Canada’s STRIKER return with more over-the-top Power Metal mixed with 80’s Glam on their latest “Ultrapower”. It’s the band’s 7th album and will be released on their own album Record Breaking Records.
STRIKER have been lead by frontman Dan Cleary since their inception. They’ve had quite a number of lineup changes and their sound has evolved over time. I would say that “Ultrapower” is their most diverse album to date.
There’s so many influences at play here that they’ve really created their own genre in the process. STRIKER mix in styles that normally wouldn’t mix, AOR for example right in the middle of an all-out Speed Metal attack. There’s saxophones, keyboards and what sounds like bongo drums in some tracks.
Cleary’s voice is still very powerful after seven albums as he’s not afraid to push the limits with his range and different styles. He’s always had a great sense of melody too and this album is loaded again with hooks.
With songs like “Best Of The Best Of The Best”, “Sucks To Suck” and Thunderdome, one can’t help but be reminded of Andrew W.K. to some extent. I have a feeling that there’s a certain amount of tongue and cheek humor going on with STRIKER too, not that they aren’t serious, but they seem to be very serious about having fun.
From the more strait up Metal “Circle Of Evil” to the more playful closer “Brawl At The Pub”, you’re going to get a sonic slap in the face when you turn this one up load. It’s loud, raucous and even obnoxious and the type of music we are painfully missing right on the radio.
I’m giving this one an 8 of 10 “Flaming Fists”. You can tell there’s a lot of work put into the album, they don’t half-ass anything. The production was good, it’s really hard to make amazing Arena-style rock without a decent budget, but they did a solid job. For me personally, the Pop Hair band direction they take isn’t super appealing to me, I grew up in the 80’s and preferred the more Metal and dirty side of the Hair Metal. But that’s personal choice, if you liked the late 80’s and early 90’s bands you’ll really dig this. Overall, I’m really happy and thankful for this band continuing to do what they do.
Striker – ULTRAPOWER (2024) (Record Breaking Records)
Release Date: February 2, 2024
LABEL: Record Breaking Records
DISTRIBUTION: CD Baby
For Fans of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Enforcer, Skullfist, Steelwing
PR Rep – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
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Track Listing:
1. Circle of Evil – (3:44)
2. BEST of the BEST of the BEST – (3:19)
3. Give it All – (4:14)
4. Blood Magic – (4:35)
5. Sucks to Suck – (3:15)
6. Ready for Anything – (3:56)
7. City Calling – (3:45)
8. Turn the Lights Out – (2:49)
9. Thunderdome – (4:01)
10. Live to Fight Another Day – (4:00)
11. Brawl at the Pub – (3:47)
Album Length: 41:30
Album Credits:
• All songs performed by: STRIKER
• All songs written by: STRIKER
• Produced by: Josh Schroeder
• Mixed by: Josh Schroeder
• Mastered by: Josh Schroeder
• Album Artwork by: Al Perez / Ramone Sketch (@ramonesketch)
• Member of SOCAN
• Canadian Content (MAPL)
Album Band Line Up:
Dan Cleary – Vocals
Tim Brown – Guitar
John Simon Fallon – Guitar
Pete Klassen – Bass
Jono Webster – Drums
Live Band Line Up:
Dan Cleary – Vocals
Tim Brown – Guitar
John Simon Fallon – Guitar
Pete Klassen – Bass
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About The Album Artwork:
We wanted the album artwork to represent how we feel as a band right now. We are an engine that is fired up and ready to roll. We’re made of metal and our circuits gleam!
About the album as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
ULTRAPOWER is the amalgamation of 5 years of writing and exploring music. With influences from AOR to Speed Metal, Hardcore to Hair Metal, Steely Dan to Deathcore, you name it, it made its way into the album. In the end with the help of Josh Schroeder’s guiding hand, we melted it all together to present something uniquely Striker. Lyrically we’ve stuck to the Striker tradition of writing montage songs for movies that don’t exist, songs about our spiraling serfdom, and lyrics about the evils that lurk in the shadows.
Track by Track (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
1. Circle of Evil – Circle of Evil is a Malmsteen-esque metal banger about secret societies and the evil dealings behind closed doors.
2. BEST of the BEST of the BEST – It’s right in the name. This one is about being the best of the best. Serving up some big riffs and hockey arena vocals that make you want to plow through the cars stopped in front of you making you late for work.
3. Give it All – Give it All is a song written for the soundtrack of an 80s action movie that doesn’t exist. It’s for the kid risking it all to win the big game, or the down-and-out cop that’s gotta push it to the limit to survive.
4. Blood Magic – Blood Magic is maybe one of Striker’s most “progressive” songs, taking cues from bands like King Diamond the song structure is unconventional and punctuated with guitar solos. How many guitar solos are too many? Guess you’ll find out.
5. Sucks to Suck – We wrote Sucks to Suck as a joke song about vasectomies in 2020 I think. We wrote it and forgot about it until one day I woke up with it stuck in my head. After 2 years without listening to it, it just appeared back in my brain. I took that as a sign, that we had to go back and see what we could do with it. Obviously, it’s not about vasectomies anymore but it’s still got the hooks! Now it’s about how people don’t realize how shitty they are and ultimately you’re one of those people yourself!
6. Ready for Anything – Ready for Anything is a song about taking life by the horns and kicking it’s ass. It’s a pounding Striker classic about keeping your head up and smashing through life even when things suck. Big riffs, big melodies, big vocals. Lets gooooo.
7. City Calling – City Calling is a song that came out of our obsession with late 80s AOR and pop rock. Bands like Toto or even Kenny Loggins put out these hook-powered albums and we’ve always wanted to take a piece of that style and mold it into our own creation. This isn’t a metal song. It’s an ode to 1987.
8. Turn the Lights Out – Turn the Lights Out is Striker checking back in with ourselves from 2010. “Hey dudes, are we still shredding?” This one is about having hope for the future, making it through another day, and getting back at it in the morning.
9. THUNDERDOME – The label called and said “You guys need a song about Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome!” and we said, “We already wrote a song called Road Warrior are you sure?” to which they said “Bring me pictures of Spiderman!” and slammed their fists on the desk. So we don’t know why it’s about that other than it’s sick! This one also has some of Dan’s strangest most ACDC/Accept style vocals ever.
10. Live to Fight Another Day – Originally this was just a regular Striker song. Tim had the idea that we should just try turning it into a synthwave track. It fits like a glove. We’ve always been into Synthwave but never had the guts to do it ourselves. Until now! This is our first attempt at it and we are stoked about how it turned out. This one is another track about keeping it together and taking on life one day at a time.
11. Brawl at the Pub – To close out the album, we’ve got the spiritual successor to the fan favorite “The Keg that Crushed New York”. This song is quite literally about a brawl at the pub. It’s weird, it’s fun, it shreds. Don’t take it too seriously, we’re just here for a good time.
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Blending classic heavy metal, hard rock, and 80’s hair metal, Striker has been making shredtacular anthems since 2007. The band has toured multiple times across Europe and North America, chosen to open for Metallica in their hometown of Edmonton, AB, Canada along with many festival appearances that include 70,000 Tons of Metal, Wacken Open Air (Germany), Bang Your Head Festival (Germany), and more to add to the almost 1000 shows performed in their decade-plus career. The band has been honoured with multiple Best Album awards in their home country of Canada from the JUNO Awards(The Canadian equivalent to the American Grammy), Western Canadian Music Awards, and the Edmonton Music Awards.
Striker is kicking off 2024 with their seventh studio album “ULTRAPOWER”, which follows their Juno Award-winning self-released full-length “Play to Win” (2018) released on their label Record Breaking Records. The new album also features the band’s latest lineup addition of long-time friend and guitarist John Simon Fallon (The Order of Chaos). For the band’s seventh full-length, they teamed up with producer Josh Schroeder (Lorna Shore, Tallah, King 810), entering the studio in March 2023. With the band writing material since 2018, “ULTRAPOWER” is a collection of five years of Striker tinkering and exploring new avenues.
“ULTRAPOWER is the amalgamation of 5 years of writing and exploring music. With influences from AOR to Speed Metal, Hardcore to Hair Metal, Steely Dan to Deathcore, you name it, it made its way into the album. In the end with the help of Josh Schroeder’s guiding hand, we melted it all together to present something uniquely Striker. Lyrically we’ve stuck to the Striker tradition of writing montage songs for movies that don’t exist, songs about our spiraling serfdom, and lyrics about the evils that lurk in the shadows.” adds the band.
“ULTRAPOWER” follows Strikers six studio albums Eyes in the Night (2010, Iron Kodex), Armed to The Teeth (2012, Napalm), City of Gold (2014, Napalm), Stand in the Fire (2016, Record Breaking), Striker (2017, Record Breaking), and Play to Win (2018, Record Breaking).
CDs and digital downloads are available on Striker-Metal.com, iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and CD Baby.
ULTRAPOWER Album Band Line Up:
Dan Cleary – Vocals
Tim Brown – Guitar
John Simon Fallon – Guitar
Pete Klassen – Bass
Jono Webster – Drums
Live Band Line Up:
Dan Cleary – Vocals
Tim Brown – Guitar
John Simon Fallon – Guitar
Pete Klassen – Bass