Review by Felix on February 25, 2024.

I did not know a lot about Riot when I bought this album. I was already familiar with "Road Racin´", the final track of "Narita", because I possessed an obscure sampler that featured inter alia this song. It offered a heavy riff that was skilfully combined with remarkable vocal lines. In any event, it made me curious enough to buy the vinyl. Well, the cover looked ugly. But the ominous creature apparently had a strange fascination for me. It took years before I realised the meaning of "Narita". And it took another couple of years until I understood that the creature on the cover wears the sexy loincloth of a sumo wrestler.

However, the music interested me more than the incomprehensible cover. The musicians did their utmost in order to impress buyers of this vibrant album. It emanated an energizing aura due to the noticeable enthusiasm of the band. Riot´s style moved between hard rock and heavy metal while the main focus was on the latter. A German metal magazine made the bold statement that the title track of "Fire Down Under", the successor album of "Narita", was their first speed metal song. I am not sure whether this is really the case. Some pieces of the here presented full-length already pointed in this direction. Just listen, for example, to the rapid instrumental title track. The riffs, the up-tempo drumming, the guitar lines - honestly, from my point of view, this song appeared as a harbinger of the following speed metal explosion. The only thing missing was the professional vocal performance of Guy Speranza (R.I.P.). His expressive and emphatic voice ennobled the remaining songs. But irrespective of this, a lot of great tunes - in most cases with catchy choruses - were waiting to be discovered. Casual rocking numbers like "Here We Come Again" met my expectations as well as rebellious tracks such as the short "White Rock". Riot mastered them all in a very presentable form and almost each and every song had the necessary dose of energy, heaviness and liveliness. And let us not forget that they delivered strong and diversified guitar solos.

"Narita" does not represent a timeless work. But that is no drawback. The heavy metal aura of the album has the charm of the (so-called) good old days and breathes the spirit of a period of upheaval. Hard rock and heavy metal were developed further by young and hungry musicians and Riot played its part in supporting this exciting process. Their effort was absolutely convincing, not least because of their authenticity. Surely, the talented band was not free of commercial interests. Just listen to the well constructed "Hot for Love". Its chorus delivered a very memorable and emotional melody line which made the song radio compatible. But Riot were not the only band who wanted to earn money with its music. And however, this business intention seemed not to be the main thought of band leader Mark Reale (R.I.P.) and his comrades. Their joy of playing was the outstanding feature of this vinyl. Thus, with only one exception ("49er"), they delivered gripping songs. They were well produced, sounded credibly and enriched the arising metal scene. Of course, this scene was still manageable so that it was easy to make an independent contribution. But this was not the fault of the band. Therefore, fasten seat belts, Narita awaits you.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10