SLAYER SLAYS
Metal warriors rock Europe
In a most powerful twist on spreading Canadian content, Striker has been taking their Edmonton-bred, hairy and heavy metal across the continent and overseas since January.
The fully tightened rock hurlers at the top of their game just released their self-titled fifth album in February on the road, and play a homecoming show Friday night at the Starlite Room. Ravenous and Tylor Dory Trio open up; tickets are $15, or $20 with a download of the new album.
For its last album, Stand in the Fire, Striker is up for four Edmonton Music Awards — the ceremony vibrating the walls at Winspear June 29.
Curious about life on the road, we asked guitarist Tim Brown for a running tour diary of their European adventures overseas, and his awe of the sights, brilliant sound techs, sit-ups and suds cheerfully came through.
FEB 20, NUREMBURG, GERMANY
There are always some technical issues to work out at the first show. It’s the first time you can plug into your rental gear after flying over and of course everyone is still jetlagged.
You also never know if the gear made it in time, or is even the right stuff you asked for! But today went smoothly and tour is off to a great start.
Our headliner, Sonata Arctica, and the other support act, Triosphere, are great guys (and a gal) and we were able to meet them yesterday at the hotel over some beers.
FEB 27, ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
Switzerland is an amazing country. I would say that the entire country is as close to a mountain paradise as you’ll ever find. To me it’s sort of a Disneyland: expensive, but everything is perfect and impeccably maintained. We went for a run down through the river yesterday on our first day off and it was a great way to experience the city before delving into some of the nightlife afterwards. The show was amazing, the venue and staff are all experts and help us put on some of the best shows we’ve ever done.
MARCH 14, BESANCON, FRANCE
This city is amazing! There is a giant castle up on the top of a hill in the centre of town, which has been converted into a zoo and cultural centre. It’s actually a UNESCO world heritage site. The old city centre is quite beautiful and is home to a number of schools and a university. The secret to this tour has been sports, and we’ve been challenging all the other bands to feats of strength and American football. It’s interesting to see just how bad most Europeans are at throwing a football when they are so good at everything else! It’s a confusing concept to throw a spiral. We have also been doing the abroller challenge, where we see who can do the most ab-roller sit-ups. It’s incredibly hard, but the guys in Sonata Arctica are monsters and can do 50 or more! I max out at about 12. The venue is amazing, one of the best I’ve ever been to, not to mention the crowds!
MARCH 20, NOTTINGHAM, U. K .
Triosphere’s last day on tour with us! Sad to see them go after becoming good friends over the course of a month, but that’s life. Tomorrow a new band — Thunderstone — joins us. One of the perks of the job is meeting so many interesting people on tour, especially other bands. It’s nice these days that it’s so easy to stay in touch over social media. The venue was a maze, and we had to load all our gear (two full trailers) down the street around the building since our buses were parked in the back. I think the venue was actually three or four buildings they just connected, random doors to nowhere and tiny stairwells everywhere. We met fellow Canadian rockers Monster Truck today, as they’re playing the same venue the day after us. Their bus was parked right next to ours and of course we could just smell the poutine and maple syrup coming out of the bus! They invited us out to their show the next day since we had a day off and had a great night. We also ate at the oldest inn in the U.K., carved into a cave underneath Nottingham Castle.
MARCH 26, DUBLIN, IRELAND
Our first time in Ireland! We stopped by the Guinness factory for a pint. Guinness seems to be a national institution: it’s everywhere. I had Guinness stew, and even Guinness cake, which I might add was once of the best cakes or desserts I’ve ever had. Another great show tonight! It was nice getting out of the U.K., as most their venues seem to be quite run down and the weather was depressing.
APRIL 6, LEIPZIG, GERMANY
Every other time we have played Leipzig, we end up playing a squat, basically an abandoned building taken over by anti-fascist vegans. They live off the grid and have wood-fire stoves for heating, but those shows were always crazy! It’s nice to play a real venue this time — haha — although just out back of the venue there was an abandoned train depot. We went and explored the crumbling ruins, which was very strange. As Canadians, we’ve never really experienced crumbling infrastructure or abandoned ruins, really. Leipzig was once part of East Germany, so seeing the old Communist influence is interesting, especially in other cities like Berlin.
APRIL 8, OREBRO, SWEDEN
Second last day of tour! Today’s venue is actually an old Freemasons’ hall and is like playing in a country club. Glass chandeliers, waiters — the whole drill. Our first time playing in Sweden, too. I think this is our eighth or ninth tour in Europe, so it’s nice to play some new countries. Where did the last three months go? We left home on Jan. 15 to start a U.S. tour where we played on 70,000 Tons of Metal, which is a huge metal festival in Miami that’s actually on a cruise ship, before flying to Europe. It’s hard to believe it’s almost over. After the Europe shows are over, we fly home for our final three shows across Alberta to celebrate our new album, and then we can finally sleep in our own beds! The shows have all been amazing and we’ve played to thousands of people and made tons of new fans. We came, we saw, we shredded.