• facebook
  • twitter
  • rss

RIOT Guitarist Hospitalized Due To Complications Of Crohn's Disease

January 13, 2012

RIOT founder and guitarist Mark Reale has been admitted to a San Antonio hospital in critical condition due to complications of Crohn's disease. Subsequently, there is a possibility that he may not appear in the band's upcoming performances in the Northeast and aboard the 70,000 Tons Of Metal cruise to Grand Cayman.

Mark has been battling Crohn's for most of his life, working and performing while enduring almost constant pain and the side effects of treatment for his illness. He was in Texas bravely attempting to practice for the shows, but was felled by a severe onset of Crohn's symptoms leaving him in the Intensive Care Unit at an undisclosed facility.

The band has agreed that the performances will take place as scheduled with the possibility that Mark may not be well enough in time to appear. RIOT would also like to acknowledge that Mark has been struggling with these symptoms throughout the production of their new album, "Immortal Soul", and that guitarist Mike Flyntz recorded a major portion of the guitars on the album with Mark's creative direction while he was unable to perform. For this reason, fans can be assured that the show will be as exciting as anything RIOT has ever staged, even if Mike needs to hold down double guitar duty. Mark will be sorely missed in this event, but the shows will go on.

RIOT is asking fans and friends of the band to pray for Mark's speedy recovery, and to support the group in their efforts to bring you the RIOT reunion shows that have been so long in the making. While Mark's family insists on privacy during this difficult time, your prayers and good wishes will make it to his bedside until he is able to return to the stage.

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).