July 2024 - Feature Release - The Guardians Edition

I'm back for monthly Feature Releases and I wanted to shine some light on a modern band attempting a done-to-death retro sound that has stood the test of time for me at this point. Canadian Heavy Metal band Riot City screamed onto the scene with their 2019 debut Burn the Night, complete with a strong, classic high-pitched vocalist and a nice amount of energy from the rest of the band. Despite that, it wasn't until a vocalist shift for 2022's Electric Elite that this band started getting some serious playtime for me, since I personally find this album to be a strict upgrade over their debut. 

If you're looking for a classic Heavy Metal fix this month, feel free to check this one out and let us know what you think below. 

https://metal.academy/releases/40284

Riot City really redeemed themselves with Electric Elite for me, since I couldn't get into their debut despite my best efforts and other Heavy Metal fans lauding it as a great addition to the plethora of modern bands playing a very classic style. A lot of it comes down to the vocalist, which I'm sure is already a contentious point as the high pitched wails of their lead guitarist on the first album was a massive selling point for people. The new guy, Jordan Jacobs, still has the high pitched pipes but he uses them in a way more reserved way that it much more effective to my ears. Electric Elite is spearheaded by these vocals with drastically better writing and flow compared to their debut, which felt very sporadic and tacked on sometimes even though they got their point across well enough. The gang vocals in tracks like “Return of the Force” and “Tyrant” also got a major upgrade, feeling way more forceful compared to the debut. These small but impactful changes completely flipped my opinions on this band from being yet another fast but dull classic Heavy Metal revival attempt to a batch of 8 songs that I can’t help but keep coming back to.

Electric Elite is admittedly a bit one-note in what it does and lacks a bit of variety at the end of the day, but I think I’d rather take that than a throwaway ballad or some other failed experiment. The introductions of “Ghost of Reality” and “Severed Ties” give the listener a bit of a break with some US Power Metal ballad shlock, but quickly get back to the riffing as both songs pick up after some well written buildups. That being said, the instrumentals are why I keep coming back to Electric Elite as it has some of the most addicting dual-guitar and driving bass riffing I’ve heard since Eternal Champion. Riot City are much more Speed Metal influenced as they push the tempos on ripping tracks like the opening “Eye of the Jaguar” or “Return of the Force”, but still know how to create a compelling riff when they decide to slow it down on “Tyrant”, which has ended up being my favorite track on the album. Even though I never skip them, the album does grind to a halt with “Paris Nights” and “Lucky Diamond” as you’ve heard it all before at this point and neither of these songs do anything particularly spectacular compared to what came before them. Having a full-fledged guitar solo on pretty much every track is a nice surprise nowadays as well, although only a few are somewhat memorable. Overall I’m glad I gave this band a second chance and I hope they can continue to build on this sound with a bit more variety to smooth out some of the songs that sound like lesser versions of tracks on the exact same album.