self titled EP consisting of 5 songs back in early 1990's. While playing the club circuit, they were writing for a full lenght release and went into the studio in late 2000 and released the "Modern World" cd. Thanks to a German metal magazine review, Modern World made a big impact in that country. A distribution deal was made with Hellion Records to supply all of Europe with Rival's releases. One particular cut titled "Death Stalker" appeared on the "Best of The Unsigned Bands" issue of Rock Hard, Heavy Or What?! magazine in 2002. The band was asked to come to Germany and open up the prestigious "Bang Your Head" fest in July 2002, along with another outdoor festival called "Headbangers Open Air" a week prior. Shortly after these successful and powerful shows, Rival accepted a deal with Metal Blade Records and a new disc titled "State Of Mind" was release in 2005. The band again traveled to Germany and performed at outdoor metal festivals that summer. Rival continue to stay true to their roots, and perform high energy, riff-filled, hard rock/metal music. They survived through situations that would have ended many bands, and have remained with the original members still intact. Catch Rival live and you'll see why they're one of the best.