NUCLEAR BLAST are proud to announce the signing of cult New York Heavy Metal band RIOT V, who will be inducted into the prestigious Heavy Metal History Hall of Fame 2018! Hardly any other metal act has the long, absorbing history that Riot V has behind it. Since the quintet formed in 1975 they have been hit by several severe strokes of fate during their long career. With Rhett Forester (R.I.P. 1994), Guy Speranza (R.I.P. 2003) and Mark Reale (R.I.P. 2012) - three deceased members have left their mark on the four decades of Riot’s band history. Since their legendary debut album "Rock City" (1977), Riot has released numerous heavy metal classics, including "Fire Down Under" (with classics like "Swords And Tequila"), their masterpiece "Thundersteel" (1988), and the unforgotten "The Privilege Of Power"(1990). After the death of Mark Reale and the departure of Tony Moore, Todd Michael Hall completed the line-up of the band, which in the meantime performed under the name of Riot V. With the critically acclaimed "Unleash The Fire" (2014), a pure power metal jewel once again underlined the musical importance and influence of the quintet. Many artists name-check Riot as an important influence of their musical career and have paid tribute to the power metal godfathers on multiple occasions. The list is long and includes several well-known acts such as HAMMERFALL ('Flight Of The Warrior'), Luca Turilli's RHAPSODY ('Thundersteel'), AXEL RUDI PELL ('Warrior') and newcomers such as NIGHT DEMON ('Road Racin'), ALPHA TIGER ('Flight Of The Warrior'), SAVAGE MASTER ('Swords And Tequila') and STALLION ('Rock City'). Riot V are busy recording the follow up to the highly acclaimed come back record "Unleash The Fire". Production duties were handled by producer Chris "The Wizard" Collier (METAL CHURCH, FLOTSAM & JETSAM, SLIPKNOT, KORN). The new songs promise to please fans of the "Thundersteel"-era of Riot, as main song writer and long time Mark Reale music collaborator Don Van Stavern undertakes a lot of the writing as he did on "Thundersteel", "The Privilege of Power" and the latest offering "Unleash The Fire". Riot V truely are metal soldiers and will keep marching and fighting the good fight to bring you the music you’ve come to know, love and expect.