#15 Quiet Riot - Metal Health: Wait these guys had a NUMBER ONE ALBUM?!?!!?!?

ROCKTOBERFEST: A Most Excellent Countdown of the 31 Most Bitchin Glam Metal Albums

#15 Quiet Riot – Metal Health (Released 1983) 6x Platinum #1 Billboard Albums

Kevin Dubrow (Finger-Wagging S.O.B. )– Vocals 

Carlos Cavazo (Cockadoo)– Lead Guitar

Rudy Szaro (I like the TASTE of my BASS) - Bass

Frankie Banali (Da Mobstah) – Drums

Wait these guys had a Number One album!??!?!?

I would be remiss not to be mention that I received my first of the blog. “@superstarsleeze Great blog!!!! Love it” –Amy Asbury,  author of the Sunset Strip Diaries that must be four more exclamation points than she got for her book reviews if she thinks I am going to be bringing in new readers for her. Nobody read my shit. I keed, I keed, Amy, I am sure the book kicks ass, but I am not really into the bubbleglam scene. Though Allerycat Scratch rocks hellaciously Stiletto Strut is a killer track for sure. They did not make the album list, but I do recommend Deadboys In Trash City by Alleycat Scratch for fans of the sleaze metal genre.  

Quiet Riot is not really a glam metal, but once again they get lumped into the glam metal genre because they were from LA in the early 80’s, sung anthemic metal and covered a glam rock song to HUGE success. It was their metallic cover of Slade’s smash hit, “Cum on Feel the Noize” that propelled them to #1 on the charts. Quiet Riot is heavy metal band in the mold of Judas Priest, but this album was seminal in facilitating heavy metal’s ascent to the top and plus I like it, so I am pulling trump once again because it is my list. I should add a qualifier to that statement, I really like the first half of the album. The second half is a lot of mediocre metal. But holy shit does the first half of the album smoke. It was the first half of the album that got them on the bill for Heavy Metal Sunday at US Festival in 1983 alongside up-and-coming Motley Crue and metal stalwarts, Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Scorpions and Van Halen. This is widely considered the night New Wave died and heavy metal took prominence as the number one rock genre. Quiet Riot has the ULTIMATE head-banging anthem for this movement: Bang Your Head (Metal Health).

Thats the face most girls make when they see my piece. To answer your question. Nine Inches.

I love this song so much and definitely one of the best heavy metal songs of all time. The song is very blunt about its intention, it is going to make you bang your head and this song definitely achieves that goal with a rhythm section that causes insta-head-bang. This is one of the few 80’s metal songs I have introduced to my dad that he really loves. This song for awhile was definitely my brother’s favorite song as he would play it on loop continuously. DuBrow’s snarl is so mean and aggressive and fit that vicious guitar attack so well. The solo is great slice of 80’s excess with all its finger-tapping glory. 

Quiet Riot had its hand in killing New Wave in another way as it unseated The Police’s Synchronicity (great New Wave album, I do happen to like New Wave for the most part). This was due to one of the ultimate party songs, Cum On Feel The Noize, which reached #5 on the Billboard chart.  The huge drums are reminiscent of KISS at their partying best. The chorus is instantly drilled into your head with a huge gang-vocal. The metallic take on this old glam rock standard was fresh as Slade was not that big in America and had a groove that made girl want to get up and rock their boys. There aint nothing wrong with that. Apparently, Quiet Riot, which before and after this album really couldn’t buy a friggin hit, thought I was a stupid idea to do this song. DuBrow tried to sabotage the song by singing poorly, but what he doesn’t understand is when you have that much swagger and attitude in your voice you can sing as poorly as you want it is going to kick-ass. This song and the previous number are two of my favorites of all time.

Slick Black Caddilac, has a great 1950’s feel to it, while having a huge chugging riff and is another great head-banger. The vocals hooks are well-done with good gang-shouts and the chorus is catchy. Sorry, I am getting tired and I think I might have to short-change this review. I am in full catch-up mode.

The final choice cut, is the venomous, mid-tempo banger, “Love’s A Bitch”. This song is so well-suited for DuBrow’s aggressive snarl and when the music really kicks in this one just really smokes. 

Sorry for the curtailed review, but had to happen somewhere. Kevin DuBrow tragically passed in 2007 from a cocaine overdose. Quiet Riot also brought us guitar hero, Randy Rhoads, who Ozzy pilfered for his solo career. Randy played on Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of Madman before he was tragically killed in a plane accident. Rhoads is most famous for Crazy Train and had  very sweet neo-classical tone that I dig. To play us out is one of my brother’s favorite songs ever, if not his absolute favorite. It features how much of a beast Rhoads was on the guitar.  Rest In Peace, Kevin DuBrow and Randy Rhoads.