• AllMyVinyl #157
• Band: Quiet Riot
• Album Title: Metal Health
• Release Date: 11 Mar 1983
• Date purchased: 24 Nov 2023
• Location purchased: Walmart
• Color of vinyl: translucent blue (they call it Sea glass with white swirls)
• Number of discs: 1
• Links: [ Wikipedia | Discogs | Band Website | Complete album on Youtube ]

“…Metal Health will drive you mad…”

I chose this album to write about today (8 Nov 2025) because I’m seeing Quiet Riot tonight.  It’ll be the first time since 2018, and several decades since the first time I ever saw them (5 Nov 1983).  Much has changed over the years, including members in the band (I’ll get into that later).  But I thought with a day off from work today and a concert tonight, I thought I’d listen to the album to prep myself, and then thought – might as well do one of my vinyl entries.  So here we are.

Metal Health was the third overall Quiet Riot album, but the first one that folks my age really had or knew.   There are two albums before this one, but they were only released in Japan, and as such were super hard to get back then, and remained that way.  I did eventually get copies of the first two QR albums with Randy on vinyl a few years back when someone FINALLY reprinted them, but more on those later.  But Metal Health was their first album released in the US, and it was huge.  It seems horribly wrong simply to call the Metal Health album “huge”.  You’d need like two ore three descriptors and about 5 repeats of huge all in capital letters with about a dozen exclamation points to properly convey how huge it was in 1983.  This was the first hard rock/metal album to ever get to #1 on the record sale charts.  The zeitgeist at the time was such that this kind of music didn’t really chart, let alone get to #1.   But this did, and it was at the forefront of the 80’s hair metal movement.  SO MANY bands after this tried to copy what Quiet Riot did and never pulled it off.  Oh, there were successes for sure, but nothing like QR did here at this time.  Even Quiet Riot couldn’t follow this up.  Within five years of this coming out, they had changed bassists, fired their singer, and then totally disbanded by the end of 1988.  This album burned super bright, and then they faded relatively quickly after that (despite having three more albums in the 80’s after this).

The overall history of Quiet Riot’s lineup changes is quite epic.  I won’t get into it all here, but even if I confine it to just this album there’s a bunch to talk about.  After their second album, Randy Rhodes went and joined Ozzy’s band (and later added Rudy Sarzo), so Quiet Riot broke up after that.  Kevin started his own band named “Dubrow” with Greg Leon (g), Gary Van Dyke (b), Skip Gilette (d).  As I understand it, by the time work on this album had begun, this lineup was gone, and Kevin was playing with Frankie Banali on drums (who had been in QR with Randy back in the day) as well as Carlos Cavazo on guitar, with Chuck Wright on bass.  Wright will be in and out of QR several times over the years (as will Rudy Sarzo), but for this point, it was basically Dubrow/Banali/Cavazo/Wright as “Dubrow”, and when they started in on studio time, Rudy Sarzo was asked to play on a track or two.  They apparently had a good enough time doing this that they asked Rudy to stay permanently, and he did.  The time with Chuck Wright isn’t lost though as two of the songs on the final album have Chuck playing bass (as well as some background vocals).  That’s how we arrived at the version of Quiet Riot that’s on this album.

There’s an article on the Wayback machine from Metal Edge magazine which has quotes from all these guys (and Spencer Proffer) about the history and making of the Metal Health album.  It’s a good read – check it out here.

The album hit at exactly the right time.  As I’ve already said, this was monstrously huge, and as I was 18 at the time this came out, I was absolutely the target audience.  It worked.  I bought this album when it was new and played the ever loving shit out of it at the time.  I was still buying vinyl in 1983, but as far as I can tell, I never bought THIS one.  I don’t know why – because I have their next album on vinyl to this day (Condition Critical).  If I bought Metal Health on vinyl back in the day I no longer have that original pressing.  I likely had it on cassette tape then as it was the era of the Walkman and the boombox for me around this time.  I know I got it on CD somewhere along the line, as I still have that copy of the album as well.  Vinyl didn’t happen until late 2023.  I was doing some random perusing of albums and found out that QR re-released Metal Health in 2023 on vinyl.  Walmart had an exclusive pressing on translucent blue vinyl, and I also found a deal – got it brand new for $14, so I jumped on it.  That’s what I’m playing today – the 2023 20th anniversary re-release of the Metal Health album on vinyl.  An album that I know SUPER well from overplay back in the day, yet one that mostly still works 40+ years later.

Fun Black Sabbath connection – the guy who did the cover art for this album (Stan Watts) also did the cover art for Sabbath’s “Live Evil”.  Watts himself appears on the cover of Metal Health (not Kevin DuBrow).

Metal Health (Bang Your Head) – I always wondered why this song works.  I mean if you look at it objectively, certain parts of it are just goofy.  Like the lyrics (I’m like a laser / six string razor / I got a mouth like an alligator) – high brow stuff there Kevin.  Even the music itself isn’t the most inventive stuff that Quiet Riot has done (even on this album).  But holy F does it work.  The chorus is just stupidly sing-able.  Coming out of the guitar solo, we get a slower part where the bass is out front.  Coming out of THAT, there’s a nice little guitar accent from Carlos that goes with it I quite like.  But by the time the song ends, it’s going in full stream.  This happens nearly every time I listen to the song, it starts off with a “Yeah, OK this one”, but then by the end it’s like “This fucking rocks”.  So yeah, this song works, but I can’t fully tell you why despite these words I just laid down.  It’s also the longest song on the album (at 5:17).

This is one of the two songs where Chuck Wright plays bass.  It doesn’t sound radically different to what Rudy does – in fact for the longest time after review I don’t think I even noticed this despite it being listed in the credit that Wright plays on this song.

The song is credited to Carlos Cavazo, Kevin DuBrow, Frankie Banali, and Tony Cavazo.  Tony is Carlos’ brother and they were in the band Snow prior to this – Tony plays bass.  Exactly what part Tony has in the writing of the song, I don’t know, but there he is. :)

Cum On Feel the Noize – The song that I think got everyone’s attention was this one. It certainly got mine.  What I also didn’t know right the start is that it wasn’t their song.  I saw this video SO MANY TIMES on MTV back then, I anticipated moves of the guys in the band watching it – like Rudy slapping the shit out of his bass in the middle of playing.  I actually bought more into the visuals.  In early 1983 – this was rock and roll to me.  The look of the band in this song drove a lot of thoughts I had (at that time) of what rock and roll should look like, so this video (and I don’t mean the conceptual stuff of the kid in his bedroom – the band) drove my thoughts a lot in 1983.

Musically, it’s a cover song.  The original is by the British band Slade, who was huge for a long time in the UK/Europe and never made it big here, although that had some mild US success shortly after Quiet Riot lifted their profile here.  As Quiet Riot’s version was the first I heard, I always felt theirs was the definitive version to me, but I suspect Slade fans would feel otherwise.

I will add that despite knowing the lyrics are “Cum on feel the noize, girls rock your boys” I was convinced back at that time that some of the lyrics were really “girls fuck your boys” – cuz at 18 – that’s nearly all guys tend to think about.  This song was all about the attitude of it all, and not as much about the actual music.  Carlos guitar solo was decent, but not stellar.  This is two songs in a row where the overall attitude of the song is better than the song itself, I think.  Which is probably why they both work and where the biggest hits off the album.

Was a big one two punch leading off the album that way.

Don’t Wanna Let You Go – Things are taken down a notch here, as this song is a slower track.  I recall when the album was new skipping this song a bunch, as I just wanted more of the first two songs.  It never changes gears.  It stays in a lower gear.  I suppose it was intended as a palate cleanser.  Most of this song doesn’t do a lot for me, but I did enjoy the guitar solo, which reminded me a bit of David Gilmour’s playing. Overall it was too was restrained from what you normally think a Quiet Riot song to be – but I get why it’s on the album.

This is the other song that Chuck Wright played on (besides Metal Health).

Slick Black Cadillac – This too is a cover, but this time Quiet Riot is covering themselves.  The original version appeared on the prior album (Quiet Riot II) and featured Randy Rhoads on guitar.  I prefer that one to this version.  On both the Metal Health and Quiet Riot II albums the song is credited to just Kevin (Wikipedia credits Randy as well).  This is one of the better songs from the second QR album, so I’m glad something from that era was retained – it’s also generally the only song from back then which still gets played.  It’s also got the same kind of vibe that Noize does – that kind of “party atmosphere” to the song – which kind of describes Quiet Riot in general.

Anyway, while the version on this album has a far more produced sound, I prefer the original, despite the klunky car sound intro the OG has.  I think Randy’s guitar works better there than Carlos does on the newer version.  The song structure is mostly the same – it’s not changed much at all beyond being re-recorded with mostly different personnel than the original was.  Still, it’s an enjoyable song no matter which version you’re listening to.  It fits this album well.  I just prefer the Randy version – but I do think I like the Rudy Sarzo bass work slightly more than Kelly Gharni’s on the original.

I always thought that the inclusion of this song on the album was done so Randy’s estate would get something from the sales of the album for the band he founded, but I never found conclusive proof of that theory over the years.  I also remember at the time the Stray Cats had a song called “Look at that Cadillac“, and wondered “were Cadillacs supposed to be sexy or something” as there were multiple songs about them at the time.  :)

Love’s a Bitch – On the album Cadillac leads right into this track which starts off slow, making you think it’ll be like “Let You Go”, but it doesn’t stay there.  I do really like the slower intro here, which builds to something larger.  I do REALLY like the guitar work here – especially the solo which is complimented well in the background by Rudy & Frankie.  Great stuff in the middle there for sure.

This is one of those songs that says the title a lot over and over.  I could have done with a bit more varied lyrics, but I really did like the music here.  I wouldn’t quite call this a power ballad, but it’s got quite a few elements of the traditional power ballad.

Breathless – Breathless leads off side two of the album with a faster paced track than most QR tracks are.  We’re not talking thrash here – it’s not like that, but for a QR song, it’s got a faster, more rollicking pace than most.  I enjoyed the pace of this song.   Lyrics are more of the “meh” kind (She’s got me runnin blind / never think I’ll find sanity / Hyperventilate nothing’s in her place / she takes my breath away / and leaves me breathless).  Yeah, I like this one more for the overall feel and pace of the track than any of the individual pieces, although it’s another where I have to single out Carlos’ solo.  Quite liked that.

Run For Cover – One of the more popular songs from the album.  The band must really like it as it still is played heavily into 2025, in fact, it tends to lead off the setlist for modern Quiet Riot shows.  Same kind of faster paced song as a few we’ve had already.  While I’ve called out the lyrics on a few song to this point, it’s not a problem here – nothing here sticks as odd lyrics, so that’s good.  The song features Frankie in the middle.  Where you’d get a guitar solo, you’d get a mini drum solo, which is a nice change.  There’s still a guitar solo, but a small part of it is given up to feature Frankie.   It is one of my favorite kind of tracks.  It’s just 3:38 – has a fast pace to it, it gets in says its thing and gets out.  Song has a second featured section for Frankie when it closes out too.  Great track.  Easy to see why they start off shows with it.

Battle Axe – This is basically a 1:39 guitar solo by Carlos Cavazo.  Not surprisingly it’s credited to just him on the liner notes.  In some ways this sounds like Eddie Van Halen, who was obviously an influence on Carlos.  Enjoyable for sure, but it doesn’t lend itself to a ton of words, as I’m not a guitarist myself, and I can’t break down what he’s doing.  Wouldn’t have minded it being a bit longer, tell you the truth.

Let’s Get Crazy – The first few notes from this song REALLY sound like something I’ve heard in another rock song somewhere, but I can’t put my finger on it.  Spent about 10 mins after I heard them trying to figure it out, but gave up, or I’d be stuck on that all day.  Anyway, another one with dumb sex lyrics (I wanna kiss the lips not the ones on your face) – yeah, well..  At age 60 that kind of thing has no interest to me, and at age 18 I was probably just amused.  Musically, it’s OK.  I don’t think it’s a bad song at all, I still enjoy it, but there’s no parts of it (save for that intro riff) that stick out and go “Here, I’m the reason you like this”.  It’s just kind of there.

Thunderbird – Then we get to the album closer, Thunderbird.  This is unlike anything else on the album.  It starts off with just Kevin and a piano.  It’s an emotional piece, and a track that I loved from the moment I first heard it.  This one has some great music – probably Kevin’s best vocal performance on the album, but for this one it’s more about the meaning of the lyrics than anything else.

“Hello, you, yes, it’s me
You can’t come back, you’re flyin’ free
You think you found Everything that you need

Fly away, fly away
To your new home Across the seas
Oh, leave your nest
Oh, baby, leave the best thing
That you’ve been

Fly on, thunderbird, fly
Fly on, spread your wings to the sky
Fly on, thunderbird, fly”

Given this album came out in the spring of 1983, and Randy had died roughly a year prior, everyone assumed this was about Randy having died. Yeah, it was about Randy, but at the time it was written, it was merely about Kevin being sad he wasn’t in Quiet Riot with Randy anyone.  It turned into being about Randy having died – which honestly is what I thought the song was about when I first got the album myself.  Now it can be sung about Kevin as well given Kevin’s been gone awhile too.

It’s one of those songs I tend to “float” with – I don’t focus on any one part of the music, my kind just goes along for the ride – given I know what the song meant when written, what I’ve personally gotten out of it.  It’s probably my favorite overall song on the album.  According to Apple music, it’s the most played song from this album in my library, so there’s that.  I may have listened to it three times in a row right now too.

RIP Randy – RIP Kevin – RIP Frankie – fly away – fly free.

There is also one additional studio track – it’s called “Danger Zone” (nothing to do with the Kenny Loggins song of the same name).  This was recorded during the Metal Health sessions, but left off and not completed.  One of the re-releases of this album (I think it was 2001) included the track as an unreleased bonus.  It also doesn’t feel “finished” – its doesn’t have same polish as the rest of the songs.  I’m mentioning it here, but not covering it like the other tracks since it’s not on my vinyl pressing of the album – I’ve only ever seen it on CD releases since then and digital.

That’s it for the first (widely available) Quiet Riot album – now 42 years old.  Something I bought new, consumed voraciously when it was new should not be this many decades old.  Granted my own age starts with a 6 now, which is offensive in and of itself, but I digress.  The album still mostly holds up over time.  Couple of the songs don’t do a lot for me, but that’s fine – there’s no real stinkers on this album.  The highs are VERY high – and there’s more of those than the lows, so overall it works out to be a darned good album.

Overall I own six Quiet Riot albums on vinyl. I’ve already written about two of them before this (Condition Critical & Hollywood Cowboys). I still have the 1988 QR as well as the two Randy albums to go, which I’ll get to in due course as I have a whole thing I want to say about the naming convention for QR records, but that would be more relevant to the first two, so I’ll use that there.

Enjoyed the listen today – I’ll likely be hearing most of the album tonight doing the Quiet Riot show.  #BangYourHead

Regarding the music videos from this album..  The one for “Cum on Feel the Noize” is age restricted when I try to embed it.  I don’t know why.  To that, I’ve embedded a video of QR doing the song live from back in 1983ish.  If you want to watch the actual music video, you have to click through and watch it on Youtube here.