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Quiet Riot's Condition Critical Album & The John Torra Era

The Hair Metal Guru

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Quiet Riot followed up their massive Metal Health success with 1984's Condition Critical, but why wasn't it nearly as successful? In this roundtable, we look back at our history with Quiet Riot, review the album, discuss why it fell short of its predecessor, and debate where the band goes from here with new singer John Torra.

Was Condition Critical really a disappointment, or has it been unfairly judged in the shadow of Metal Health? And what does the future hold for Quiet Riot?

Join the conversation and let us know what you think in the comments!

#QuietRiot #ConditionCritical #JohnTorra #HairMetal #80sRock

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20 Comments

@gregc8483 14 hours ago

I saw Quiet Riot last night at Family Arena in St Charles, Missouri and they were great!
John Torra brought so much excitement that after there set, people rushed to the merch stands and they sold out of every T Shirt size except small.

I go to 20 plus shows a year and this never happens with my 80s bands!

Alex came into the Merch stand and people were following him to purchase meet and greats right then before Sebastian Bach was going on stage.

I'm assuming since they didn't have any merch left, and there were still 75 people standing around the merch stand, they decided to grab all of the photos and do an impromptu signing/photo opportunity on the spot.

Phenomenal performance by John Torra in his 2nd appearance with the band. The hype is real!

@MrNeilphipps 9 hours ago

Torra has brought new life to Quiet Riot.

@catsr541 8 hours ago

Would love to hear you guys review/talk about Quiet Riot's 90s discography. Terrified from 1993 and Down To The Bone from 1995 are two of my favorite albums of theirs!!

@ReganArmstrong-c7m 8 hours ago

Frankie Banali-his drumming on WASP especially The Headless Children and Crimson Idol was amazing. He's a beast.

@Hardware1977 15 hours ago

Clicked on this immediately! 🤘🏼🤘🏼

@gunnarjordan6980 10 hours ago

We have to say it; Torra is Kilking it! He’s the one if they ever had to replace Dubrow, which sadly they had to. RIP. But Loved Metal Health in 4th grade when it came out and I really liked and still like Condition Critical. I never knew as a kid why we didn’t hear more from QR but by then I was hearing Bon Jovi, Poison, Motley Crue, etc. so I was happy as a kid. Today, hate that C.Critical didn’t go massive for them.

@jeremydean6320 10 hours ago

I was at John Torra‘s show on Thursday night at the Cherokee Casino in West Siloam Springs, OK and I was blown away! I went not expecting much and man, John killed it! He’s breathing new life into the band, bringing an excitement that you could see the rest of the band was so pumped about..and the crowd was floored. So great to see a younger person waiving the flag for rock and we saw a lot of young people in their early 20s in the crowd. John also pays such honor to Kevin’s legacy…and I gotta say this, Condition Critical was the best song live..John gave me a new appreciation for that track!

@gladioveritas9407 10 hours ago (edited)

I saw Quiet Riot back in 1983 at the US Festival. John Torra is doing a great job on vocals; he sounds just like Kevin DuBrow! Looking back, Quiet Riot's 'Metal Health' album really expanded Heavy Metal's popularity and helped it dominate the rest of the 1980s.

@dakotaescher1 10 hours ago (edited)

Red Alert and Scream and Shout are phenomenal. Love it. Let me add We Were Born to Rock and Stomp Your Feet. No apologies. Love it.

@bobbystoneroad9578 3 hours ago

The lost 90s/00s discs that still had Kevin at the helm are so underrated. Everyone should revisit these great titles

@Jsing6946 9 hours ago

THE WILD AND THE YOUNG takes on a whole new meaning now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MY FAVE QR SONG off the album QRIII

@stevebarker4681 6 hours ago

Congrats John torra. 🤘 first time i heard you. Thats the guy. Life long QR fan here.

@Daniel_jose-b4g 11 hours ago

Back in the 80's, Quiet Riot came to play my hometown at a place called the concert barn. This was the first time I heard of them. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard them.....WOW!!!!

@gunnarjordan6980 6 hours ago

How crazy is it that Quiet Riot in 2026, literally has The Best Singer in the business!??? I said it. I don’t take it back. Torra is the best out there and he can literally sing exactly like Anyone!! Check him out singing Crue, Cinderella, Dio, Journey, Danger Danger, WASP, Skid Row, etc.!! No one can touch this kid!

@raymondabell8976 10 hours ago

John Torra is bringing the band back to life. Rock On Dude.🎸

@TheRocknMetalBlock380 15 hours ago

I would love Quiet Riot to land a really big name producer and get to work on a new album with Torra.

@swingdance281 13 hours ago

Condition Critical is hands down Quiet Riot's best album. It's not even close. Six 4-star songs and two 5-star songs (Scream And Shout / We Were Born To Rock). Man, I listened to that cassette a lot back in 1984 — way more than I ever listened to Metal Health. Back then, the only albums I would've listened to more were Pyromania (Def Leppard), Out Of The Cellar (Ratt), and Tooth And Nail (Dokken). Maybe my experience with Condition Critical was really different than most people's, but it'd probably make my top 30 favorite albums of all time. The only clunker on Condition Critical is Winners Take All. Kevin's voice was just not meant for ballads. My favorite part of the album is during the solo on Sign Of The Times. I love the way that Rudy's bass line sounds with the guitar solo. I used to rewind the tape and listen to that part over again.

@tkkling2 9 hours ago

Love Condition Critical. I was around 15 when it came out. I think we all see albums whether they are great or not as what time of your life they came out and the memories associated with them. My friends and I listened to this album on cassette in a 68 Chevy until it was worn out. Again, Im with Jones on this one! He has great taste in music.

@ScottNazzarese 13 hours ago

I was so into QR until the follow up and Kevin talking so much shit and just got burnt on them. Checked out until now! So excited for this kid and hopefully taking QR back to the top! He’s amazing. This is so great for our genre!!!
Great show guys!!