrett Sweeny shines here and totally takes this song to stratospheric heights.
“Omega” is a spacey, psychedelic trip that lures you in with a Pink Floyd like instrumental trance intro only to ease you into “Collapsing Stars” that is a mellow, melodic ride with some great harmony vocals and subtle yet beautifully layered guitars. “Drone Station” is a total melter that has lead vocalist Sunshine completely opening his heart and voice and letting it all out with no filter what so ever. At times his vocals soar so high it’s like he’s beckoning to some far off entity. “Drone Station” is also where the rhythm section of Bob Pantella (Drums) and Jim Baglino (Bass) show just how tight they can lock things down. Riotgod has such a groove to them and these guys completely steer the groove mobile in and out of twists, turns and valleys which makes this listening experience one hell of a ride.
There is nothing pretentious or fake about Riotgod. This is a band that literally has one motive. That motive is to melt as many faces as they can. Riotgod has managed to pick up the pieces that were left behind by the greats of old, put it together into a unit that and deliver a cosmic, psychedelic hard rock masterpiece. I’m sure that the gods of all that rock are looking down upon Riotgod and nodding in approval.
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