Riot "Thundersteel - 30th Anniversary Edition (2018, CD + DVD, Metal Blade Records, Digipak)"

Thundersteel is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Riot, released after coming back from a period of inactivity in the mid-80s. It features a totally different line-up from that of the previous work, with only Reale left as stable member.

It was re-issued in 2003 by Collectables Records with slightly amended artwork and re-issued on 180g vinyl as a 2-LP set with The Privilege of Power by SPV on February 25, 2013. The album originally charted at No. 150 on Billboard 200

The song "Thundersteel" was originally written by Mark Reale and Don Van Stavern for Narita, a short-lived project Reale formed with members of S.A.Slayer following the demise of Riot in 1984. A demo released by Narita exists, with "Thundersteel" and two other tracks: "Liar" and "The Feeling Is Gone". The song's cover appears as a bonus track on 2013 album "Possession" by the Polish heavy metal band Crystal Viper.

The song "Flight of the Warrior" was covered by the Swedish heavy metal band HammerFall on their 2008 album Masterpieces. A cover of "Flight of the Warrior" also appears as a bonus track on the 2013 album Beneath the Surface by German metal band Alpha Tiger who've performed the song live as well.

The album's sound has been described as power metal; with AllMusic writer Brian O'Neill going into great detail describing what all went into its sound, saying, "The disc takes cues from everything that was metal at the time, combining classic European styles reminiscent of Judas Priest's heavier moments (a premonition for Painkiller), thrashing guitars and pounding percussion indicative of the then-burgeoning underground thrash movement (it's got more riffs than Anthrax ever had), and undertones of the hair metal that was riding the charts at the time (especially in appearance) into a cohesive moment of refined ferocity."

In 2008, the album's personnel reunited for 2009's Sweden Rock Festival. The album was reissued in Japan on October 7 in 2009. A 30th anniversary version of the album was released in 2018.

Track listing

Disc 1 (CD)

1. "Thundersteel" Reale, Van Stavern 3:49
2. "Fight or Fall" Van Stavern 4:25
3. "Sign of the Crimson Storm" Reale 4:40
4. "Flight of the Warrior" Moore, Reale, Van Stavern 4:17
5. "On Wings of Eagles" Moore, Reale, Van Stavern 5:41
6. "Johnny's Back" Moore, Reale, Van Stavern 5:32
7. "Bloodstreets" Moore, Reale 4:39
8. "Run for Your Life" Moore, Reale, Van Stavern 4:08
9. "Buried Alive (Tell Tale Heart)" Moore, Reale, Van Stavern, Jarzombek, Bob Held, Steve Loeb 8:55
10. "Bloodstreets (alternate ending version)"  04:41  
11. "Buried Alive (Tell Tale Heart) (alternate version)"  07:25  
12. "On Wings of Eagles (live 1988)"  05:35  
13. "Flight of the Warrior (live 1988)"  04:12  
14. "Johnny's Back (live 1988)"  05:26   
15. "Thundersteel (live 1988)"  04:04  

 Time:   01:17:37

Disc 2 (DVD)

1. Fight or Fall  
2. Fire Down Under  
3. Sign of the Crimson Storm  
4. On Wings of Eagles  
5. Buried Alive (Tell Tale Heart)  
6. Flight of the Warrior  
7. Outlaw  
8. Bloodstreets  
9. Run for Your Life  
10. Drum Solo  
11. Johnny’s Back  
12. Swords and Tequila / Blues Jam  
13. Guitar Solo  
14. Thundersteel  
15. Narita  
16. Fight or Fall  
17. Sign of the Crimson Storm  
18. Swords and Tequila  
19. Dance of Death  
20. Warrior  
21. Flight of the Warrior  
22. Thundersteel  
23. Documentary & Interview Footage with Masa Itoh, Japan 1989  
24. Bloodstreets  
25. Born in America  
26. Restless Breed 

Remastered by Patrick W. Engel at TEMPLE OF DISHARMONY in January 2017. Additional work in September 2018

DVD - Part 1

01-14: “Thundersteel” Live in Halletsville, Texas, 1988

DVD - Part 2

15-23: “Thundersteel” Anniversary Shows (recorded October 24th and 25th, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan)

DVD - Part 3

24-26: Production Videos