Striker - Stand In The Fire

Genre: Heavy Metal -

Striker has never been a real favourite of mine, but they’ve always come across as highly capable and not least passionate about what they do. Previous effort, City Of Gold (2014), was likely their best album thus far, with its ‘80s inspired but decidedly runaway feel and a solid cover of all time classic ‘2 Minutes To Midnight’. It seems they’re making a habit of releasing a full length album every two years, as fresh of the press is the new album Stand In The Fire. No bullshit, no pretend epic 70 minute albums dragging on over their due. This, their fourth in line, is 45 minutes and right on the punch, with eleven songs filling it out. An homage, on their own - as usual - to the bands that made them what they are. When Stand In The Fire kicks off with ‘Phoenix Lights’, you get exactly what you expect. High octane, ‘80s styled riffage packaged in a modern speed metal production. The production, by the way is very professional sounding for an independent release, as they’re apparently not with Napalm Records any more. It’s all packing a punch, and has absolutely no fucks to give.

Striker - Stand In The Fire

The guitars are obviously in focus on an album like this, Timothy Brown working a lot on his own, but mainly with Trent Halliwell (who appears on six tracks). Both carry parts that are just manic. Not least the solos are usually the highlights of their respective songs (mentionable is title track ‘Stand In The Fire’), in that they just stick out. Good riffs are also not hard to come by, as they make up most every song. ‘Outlaw’ is a fluent mix of blistering leads and Maiden-esque riffs, making a potent song - perhaps lacking a strong chorus, while ‘United’ take some cues from the likes of Priest, in trying to make a fast paced arena rocker. Then you have a track named ‘Escape From Shred City’, I mean what do you expect? Brandon Ellis (Arsis) guests on the instrumental shredder, which might not be up to par with the legends of shred, but still is a damn fine mid-album track. It perfectly shows what I’ve been saying; the importance of the guitars on this work. And they do not disappoint.

‘Too Late’, the longest track on here at just under five minutes, is a mid tempo track heavy on the feeling, brought in from the likes of Whitesnake. Vocalist Dan Cleary makes his best effort to show a vulnerable side, and while the track isn’t bad, it’s also not quite up to par with the highlights on the album. Actually, Cleary is worthy of a mention. He has a strong voice that works incredibly well especially in the fast verses, but he’s also lacking... something. In the chorus of the aforementioned ‘United’ (for example) he sounds, in lack of better words, lonely. Some layered vocals would certainly have helped create a bigger feel that I’m certain they were going for. Among that, there are a few tracks that feel a bit like filler, but mainly the songs are pretty strong - none standing out as weak per se - if somewhat similar in style and structure to each other and to what we’ve already heard on previous Striker albums. This is a good album no doubt about it, albeit not exceptional. Whoever liked City Of Gold will likely fall head over heels for this one, and if one is new to Striker, it’ll make a good first album to try.

 

Standout tracks: Phoenix Lights, Stand In The Fire

 

    

Read the review on the Metal Archives

 


Musikvideo: Striker - Too Late