R.I.P. MARK REALE, 1955-2012

Mark Reale, guitarist of the band Riot, passed away yesterday at a hospital in San Antonio. He was only 56 years old.

Things went from bad to worse very quickly for Mark. He was hospitalized on January 13th in San Antonio due to complications of Crohn’s disease, a condition he’d battled for most of his life. The band and Mark then collectively made the decision that Riot would make their scheduled appearances without Mark, including their voyage on the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise. Then, on January 20th, it was revealed that Mark had been in a coma brought on by a subarachnoid brain hemmorhage since January 11th and his condition was even worse than expected. Reale finally passed away last night.

As far as we know, the rest of the band is still on the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise somewhere in the Caribbean Sea. Phone and Internet access aren’t readily available, but I’m sure they’ve been notified by now; they must be absolutely devastated that they can’t be with their brother. Our thoughts and best wishes are with Mark’s bandmates, friends and family.

To be honest I don’t think I ever listened to Riot prior to today, but it’s always a sad day when one of our metal brethren passes on. Listen to Riot on MOG and keep Mark in your thoughts.

– The MetalSucks staff