Mark Reale (June 7, 1955 – January 25, 2012) was an American guitarist and songwriter who founded and led the heavy metal band

Riot A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

(now known as Riot V) in 1975, which experienced success and popularity in the early 1980s. Reale was the sole constant member of the band, as well as its creative force. After Reale's death in 2012, remaining members of the band reformed the group a year later under the name Riot V.

Biography

Reale was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York City, in 1955. He grew up listening to

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

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Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English lead guitarist. He was a founding member and the guitarist of Deep Purple, one of the pioneering bands of hard rock. After leaving Deep Purple in 1975, Blackmore formed the band Rainbow ...

and lists

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

as one of his greatest influences. After attending concerts by

Ronnie Montrose Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American musician and guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morri ...

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and

Edgar Winter Edgar Holland Winter (born December 28, 1946) is an American multi-instrumentalist, working as a vocalist along with playing keyboards, saxophone, and percussion. His success peaked in the 1970s with his band the Edgar Winter Group and their pop ...

he decided to become a guitarist, forming the band Riot in 1975 who are still active to the present day. Mark Reale was the principal songwriter and main creative force behind Riot starting with the band's 1977 debut album '' Rock City''. The group's most acclaimed album was 1981's seminal ''

Fire Down Under ''Fire Down Under'' is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Riot, released in 1981, it's the last album to feature original vocalist Guy Speranza. The song "Flashbacks" is dedicated to Neal Kay, a British DJ who supported heavy ...

'', the last of three studio albums to feature original vocalist Guy Speranza. Other notable records include '' Restless Breed'' (1982), the band's comeback album, ''

Thundersteel ''Thundersteel'' is the sixth studio album by the American heavy metal band Riot, released after coming back from a period of inactivity in the mid-1980s. It features a totally different line-up from that of the previous work, with guitarist Ma ...

'' (1988), and its follow-up, ''

The Privilege of Power ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (1990). Riot's last album to feature Reale was ''

Immortal Soul Christian mortalism is the Christian belief that the human soul is not naturally immortal and may include the belief that the soul is "sleeping" after death until the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment, a time known as the intermedi ...

'', released in 2011. Riot has toured all around the world and been a support act for major acts such as

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

Sammy Hagar Sam Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose before launching a ...

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, and Rush while maintaining a particularly strong fanbase in Japan and continental Europe. After Riot's temporary breakup following the '' Born In America'' (1983) release, Reale formed a short-lived outfit named Narita with former members of S.A. Slayer, including future Riot bassist Don Van Stavern. The band recorded a sole demo in 1984 before calling it quits. Reale decided to re-activate Riot which led to a new record deal with

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records, a former name of Sony Music, a global music company * CBS/Sony, a former name of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, a Japanese music company division of Sony * CBS Records International, a label for Columbia Re ...

and the ''

'' album in 1988. In 1998, Reale co-founded the group Westworld with vocalist

Tony Harnell Tony Harnell (born September 18, 1962) is an American singer, best known for his work with Norwegian hard rock band TNT. He is known for his wide vocal range, with his modal voice spanning over four octaves. Harnell has also been the frontman of ...

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

fame. Westworld released three studio albums and one live disc between 1999 and 2002.

Death

On January 25, 2012, Reale died of complications related to

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, abdominal distension, and weight loss. Complications outside of the ...

. Reale, who suffered Crohn's disease most of his life, had been in a coma since January 11 due to a

subarachnoid hemorrhage Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is bleeding into the subarachnoid space—the area between the arachnoid (brain), arachnoid membrane and the pia mater surrounding the human brain, brain. Symptoms may include a thunderclap headache, severe heada ...

Discography

with Riot

*'' Rock City'' (1977) *'' Narita'' (1979) *''

'' (1981) *'' Restless Breed'' (1982) *'' Born In America'' (1983) *''

'' (1988) *''

'' (1990) *'' Nightbreaker'' (1993) *''

The Brethren of the Long House ''The Brethren of the Long House'' is Riot band, Riot's ninth studio album. It was first released in Japan on November 11, 1995, in Germany in 1996, and eventually in the United States in 1999. The album is dedicated to the lost culture of Nativ ...

'' (1996) *''

Inishmore Inishmore ( , or ) is the largest of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland. With an area of and a population of 820 (as of 2016), it is the second-largest island off the Irish coast (after Achill) and most populo ...

'' (1998) *'' Shine On Live In Japan (1998) *''

Sons of Society ''Sons of Society'' is the eleventh studio album by American heavy metal band Riot, released in Japan on July 15, 1999, and in the US on September 7, 1999, with a missing track. Track listing * "Queen" is a standard track on the original Jap ...

'' (1999) *'' Through the Storm'' (2002) *'' Army of One'' (2006) *''

'' (2011)

with Westworld

* ''Westworld'' (1999) * ''Skin'' (2000) * ''Live... In the Flesh'' (2001) * ''Cyberdreams'' (2002)

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial Facebook page
*
RIOT Guitarist Mark Reale Passes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reale, Mark 1955 births 2012 deaths American heavy metal guitarists Deaths from Crohn's disease Musicians from Brooklyn Guitarists from New York (state) 20th-century American guitarists Riot (band) members American male guitarists 20th-century American male musicians