NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – January 17, 2024
STRIKER’s New Music Video Captures ’80s Saxophone Metal At Its Best!
Seventh Studio Album “ULTRAPOWER” Out Feb 2024
Produced by Josh Schroeder (Lorna Shore, Tallah, King 810)
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Clockwise – L-R – Dan Cleary – Vocals, John Simon Fallon – Guitar, Pete Klassen – Bass, Tim Brown – Guitar
Photo Credit: Dana Zuk
Remember the glory days of the ’80s…. and the world’s most jacked and shirtless saxophone player Tim Cappello (Tina Turner, 1987 vampire film The Lost Boys)…? Well, the shred masters in Striker have resurrected that nostalgic sound from those iconic years with their saxophone mashup track “Give It All” beautifully wrapped up in a retro-fitting music video that can be viewed below.
“‘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.” adds the band.
Watch the video for “Give It All” at https://youtu.be/jRKsJp49Lwc
Spotify – https://spoti.fi/48z6X2b
This latest single from Striker is off their forthcoming new album “ULTRAPOWER” produced with Josh Schroeder (Lorna Shore, Tallah, King 810) and due out on February 2, 2024. The seventh full-length from Striker follows their Juno Award-winning self-released record “Play to Win” (2018) unleashed on their label Record Breaking Records and features the band’s latest lineup addition of long-time friend and guitarist John Simon Fallon (The Order of Chaos).
With the band writing material since 2018, “ULTRAPOWER” is a collection of Striker tinkering and exploring new avenues. From the album’s opening track “Circle of Evil”, a Malmsteen-esque metal banger about secret societies and the evil dealings behind closed doors to their previously released single “BEST of the BEST of the BEST” serving up some big riffs and hockey arena vocals to “Blood Magic”, which might be one of Striker‘s most progressive songs, taking cues from bands like King Diamond, with its unconventional structure and punctuated guitar solos. From the band delving into their obsession for late 80s AOR and pop rock with “City Calling”, an ode to 1987, and bands like Toto and Kenny Loggins with their hook-powered albums. To fans experiencing the band’s first attempt at a synth-wave track with “Live to Fight Another Day”, this new offering sees Striker making a shredding love letter to the hard-rocking era of guilty pleasures.
The band comments on the upcoming album:
“Starting with the album cover, we wanted the 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! The album itself is an 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.”
“ULTRAPOWER” is due out on February 2, 2024, and is available for pre-order at http://kck.st/3P6Gws6
Music Video – “Circle of Evil” – https://youtu.be/YrG-mSSvIeo
Music Video – “Best of The Best of The Best” – https://youtu.be/0oX9LFx2szs
Guitar Playthrough – “Best of The Best of The Best” – https://youtu.be/tUVe4uBXmA8
Show Dates:
May 3 – Chicago, IL – Reggie’s – Legions of Metal Festival
Sept 4 – Atlanta, GA – Center Stage – ProgPower USA
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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
More info: Striker-metal.com
About: 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 along with festival appearances at 70,000 Tons of Metal, 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, Western Canadian Music Awards, and the Edmonton Music Awards. Since their inception, Striker has released 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).
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“Play to Win, which might be their most balanced effort yet. It’s their most catchy, too: the likelihood you’ll be singing along with every song before they finish is very, very high.” – Metal Sucks
“expertly combined killer arena rock choruses with well-done, cleaner verses.” – Metal Injection
“Six albums in six years. That is something almost unheard of, even in the modern era of production that considerably lessens the time needed to record and mix albums. Striker always seems to provide a new album right around when I start to wonder, “Hey, I wonder what Striker is up to?”. PLAY TO WIN is the band’s 6th LP and to my ears, one of their best. Rest assured, the band has not altered their sound. This is still classic metal, mixed with modern elements that continues to leave all pretenders in a cloud of choking dust.” – Metal Rules
“You can hear influences ranging from Dokken to Metallica on Play to Win, and it’s all done with masterful songwriting, performances and production. This is a slick, aggressively-mixed record that drips with excitement and replayability… Striker have produced their best record since City of Gold, and all fans of straight-up hard rock and metal need to own this album.” – Heavy Music HQ
“Striker have knocked this one out of the park and into the stratosphere. You’d be hard-pressed to find a catchier slice of fine cheddar this year, and I’d highly recommend it.” – New Noise Mag
“STRIKER have done it again. They hath given unto thee one monster of a metal album that simply begs to be put on REPEAT.” – Amps And Green Screens
““Catchy choruses, well-crafted riffs and squealing solos are woven throughout… Play to Win is another solid effort from Striker.” – The Metal Crypt
“Striker gush with so much enthusiasm here, with explosive riffs swirling between the vibrant harmonies and choruses, that it’s hard not to notice…Tracks like “Former Glory” and “Born to Lose” are anthemic, catchy as hell and feature soaring vocals from Dan Cleary and terrific guitar work by Tim Brown…On Striker, the band take a host of influences and hone them into a sound they can call their own.” – Exclaim!
“From the first storm-summoning power chord on the opener Former Glory, Striker (CAN) proves their new album’s initial claim of not dwelling on the past, a high and appropriate cry of “Yeah, I’m back again!”… If you haven’t witnessed this inspiring resurrection of classic metal, the band plays Friday, April 14 at Starlite with Ravenous and Tylor Dory Trio, no doubt sharpened from the faithful overseas audiences.” – Edmonton Journal
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