Donnie Van Stavern

Bass

Once James and I realized we were going to be able to get people we respected to play on these songs, we asked ourselves who we would have asked, back when we began. DVS was Riot's bassist, songwriter, and one of the keys to their new sound in 1988. Thundersteel marked a change in Riot's musical direction, and even though it only lasted for two albums (Thundersteel and Privilege of Power), their unique blend of power and melody had a big influence on James and I for years to come. DVS is still playing and recently rekindled that era with Riot again in 2011 and continues to keep that fire burning in Riot V, so we were thrilled when Donnie agreed to add his aggressive, precision bass-playing to a few of our songs, and even more excited when he convinced the other half of that classic Riot rhythm section to join in too.

Some other albums that DVS Played on: