By Andrew Bansal
Hailing from Edmonton, Alberta, Striker have been a band since 2007 and with each of their past three full-length studio albums and touring cycles, they’ve won the hearts of metalheads all over the globe, the then first-time listeners that now constitute their ever-growing cult fan-base. The Canadian quintet first caught Metal Assault’s attention with their stellar second LP ‘Armed To The Teeth’ (2012), came out with a great follow-up ‘City Of God’ (2014), and established themselves on the website’s radar permanently by blowing their headliners Artillery off the stage on a US support run in early 2015. In 2016, they present their newest full-length ‘Stand In The Fire’, which promised to be their best effort yet, and at the very least, another fun-filled set of tunes that retains their reputation.
‘Stand In The Fire’ comprises 11 tracks and spans a duration of 44 minutes, which looks hefty on paper but doesn’t seem so while listening to it, as it flows swiftly and efficiently from one tune to the next. ’Phoenix Lights’ opens things up with A rich dosage of melody, shred and harmony, and sets the tone for the album, which turns out to be an expertly crafted slab of heavy music decorated with traditional metal and power metal with sprinklings of glam. The single most standout feature of Striker’s musical style is the use of vocal harmonies, an element of hard rock/heavy metal that’s long gone and is rarely heard in newer bands, and comes across as a delightful throwback to an era wherein everyone did it.
‘Too Late’, which may soon become the newest glam metal anthem, is arguably the best song on the album, but there are no dull of filler moments on here whatsoever, with fist-pounding songs like ‘Out For Blood’, ‘Outlaw’ and ‘Better Times’, the excellently glam-tinged, melody-driven ‘The Iron Never Lies’, the aptly name, face-melting instrumental ‘Escape From Shred City’, and the high-octane title track itself. Besides Striker have also ripped off two Judas Priest song titles ‘Locked In’ and ‘United’, but in all honesty, Striker’s songs are far better than Judas Priest’s songs of these names. As if all this wasn’t already enough to quench your metal thirst, the album comes to a fantastic close with the guitar-centric ballad ‘One Life’ and truly hits the home run.
The balance between complexity and catchiness is any band’s Achilles’ heel, but with ‘Stand In The Fire’, Striker have succeeded in achieving this balance, perhaps better than they did on any of the previous three albums. While this album is a full-on demonstration of the group’s musical skill and creativity, it is also extremely easy to listen to. Vocalist Dan Cleary has stamped his authority as one of the finest modern-day singers, and together with creative partner Tim Brown (guitar), has emerged triumphant as a songwriter, both musically and lyrically. The quality of the guitar work is incredible while the rhythm section brilliantly forms the backbone. The performance by everyone on the album is quite exemplary, and the production is perfect for what the music needs. The lyrics are simple, catchy and fun-filled, which is often lacking in modern-day metal as almost everything is too serious and themed on evil and destruction. Striker come across as a refreshing exception to the norm.
Striker’s ‘Stand In The Fire’ is melodic, upbeat and fun, but at the same time metal to the core, and will shred your face off. Your validity as a legit metalhead depends on whether or not you’re familiar with this band, specially this album which is nothing short of a must-have.
Rating: 9.5/10
Release Date: February 5th 2016
Record Label: Record Breaking
Track Listing:
01. Phoenix Lights
02. Out For Blood
03. Too Late
04. Stand In The Fire
05. The Iron Never Lies
06. Escape From Shred City
07. Outlaw
08. Locked In
09. United
10. Better Times
11. One Life
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