The resurgence of banner-waiving, traditional heavy metal has been in full bloom for a handful of years now with acts like Canada's Striker leading the galloping cavalry. The band has returned once again in 2017 with another new platter of metal the way they used to make it with a few fresh spin on the battle-tested style. They've teamed up with Loudwire for the advanced stream of their eponymous fifth full length, so dust off those patch jackets, get to listening and don't forget to dig further into the album with our interview below!

Striker opens up with "Former Glory," a quick-strike cut with a seeming nod to metal's halcyon days where denim, leather, spikes and Spandex reigned supreme. As discussed in our interview, "Pass Me By" demonstrates that Striker aren't content just repeating the past, working in modern elements with a swinging groove, defiant lyrics and a slight rap-rock cadence.

Throughout the album, there's a unifying sense of anthemic choruses aided by soaring backing vocals that invoke a slight sense of glam metal for that hair-in-the-wind, T-top cruisin' vibe to street-ready tracks like "Born to Lose" and "Rock the Night."

The record will hit shelves and webstores on Feb. 24 through Record Breaking Records and can be pre-ordered at Amazon and digitally through iTunes. Stay up to date with everything Striker by following the band's Facebook page. The band is currently on tour with Sonata Arctica in Europe and all dates can be found here.

Striker, Striker Album Stream


Interview With Striker Guitarist Tim Brown


“Former Glory” is straight up old school, classic ‘80s metal while “Pass Me By” represents a more modern spin on the style. Some trad metal purists might see this as heresy, but what new age bands influence you just as much as the staples like Maiden and Priest?

We are huge fans of classic metal obviously, but I think we are entering a second golden age of heavy music. There are lots of great modern bands that push the boundaries and do new cool things. We take a lot of influence from modern hardcore / metalcore bands, like the Architects for example. It's cool to see what other bands are doing and we are always trying to sound fresh and new. If you wanted to listen to Judas Priest songs, just listen to Priest, what's the point of listen to second rate knock off bands right? So although we have a lot of that '80s influence there is modern stuff creeping in there too.

There’s been a ton of tributes to Lemmy. Is “Born to Lose” one of those and if so, how did Motorhead shape your perception of heavy music?

"Born to Lose" wasn't necessarily a Lemmy tribute song. I mean yes, it's a Lemmy quote, but all the good song names are taken [laughs]! That song embodies a lot of our perception of successful bands like Motorhead: you need to go out there and take some hits, but in the end you are going to survive and flourish.

I think that was sort of what Motorhead was all about, surviving, getting out there and getting it done and just loving what you do. It may not be pretty, but if you stick to it you can pull yourself out of the gutter... and if you play your cards right you can kick ass for decades!

By the time Striker is out, it will have been just over a year since Stand in the Fire was released. How close together were the recording sessions for these two albums and what made everything come together so quickly?

We recorded Stand in the Fire in August of 2015 I believe... Maybe July? The previous summer anyways. We went and toured our asses off until July of 2016 and at that time we had some time off. We figured we would start working on a new album since we love song writing and then we had a great tour offer with Sonata Arctica. Originally we were planning to have the pre-order run while we were on that European tour and have the album come out in the spring or so, but then as we got talking to some of our partners we decided to kick it into high gear and see if we could get the album finished in time for the tour.

Turns out we surprised ourselves and finished ahead of schedule and knocked the album out in about two months! We started writing in earnest in August / September and then we recorded everything in October. Recording and releasing Striker was sort of a crazy whirlwind, it sort of just happened. Pray to the metal gods and they shall offer salvation! So it was just over a year in between recording sessions. For the most part everything was new material and we are just super pumped to get new music out already! Always thinking about the next move!

More From Q 105.7