Band:	Striker
Album:	Armed To The Teeth
Style:	Heavy metal, Speed metal, Thrash metal
Release date:	July 2012

01. Forever
02. Let It Burn
03. Lethal Force
04. It Could Be Worse
05. Fight For Your Life
06. Land Of The Lost
07. Wolf Gang
08. Feed My Fire
09. All The Way
10. Can't Stop The Rush

METAAAAAL ? that's all - thanks for reading my review - THE END.

Seriously, if it wouldn't be for the 250 word minimum, the above sentence would have wrapped up my thoughts on Striker's sophomore album Armed To The Teeth.

Call them retro all you want, but those five guys out of Edmonton, Canada, sure as hell know how to bring back the glorious sound of Eighties heavy metal. And credit where credit is due; if it weren't for their fellow Canadian metal brother Shane Clark (3 Inches Of Blood), I would have never discovered them; thanks bro!

Striker is not denying that Judas Priest has a major influence in their sound, and it is refreshing to see the younger generation embrace an era that a lot of us older farts are longing for.

The more simpler, while still crushing, verse, chorus, verse art of guitar playing, the drumming which doesn't make your ears bleed, but rather goes along in perfect harmony with each and every song. Yes; massive melody, sing along choruses, big guitar sound; in short - heavy fucking metal.

You might want to check your "heavy metal pulse" if you are not inclined to play air guitar, and use whatever is in front of you at that moment as a drum-kit; "Lethal Force" starting around the 3:10 mark ? "dom, dom, dom" ? head-bangers delight right there.

Through the entire album, vocalist Dan Clearly doesn't just do a fantastic job; he does an amazing job. Just listen to "All The Way", and with no pun intended, he did go all the way with his high screams; and it is cool to hear a grown man who is not afraid to sing in a higher octave range.

And while Striker sure are not originators of the music, they sure keep the flame burning. The awesome twin guitar sound, the relevant placement of the bass lines, the straight to the point drumming without sounding overpowering; in short, high-octane metal which leaves you craving for more while dialing the phone number to your nearest chiropractor.

Again, hard to choose my favorites, but "All The Way", "Feed The Fire" and "Wolf Gang" left the biggest impressions on first listening; so I will stick with them. And I might throw "Fight For Your Life" into the mix; shit, seriously, hard to choose since all songs are so full of metal.

If you call yourself an "old-school" NWOBHM and/or are a speed metal freak, you owe it to yourself to check them out.

[and yes, I am rating this a 9, since for the type of music they are playing, while not original at all, they sure are really good at it and DO stand out among their peers]