Review Summary: Riot try to expand by throwing their discography in a blender.
Following another period of changes,
The Brethren of the Long House is Riot's attempt at solidifying the band's variegated identity by building roads made to be familiar for most of those who were confused by the stylistic differences in a discography that kept taking unexpected and/or unwanted turns. This time there is an underlying concept that, much like in
The Privilege of Power, doesn't come off as a priority but rather as an additional excitant giving more character to the album. Namely, the concept revolves around the battles between American Indians and colonizers. Another similarity with the mentioned album is an instrumental cover opening the album and finally closing it through a reprise, the piece covered being Trevor Jones' "The Last of the Mohicans".
The recalls to the past don't stop with that. The album's overall sound consists of a union of the blends of hard rock and heavy/speed metal found in Riot's discography, to the point where "Glory Calling" borrows(?) "Warrior"'s (from
Rock City) intro riff right before turning into a galloping
Thundersteel-meets-
Nightbreaker power metal-esque ride. To spice things up,
The Brethren can count on a few successfully delivered ballads that work well in the concept's context and show emotional outputs by Mike DiMeo's vocal work and Mark Reale's guitar work. Ballads that can also count on a pleasant variety with, for example, "Santa Maria" being piano driven and "Shenandoah" being based on an American traditional folk song.
Anyhow,
The Brethren ultimately appears as a rough gem, an album that could have been better fleshed out. It doesn't really reach maximum steam until halfway through and the waiting doesn't feel completely rewarded. Despite the evident attempts, most of the tracks lack a distinctive identity. Not to say they're poor, but forget the enviable intensity of
Narita's title track. One of the clearest problems is, yet again, Mike DiMeo's voice. While the instruments' production is very commendable and possesses an interesting dose of audible bass playing, DiMeo's vocals aren't convincing enough because of how muffled they often sound, even though there are some engaging choruses like in "Blood of the English" where DiMeo shines and drives the song. That said
The Brethren is a step in the right direction for the band and clearly appears as if born from a reasonable attempt and involvement, with even long time ally and producer Steve Loeb credited in various sections like backing vocals and strings.
