Ex-Riot drummer, Sandy Slavin has stated the following message via his official facebook page: I have just seen an advertisement for Riot featuring Rick Ventura performing Fire Down Under in Tokyo October 9th 2016. I don’t know who these clowns in this fake Riot are. I do know they are ripping me and the public off by pretending to have something to do with the record Fire Down Under. I know Rick just wants to play and feels they are honouring him his work. But they are not . They are using him to take credit for work they didn’t do. I assume some of these people played with Mark Reale at some point or other. That does not give them the right to call themselves Riot. I played with Ace Frehley for half a decade. It would be ludicrous for me to have a band and call it Kiss . I am very proud of Fire Down Under and it’s impact. It makes me literally sick to see these opportunists push me aside and claim ownership. The music stands, but this ongoing fraud cheapens and taints the real band that made that record.
From our perspective, Sandy Slavin hasn’t understand what’s Riot V is all about…they are just honoring the past and the legacy of Mark Reale’s music. I am sure that they wouldn’t have the slightest problem if Sandy Slavin would have played on one of the upcoming Riot V shows as a special guest.
