Metropoulos Forum

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiJlSZe9sw8

my guitar teacher many years ago was mark's friend and sold him one of his vintage marshall cabs. Both are RIP now but I recall what great tone mark got, especially on fire down under.

My guess - 100W 6550 marshall jmp's master cranked, preamp midway
Sort of sounds like 65w celestion but could be something else.
clear sounding preamp like ampere bugle
Note the killer clear compression/gain he gets towards the end of the tune when he digs in. NO ONE gets this kind of clear sustain. The 6550s help, but still, it's not easy to get so much gain without the distortion. Unbelievable tone imo and the youtube clip does not do it justice

The LP is a great recording but the CD remaster is as sweet if not moreso. I usually do not like remasters but this one was done with taste even though it is dramatically different from the original. Highly recommend you pick up the remaster of this classic.

Looks like metal blade recently offered the album on LP in 2012 but I cannot confirm if this is a pressing of the remastered version or the original. Lilely the remaster since it's metal blade. The original was on capital I believe
http://www.allmusic.com/album/fire-down ... 6/releases

Hey awangotango,

I agree, Fire Down Under was a great album, and Riot was a great band that didn't get the attention they deserved. I still have my original album that I bought when it first came out, and I still give it a listen ever so often. Mark and the other guitarist, Rick Ventura, did some great interplay together. If you listen to the album with headphones you'll really hear how they built the guitar parts, each one was playing a different part and when put together made for one big guitar sound. Rick seemed to play more clean and Mark more distorted so together it gave that effect of the guitars having a lot of gain but still really clear. Mark had that classic Marshall crunch on the song Swords and Tequilla, and the song Fire Down Under is a barn burner. The singer, Guy Speranza, had an amazing voice too. I was dissapointed when he left. I recommend anyone that's a fan of good ol' fashioned rock-n-roll to check it out!

From Wikipedia;
The album was re-issued on CD in 1997 by the German-based High Vaultage label, utilizing a new, controversial remix by former Riot producer Steve Loeb, and in 1999 by Metal Blade Records in the U.S., this time featuring the original Elektra mix. Both versions contain various bonus tracks recorded for the original Capitol Records version of Fire Down Under which the band were unhappy with. Capitol dropped the band for being "too heavy" after hearing the final version subsequently released by Elektra Records.

To me, the guitars sound Def Leppard-ish. Both gain-tone wise and the way they play together.

I agree, the reissue is 'controversial' in that it alters what many believe is a classic recording. When I first heard it I was a bit uncertain but within a few minutes I realized it was a killer remix and now we have versions of the same classic. By the way there is another CD reissue of it Which I have as well and it is true to the original recording with all it's over the top cymbals and less bass.

Yes, I wonder if some of the cleaner parts were not played by Rick but it seems like they used the same era 6550 jmps. Live at my fathers place in long island shows who plays what. but the live stuff and even their other records didn't quite capture the killer tones and playing, not to mention the great song writing. Fire down under is the only one I really latched onto.

In any case, good to know there's a few others on the forum who have stumbled onto this gem. The whole album is fun to play.

I sort of classify it as 'new wave of American heavy metal'. NWOBHM vibe but with American grit. Along with 'the Rods', tt quick, y&t, rush, triumph etc. 1979-1986 was some kind of new wave of north American rock/metal similar to british bands of the same era