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Striker: Stand In The Fire

Heavy/Speed Metal

4.5/5.0

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Record Breaking Records
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 03.02.2016

Canada's Striker is a prime example of how a band can succeed if the stick to their mission and persevere. Eight years of a doggedly determined work ethic have produced four albums, the latest, Stand In The Fire, numerous tours and festival performances and, wow, opening for Metallica in their hometown of Edmonton.

Striker

And Striker still consistently delivers classic heavy speed metal. It's bristling material with sharp large riffs, ripping solos, fine clean vocals, all upon a bullet train pace. Perhaps I should embellish some more. The lead guitar work is voluminous and mostly pretty epic. If you're lead guitar geek, you'll go ape shit crazy over this album. What else would you expect from a song called Escape From Shred City? But then Tim Brown finds time for some experimentation and improvisation. Check out the guitar work just after the midpoint of Out For Blood (listen below). So basically everything rips and roars along. This is speed metal. Alternatively, within Too Late, Striker get their rock groove on, a headbanging and toe-tapping number. But it's also Striker's most accessible number, thanks to the catchy hooks in the riffs, rhythm, and refrain. Then there's no speed metal whatsoever, well, not entirely with One Life. It begins as a lighter ballad-like anthem and stays that course until the two-third point. There it rips open from Brown's guitar work into another heavy speedy song.

It's pretty much all good. With Stand In The Fire, Striker remains consistent and constant, delivering premium quality classic melodic heavy speed metal, drenched in lead guitar epicness. Easily recommended.

Striker - Out For Blood

Striker - Too Late

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With Stand In The Fire, Striker remains consistent and constant, delivering premium quality classic melodic heavy speed metal, drenched in lead guitar epicness. Easily recommended.

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The Powell Payne project, created in 2022 is the collaboration of Mark "Penfold Powell (ex-drummer of Psycho Kiss) and Adam Payne (former vocalist of Airrace). With guitarist Adam Davies and keyboard player ... [ Read More ]