''QR III'' (or ''Quiet Riot III'') is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band

Quiet Riot Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads, bassist Kelly Garni, and vocalist Kevin DuBrow. The original lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin Du ...

. Released in July 1986, it sticks to the melodic

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

sound of the previous two albums, ''

Metal Health ''Metal Health'' is the third studio album by the American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Quiet Riot, released on February 28, 1983.FMQB New Releases (Feb. 18, 1983) The album spawned two hit singles: the Slade cover "Cum On Feel the Noize# ...

'' and ''

Condition Critical ''Condition Critical'' is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Quiet Riot. Released in 1984, it was not nearly as successful as its predecessor (1983's ''Metal Health'') in either fan reaction or sales. However, it did sell over ...

'', but adds keyboards. It's the band's last release with lead singer

Kevin DuBrow Kevin Mark DuBrow (October 29, 1955 – November 19, 2007) was an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Quiet Riot from 1975 until 1987, and again from 1993 until his death in 2007. Early ...

, until they reunited in 1991.

Background

Following the massive success of ''Metal Health'' and the more modest success of ''Condition Critical'', sales of ''QR III'' were lower, reaching only No. 31 on the US charts and not achieving any certification. It marked Quiet Riot's fall from stardom as only one more of the band's following releases entered the charts at all. It's the first Quiet Riot album to feature Chuck Wright, formerly of

Giuffria Giuffria was an American rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1981 by Gregg Giuffria after his departure from the band Angel. History Giuffria was formed as Gregg Giuffria's side project in 1982 after Angel disbanded. The band's clas ...

, on bass as an official member. He previously played bass on 2 tracks from ''Metal Health''. He departed soon after, but rejoined the band on an on/off basis over for years. The lead single, " The Wild and the Young", is a stadium hymn to the energy of youth. Its accompanying video (featuring game show host

Wink Martindale Winston Conrad "Wink" Martindale (December 4, 1933 – April 15, 2025) was an American disc jockey, radio personality, game show host and television producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he was known for his outgoing and jovial demeanor and ...

in a cameo appearance) painted an Orwellian picture of the future, where totalitarian militarists fought to wipe out rock and roll — a reference to the Senate hearings concerning explicit language in metal songs. The video received active rotation on MTV. Another video for the promotional single "Twilight Hotel" only managed to get light rotation.

Track listing

Credits taken from album liner notes.

Personnel

Quiet Riot

– lead vocals, backing vocals, guitar *

Carlos Cavazo Carlos Cavazo (born July 8, 1957) is a Mexican-American musician best known as the guitarist for heavy metal band Quiet Riot during their commercial peak. He has also played with Snow, 3 Legged Dogg, Hollywood Allstarz, and Ratt. Biography C ...

– guitar, backing vocals *

Chuck Wright Chuck Wright (born September 13, 1959) is an American bassist, best known as a member of the hard rock/heavy metal band Quiet Riot. He originally joined Quiet Riot in 1982, playing bass on the tracks " Metal Health (Bang Your Head)" and "Don' ...

– bass, backing vocals *

Frankie Banali Francesco Felice Banali (November 14, 1951 – August 20, 2020) was an American rock drummer, most widely known for his work with heavy metal band Quiet Riot. His signature tone and iconic drum intros first became famous on their album ''Meta ...

– drums, electric & acoustic percussion

Additional personnel

* John Purdell – keyboards, programming * Marcus Barone – EMU sampling, emulator *

Bobby Kimball Robert Troy Kimball (born March 29, 1947) is an American retired singer best known as longtime frontman of the rock band Toto from 1977 to 1984 and again from 1998 to 2008. He has also performed as a solo artist and session singer. History ...

– backing vocals on "Still of the Night" * Debra Raye, Michelle Rohl – backing vocals on "The Pump" * Jimmy Whitney and the Bible of Dreams Choir – backing vocals on "Slave to Love"

Production

* Spencer Proffer – producer * John Purdell – producer *

Hugh Syme Hugh Syme is a Canadian Juno Award-winning graphic artist and member of the Premier Artists Collection (PAC), best known for his artwork and cover concepts for rock and metal bands. He is also a musician and has contributed as a keyboard player ...

– art direction and cover painting

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qr 3 1986 albums Quiet Riot albums Albums produced by John Purdell Pasha Records albums