Riot was formed in 1975 in New York City, when Kon-Tiki guitarist Mark Reale and drummer Peter Bitelli recruited bassist Phil Feit and vocalist Guy Speranza.

In that year, however, the new wave of British heavy metal broke mainstream, and the band came to the attention of influential DJ Neal Kay who spread the word about them in Britain where fans bought imported copies of Rock City.

Singer Guy Speranza (March 12, 1956 – November 8, 2003) had difficulty melding his religious convictions with his role in the band and was replaced by Rhett Forrester (September 22, 1956 – January 22, 1994) for the next album, Restless Breed (1982).

[1] Though a striking frontman, any hope of a major breakthrough was sunk by a combination of Forrester's erratic behaviour on the road, a changing of the guard at Elektra, and the 1983 success of Quiet Riot's cover of "Cum on Feel the Noize".

[1] Reale relocated to San Antonio, Texas, where he recruited former S.A. Slayer members Steve Cooper, Don Van Stavern, and Dave McClain (now with Sacred Reich) for a short-lived new band called Narita.

Harry 'The Tyrant' Conklin (Jag Panzer) handled vocals for a short time but was dismissed after losing his voice on the second night of back-to-back gigs due to excessive drinking.

Bassist Don Van Stavern quit the band after the US leg of the Privilege of Power tour and was replaced by fellow Texan Pete Perez (ex-Karion).

[2] Reale recruited newcomer Mike DiMeo, who had played with Howard Stern sidekick Stuttering John Melendez in a local band named Josie Sang, with a view toward making a more hard rock-oriented solo album.

Eventually, those plans were dropped and the proposed solo effort turned into another Riot album, 1993's Nightbreaker,[1] which featured a remake of the Fire Down Under track "Outlaw", as well as covers of Deep Purple's "Burn" and "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum.

The following LP, the Native American-themed Brethren of the Long House (1996), which saw John Macaluso (TNT, Powermad) briefly take over for Bobby Jarzombek on drums, marked the final collaboration with long-time associate Steve Loeb who stepped down from the production chair in 1995.

For the rest of the decade Riot maintained a stable line-up for the first time in its history, resulting in a steady output of high-quality albums, i.e. Inishmore (1998), Shine On live (1998), and Sons of Society (1999).

Pat Magrath (Prototype, Killing Culture) filled in for Jarzombek on the following European tour before being replaced by veteran skinsman Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult) with whom the band recorded Through the Storm (2002).

It marked the final album with vocalist Mike DiMeo who had earlier announced his departure in order to concentrate on his work with retro rockers The Lizards after a 12-year run with Riot.

DiMeo was succeeded by the New York area singer Mike Tirelli, whose Riot live debut came in early 2005 at the band's Atarfe Vega Rock Festival appearance in Granada, Spain.

Immediately following his death, the band, featuring the "Thundersteel" lineup, performed several previously-booked east coast shows and the "70,000 Tons of Metal" cruise ship gig without him.