Alex Grossi of Quiet Riot Interview: 10 Albums That Changed My Life

Feature Photo courtesy of Alex Grossi

These days, Alex Grossi is known as the lead guitarist of heavy metal titans Quiet Riot, following a long line of great players like Randy Rhoads and Carlos Cavazo. Carrying on the legacy of the group that spawned Metal Health is important to Grossi. And despite what detractors say, the current version of Quiet Riot, featuring Grossi (guitars), Rudy Sarzo (bass), Jizzy Pearl (vocals), and Johnny Kelly (drums), rocks as hard and heavy as any previous lineup.

Quiet Riot aside, Grossi is a slick, smooth, and heavy player, who has made waves with the likes of Hookers & Blow (with Dizzy Reed), and Angry Salad (who had a deal with Atlantic Records). He’s also written and/or toured with Bang Tango, Steven Adler, Jani Lane, Love/Hate, Skid Row, and Aimee Allen. With a PRS six-string in hand, Alex Grossi’s love for all things hard and heavy runs deep, as evidenced by his list of ten albums that changed his life, which he’s carefully curated—in no particular order—for the gang at ClassicRockHistory.com. Can you spot any of your favorites?

Appetite for Destruction by Guns N’ Roses (1987)

The very first time I heard “Welcome to the Jungle,” I immediately knew that there was something really different about whatever was going on compared to what else was on MTV at the time. It wasn’t just the riff or the song; it was the delivery and how angry Axl [Rose] sounded. To me, it was real sounding.

Vulgar Display of Power by Pantera (1992)

This was the record that Pantera toured on with Skid Row, which put them in front of a far more mainstream audience. I remember being absolutely blown away at Dime [Dimebag Darrell] ‘s riffs, tone, and playing, which was untouchable when mixed with Phil [Anselmo] ‘s brutality. To hear a guy playing like that at the height of grunge and the anti-guitar hero era was such a breath of fresh air.

Ah via Musicom by Eric Johnson (1990)

If there were ever a record you could call perfect as far as guitar tones and compositions go, I would put this one up there. The song “Trademark” still gives me chills, and the fact that it was recorded live with not a lot of overdubs showcases a band playing together, which really got lost once Pro Tools came along in a lot of ways.

Slave to The Grind by Skid Row (1991)

In my opinion, Snake Sabo and Scotti Hill are probably the most underrated guitar duo out there. They come up with great riffs and are far cleverer and more tasteful than they were credited for. I loved how they got heavier with this record. They didn’t play it safe and attempt to re-create their first one [Skid Row], which I also love.

Chronicles by Rush (1990)

Alex Lifeson’s chord voicings are really unique and inspiring. Alex and Andy Summers from The Police are straight-up masters of creating lush open-string voicings that create very memorable and signature textures. Learning some of their music certainly broadened my musical horizons.

ReadySexGo by Marvelous 3 (2000)

In the early 2000s, there wasn’t much in the way bands that really rocked. So, Butch Walker and company really carried the torch during that time. This album has big, catchy choruses, and the guitar solos were alive and well, too.

The Black Album by Metallica (1991)

This record came out when I was a freshman in high school, just learning how to play full songs on the guitar with a band. “Enter Sandman” is probably my generation’s “Smoke on the Water” as far as riffs go. Until this point, Metallica wasn’t that mainstream; this album made them as massive as they were. The whole record had a big effect on me as a guitarist.

Metal Health by Quiet Riot (1983)

Aside from the obvious, this record broke down the wall for many bands you heard about and saw experience mainstream success following it, hitting number one on the Billboard Mainstream Top 200 chart. Until then, hard rock and heavy metal hadn’t hit that mark, so this album really drew the industry’s attention to those genres.

Smashes, Thrashes & Hits by Kiss (1988)

I actually got into Kiss by being introduced to the non-makeup version with Bruce Kulick and Eric Carr via MTV, and then I worked my way back to the classic ’70s make-up version. This record was a compilation of the biggest songs from both eras and even though my favorite Kiss record ended up being 1976’s Destroyer, this album is why I got into them.

Devil Without a Cause by Kid Rock (1998)

I got a copy of this record months before it really hit the mainstream. I went to see him play at a tiny dump of a club in Upstate New York while he was still touring in a Winnebago in front of 80 people. The guy came out and absolutely crushed it, and I was instantly a fan. At that time, in the late ’90s, you didn’t see much rock star attitude or swagger that had the songs to back it up.

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