Former L.A. GUNS And W.A.S.P. Drummer STEVE RILEY Dead At 67

Former L.A. GUNS and W.A.S.P. drummer Steve Riley has died at the age of 67.

The news of Riley‘s death was first reported by Metal Sludge and was confirmed by his longtime friend Jason Green, who shared a new video on his Waste Some Time With Jason Green YouTube channel in which he said that Green had suffered from various health issues prior to his passing.

A source close to Riley told Metal Sludge that the drummer died yesterday (Thursday, October 26) after he had been recently hospitalized. He had also been using a cane to walk in recent months.

Riley was the drummer for W.A.S.P. on the first four albums and world tours from 1983 to 1987. After leaving W.A.S.P. in 1987, Riley joined L.A. GUNS and played on the band’s most commercially successful albums.

In a 2011 blog for Modern Drummer, Riley wrote: “I’ve been blessed to be involved in both waves of hard rock and metal in 1980s Los Angeles. The first of the two was the MÖTLEY CRÜE, RATT, W.A.S.P. and DOKKEN movement. Then came the GUNS N’ ROSES, L.A. GUNS and FASTER PUSSYCAT bunch. I’m one of those rare drummers that played in two successful bands from both waves. Pretty cool stuff!”

In April 2021, an out-of-court resolution was reached between Riley and L.A. GUNS guitarist Tracii Guns and vocalist Phil Lewis over the rights to the band’s name. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Tracii and Phil continued to operate under the L.A. GUNS trademark, while Riley and his bandmates from the other version of L.A. GUNS carried on under the new name RILEY’S L.A. GUNS.

Last month, RILEY’S L.A. GUNS released a new single, “The Dark Horse”, via Golden Robot Records. The track is taken from the band’s upcoming sophomore album of the same name, tentatively due in early 2024.

RILEY’S L.A. GUNS featured Riley alongside Orlando, Florida-based guitarist/vocalist Kurt Frohlich, Nickels and guitarist Scott Griffin, who played bass for L.A. GUNS from 2007 until 2009, and then again from 2011 to 2014.