Cum on Feel the Noize

The Zoo Crew is cranking up the volume with Cum On Feel the Noize by Quiet Riot, a track from their iconic Metal Health album that shook the airwaves in 1983. This song, a cover of a 1973 hit by the English glam rock band Slade, was never meant to be a hit for Quiet Riot. Frontman Kevin DuBrow and the band were adamant about writing original material for their album, and when producer Spencer Proffer suggested covering the Slade track, they resisted. In a 2005 interview with ClassicRockRevisited, DuBrow admitted he wasn’t a fan of Slade and wanted to avoid covers. The band deliberately tried to sabotage the recording by not rehearsing and planning to play it poorly, hoping the label would scrap it. Drummer Frankie Banali recounted in a 2017 interview that they went into the studio unprepared, but when Banali started playing, the engineer secretly recorded their first take. To their surprise, it was a killer performance, and DuBrow’s vocals echoed Slade’s Noddy Holder with uncanny precision. Against their intentions, the track became their biggest hit, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and propelling Metal Health to become the first heavy metal album to top the Billboard 200.

The song’s success was amplified by its music video, a staple on MTV that captured the rebellious spirit of the era. The video features a teenager waking up to a blaring stereo that grows massive, shaking his room as strobe lights flash. A flashback shows DuBrow tossing the iconic “Metal Health Mask” into a crowd, which appears on the boy’s wall, hinting he caught it at a Quiet Riot concert. The video’s energy and the song’s anthemic chorus—“Come on, feel the noise, girls rock your boys”—made it a rallying cry for the emerging glam metal scene. Interestingly, Slade’s original version was titled “Cum On Hear the Noize” until Noddy Holder changed it to “Feel” to reflect the visceral experience of a Slade concert, as noted in the liner notes of their greatest hits album. Quiet Riot’s version, however, sparked some tension. Banali shared in a Ludwig drums interview that Slade seemed bitter about Quiet Riot’s success, noting that Slade never broke big in the U.S. When Quiet Riot invited Slade to their 1983 Hammersmith Odeon show in London, Slade didn’t respond, and Banali recalled a cold encounter with Slade’s Jim Lea in Kensington Market, where Lea refused to shake his hand.

Social media posts from fans on platforms like Reddit highlight the song’s enduring impact. A 2024 r/hairmetal thread saw users calling Quiet Riot “paver setters” for hair metal, with one fan sharing a childhood memory of watching the Cum On Feel the Noize video at a friend’s house, cementing it as a defining moment. Another user praised DuBrow’s powerful voice but noted the band’s reliance on Slade covers, including Mama Weer All Crazee Now, which also charted. The song’s legacy extends to pop culture, appearing in the musical Rock of Ages, the 2008 film Tropic Thunder, and video games like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. A humorous nod came in a 2005 episode of The Simpsons, where the band, reimagined as “Pious Riot,” played a parody called “Come On Feel the Lord.”

Quiet Riot was formed in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni, with vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew Forsyth joining soon after. The early years were turbulent, with Garni fired after making death threats toward DuBrow, as detailed in the band’s Wikipedia page. Their first two albums, released in Japan in 1978, featured Rhoads, who later joined Ozzy Osbourne, revitalizing his career. After Rhoads left, Quiet Riot struggled and disbanded in 1980. DuBrow persisted, playing L.A. clubs under his own name until producer Spencer Proffer offered studio time, leading to the reformation of Quiet Riot with guitarist Carlos Cavazo, bassist Rudy Sarzo, and drummer Frankie Banali. This lineup, the band’s most successful, released Metal Health in 1983, which sold over six million copies in the U.S. alone. Despite lineup changes and DuBrow’s death from a cocaine overdose in 2007, Quiet Riot has continued to tour and record, maintaining their legacy in the hair metal scene.

Fans can connect with Quiet Riot through their official website, Facebook, Instagram, and X accounts, where they share tour updates and tributes to their history. The band’s official Facebook page has a vibrant community of fans posting memories and photos from concerts. Fan-driven spaces also thrive, such as the Quiet Riot Fan Club on Facebook, where Zoo Freaks can join discussions and share memorabilia. Another fan site, Metal Storm, offers a platform for metalheads to follow Quiet Riot’s discography and engage in forums. These communities keep the spirit of Quiet Riot alive, celebrating their role as pioneers who, as one Reddit user put it, “knocked the fucking wall down” for hair metal.