On Monday, Sept 25th, Striker floored the crowd at Dickens Pub with the energy of their live performance.
Currently on tour with their fifth, self-titled album, the Edmonton-based band has grown immensely throughout their years in the industry. It doesn’t hurt that the band has a truly metal work ethic.
“The tour has been amazing for us. It’s 32 shows in 33 days. We have one day off, apart from the hurricane the day we were in Florida, but most of the shows still went on,” says Tim Brown, Striker’s lead guitar player.
You know you’re a true metal band when you still decide to play a gig, even with a hurricane warning in effect. That’s what Striker found themselves doing when they drove 50 hours from Edmonton to Miami during Hurricane Irma.
“We were the only car on the road driving into the city because everyone else was leaving, yet we played the show and the turnout was surprisingly good, considering everyone was gone,” says Dan Cleary, lead vocalist.
Striker’s sound is a mix of heavy metal, hard rock, and of course, 80’s hair metal
During the show, the band was shredding like nobody’s business – their hair was everywhere, swishing back and forth like a violent cracking whip and although it was still attached to their heads, I wouldn’t have been surprised if their hair had fallen out. For the next interview, I need to determine Striker’s shampoo secrets.
Dickens Pub was packed full and Striker was playing so loud you could even hear them playing from outside the building. Photo by Lexi Wright
The band’s popularity is also highly credited to their powerful vocals, crisp harmonies, catchy lyrics and impressive guitar leads. Needless to say, I was expecting quite the performance at Dickens and I was not disappointed.
Neither was Brett Morrison, a Striker fan who attended the Dickens show.
“They have that old-school, heavy metal sound to them, it’s quite reminiscent of Judas Priest and old Megadeth,” he said. “This album is amazing, but their older stuff really hits home for me. Their songs have a very nostalgic feeling.”
Rav Abernader, a promoter and childhood friend of the band members, seconds that opinion.
“It’s great to see a natural progression for Canadian heavy metal bands. Regardless of what people see in Canada, because our metal scene is severely lacking, when you witness bands like Striker, it revives the scene and make you proud to be Canadian.”
Striker is appealing to a new generation of metalheads, while maintaining their old-school metal identity. Their live shows are truly something you won’t want to pass up.
These guys are staying true to the metal motto: Full speed or no speed.
Editor: Jamie McNamara | jmcnamara@cjournal.ca