Quiet Riot — Condition Critical

intothewellsabyss
Jul 16, 2023
3 min read

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

39 years ago this week, this bands “Metal Health” turned “Condition Critical”!

On July 16, 1984, Quiet Riot released their fourth full-length studio album, “Condition Critical” via Pasha Records.

While it is my favorite QR album, “Condition Critical” was not nearly as successful as its predecessor (1983's “Metal Health”) in either fan reaction or sales.

It was also given an infamous two-word review in Rolling Stone magazine: "Condition Terminal."

However, it did sell over one million copies, peaking at No. 15 on the US Billboard album chart. Like the band's previous album, “Condition Critical” features a cover of a Slade song in the form of "Mama Weer All Crazee Now", which was also released as a single.

Singles were also released for the songs "Winners Take All", "Party All Night" (also known as "Party All Nite"), and "Bad Boy".

Music videos were made for the songs "Party All Night" and "Mama Weer All Crazee Now", both receiving some airplay on MTV.

“Condition Critical’s” album cover features the likeness of lead singer Kevin DuBrow with a metal mask. The character was previously featured on the cover of “Metal Health” as well as many of the band's subsequent album covers, establishing him as the band's mascot. The character also has cameos in both aforementioned music videos.

Frustrated over the album's failure to duplicate the success of its predecessor, DuBrow began expressing his opinion in the Heavy Metal press that many bands in the Los Angeles Metal scene owed their success to what he saw as the doors opened for them by Quiet Riot.

At one point he even compared his band to the Beatles. DuBrow's verbal assaults angered many of Quiet Riot's musical contemporaries and alienated fans.

DuBrow's tirades led to fan backlash and clashes in the media with several other Los Angeles-based metal bands, which resulted in Rudy Sarzo quitting the group in March 1985.

After auditions, Kjel Benner was brought in to complete previously booked South American tour dates in April 1985.

Despite any lingering hard feelings between DuBrow and Sarzo, the bassist briefly rejoined his former bandmates in May 1985 for the Hear 'n Aid sessions, a charity project headed by Ronnie James Dio to raise money for African famine relief.

Sarzo resurfaced with former Ozzy Osbourne bandmate Tommy Aldridge two years later in Whitesnake, touring in support of the band's hugely successful self-titled 1987 album. Sarzo was permanently replaced in Quiet Riot by a reinstated Chuck Wright, after five years' absence from the band.

The track "Stomp Your Hands, Clap Your Feet" shares its title with the original American title to Slade's 1974 album “Old New Borrowed and Blue”.

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

▶ Listen to “Condition Critical” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/condition-critical/192486740

▶ Listen to “Condition Critical” via Spotify: Condition Critical https://open.spotify.com/album/2Vz8AIVn3YZNZME3QbZH3I

▶ Watch the official music video for “Party All Nite": https://youtu.be/ECE_w61Em_A

▶ Watch the official music video for “Mama Weer All Crazee Now”: https://youtu.be/gStvjANqoqs

▶ Follow Quite Riot on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quietriot?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells

Quiet Riot — Condition Critical

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