I like early-80’s metal, I really do. So whenever a band releases a retro-sounding NWOBHM – sorry, I meant NWOTHM – record I jump all over it. I’ve gushed over bands like Skull Fist, Phantom and Night Demon in the past. Striker has the distinction of having the slickest production, the most intense double kick and the fastest guitar action. Combining the aesthetics of Brave New World-era Iron Maiden (vocalist Dan Cleary does a pretty good Bruce Dickinson impression) and the sheer speed of thrash bands like Megadeth, Striker has conjured up an impressive collection of fire-burning metal.

While I had lamented their previous effort Armed To The Teeth for being a little too slick and not possessing the reckless abandon of their earlier efforts, City of Gold is very much a return to form for the band. With whiplash-inducing numbers like lead-off track “Underground”, “All For One” and “Rise Up” as well as mid-tempo (by their standards) hookier fare such as “Start Again” or “Crossroads”, City of Gold could very well be Striker’s best album to date.