Mark Reale (June 7, 1955 – January 25, 2012) was an American guitarist who was the sole consistent and founding member of the heavy metal band

Riot A riot 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 property targete ...

(now known as Riot V).

Biography

Reale was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, 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, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and jazz ...

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar ...

and lists

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

as one of his greatest influences. After attending concerts by

Ronnie Montrose Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American 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 Morrison, Herbie H ...

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and

Edgar Winter Edgar Holland Winter (born December 28, 1946) is an American musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist, playing keyboards, guitar, saxophone, and percussion, as well as singing. His success peaked in the 1970s with his band the Edgar Winter Group ...

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 heav ...

'', 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 ...

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

The Privilege of Power ''The Privilege of Power'' is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Riot. It was more experimental than their previous work, being an attempt at a concept album and also including a horn section on some of the tracks. "Racing wi ...

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

Immortal Soul Christian mortalism is the Christianity, Christian belief that the human Soul (spirit), soul is not naturally Immortality of the soul, immortal and may include the belief that the soul is “sleeping” after death until the Resurrection of the ...

'', 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 touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

Sammy Hagar Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...

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, and

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

while maintaining a particularly strong fanbase in Japan and continental Europe. After Riot's temporary breakup following the ''

Born In America ''Born in America'' is the fifth studio album released by the American heavy metal band Riot, released in 1983. After getting dropped by Elektra Records the band signed with Canadian indie label Quality Records for what was to be the second a ...

'' (1983) release, Reale formed a short-lived outfit named Narita with former members of

S.A. Slayer S.A. Slayer, originally known as Slayer, was an American heavy metal band formed in San Antonio, Texas, in 1981 by the former Blitzkrieg (not to be confused with the UK band Blitzkrieg) guitar duo Robert "Bob Dog" Catlin and Art Villarreal, ba ...

, 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 or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

and the ''

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

Tony Harnell Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

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 (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, abdominal distension ...

. Reale, who had 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 membrane and the pia mater surrounding the brain. Symptoms may include a severe headache of rapid onset, vomiting, decreased level of consci ...

Discography

with Riot

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

'' (1981) *'' Restless Breed'' (1982) *''

'' (1983) *''

'' (1988) *''

'' (1990) *''

Nightbreaker ''Nightbreaker'' is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Riot. It was the band's first release with vocalist Mike DiMeo, as well as the studio debut of guitarist Mike Flyntz and bassist Pete Perez. The album was released in ...

'' (1993) *''

The Brethren of the Long House ''The Brethren of the Long House'' is 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 American India ...

'' (1996) *''

Inishmore Inishmore ( ga, Árainn , 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 762 (as of 2016), it is the second-largest island off the Irish coast (after Achill) and ...

'' (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 Ja ...

'' (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 pageRIOT 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