This is the third album under the Riot V name after the death in 2012 of founder member Mark Reale who formed the band in 1975,the band all but dominated the US heavy metal in the early eighties with ground breaking albums “Fire Down Under” in 1981 and “Thunder Steel” in 1988.With a straight forward heavy metal sound they became one of the biggest heavy metal bands in the world, changing their musical style which shifted towards power metal with the release of “Thunder Steel” in 1988 In 2013 the surviving members reformed the band with the name Riot V.. The new album was recorded in various home studios and also Michigan, New Jersey and Texas during the chaos of the past few years.

The album starts with “Hail To The Warriors” with an intro of anticipation which breaks into a full on power metal assault thunderous drums, guitar riffs of steel, with some great metal vocals which sore in the chorus a very promising start. A great couple of fast killer tracks worth checking out on this album are “High Noon” and “Higher” fast tempo power metal, very powerful musically. The great head banger “Love Beyond The Grave” which despite the title has an uplifting feel ,which is one of the best tracks on the album definitely an album highlight. A couple of tracks on this album take a slight different direction “Feel The Fire” and “Open Road” are more smoother ,catchier choruses, with that more melodic metal touches in the melodies and structure ,but are still great tracks nevertheless, which fit in nicely on the album. ”Before This Time” I found to be the weakest track on the album, just not average compared to the other tracks. The album title track on the other hand is a great track with a great chorus, melodic metal hooks and riffs which really shine through with great vocals to match with vocal harmonies sounding great in the chorus. ”Mortal Eyes” a more thrash metal sounding track with hints of Priest especially vocally with a great bassline very tight musically a great track.” No More” the closing track has a fast galloping melody with that Riot V sound very distinctive melody and vocals, a great track to finish off this album.

Riot V “Mean Streets” is a good album, it's simple straight forward with power and impact. With 12 tracks I feel it should have been ten, a couple of weak tracks “Lost Dreams” and “Before This Time” could have been left off, making this album an all filler affair. Hard To believe this band has been around 50 years, they still have the ability to make a good albums, with their musical experience clearly evident. Also I love the album cover artwork which is really cool. A good album which fits, sounding current, fresh and still very much fits in the metal genre in 2024. Listening is highly recommended