Riot - The Privilege Of Power

To follow up a metal classic as Thundersteel isn't easy and even if this one doesn't match it's precedor it's still pretty damn good! It features a cool horn section in many of the songs and yet offers the same speed we got on Thundersteel. Two of my favourite songs are the pounding anthem "Metal Soldiers" and the speed metal monster "Black Leather and Glittering Steel". Two instant heavy metal classics!

This masterpiece was also released in the 90´s? Ah, well...

I remember listening to this for the first time right after Thundersteel and feeling disappointed. The Privilege Of Power is more varied and ambitious than any other record they have done, the lyrics have some actual substance other than being just awesome and metal and the varying songs themselves might take some time to get into, but they're cool. There's even some nice jazz cover in the end, it's surprisingly kickass.

In fact, I think this is a kind of record the more you listen to it the more you will eventually grow to love it. After all these years, I might actually like it even more than the almighty Thundersteel itself.

Solid album and the Al DiMeola cover was a very pleasant surprise.

Not as good as their previous release, Thundersteel, but tbf it's a real challenge to follow up on a masterpiece such as that. Here Instead they opted for a new direction in songwriting, they slowed things down a wee bit, and concentrated on creating a more complex, and varied style and sound.

The album as a whole didn't really click with me the same way as their previous release did. Unfortunately I didn't take to the long interludes at the beginning of most of the songs, and there wasn't enough stand out tracks for me either. Metal Soldiers" and "Black Leather and Glittering Steel" to me are by far the best songs on this album.

All time classic. What a hell of an album

I don't get why so much praise for this one. Interludes are boring, production again very gloomy and trumpets didn't work for me here too. And the worst thing - songs here just okay at best. 6/10 +1 point for trying somthing new, I guess...

I always thought of this as the grown up version of Thundersteel, which might well imply that I think it’s not as good but I actually think that is not far off it’s equal if not on a par. Love the opener On Your Knees, Dance of Death and Black Leather - for mega fast power metal songs, they ooze melancholy emotion which I think is pretty unusual for a genre more used to pumping out saccharine sweet. Excellent stuff and the other tracks aren’t bad either!