Aaah, Striker. If there’s one band to get SD editor Scott Adams out of his classic metal-induced funk it’s these canorous Canadians and their shredtastic approach to ‘our kind of music’. They released six albums in eight years in a staggering blaze of creativity in the early part of their career, but it’s getting on for six turns around the sun since their last studio full-length, Play To Win, got stuck on the office stereo for what seemed like an aeon. Have the band changed in the past half-decade plus?

Of course not. Save for the appearance of second lead guitarist John Simon Fallon and the disappearance of session drummer Randy Black, it’s very much business as usual at Striker HQ, which is, of course, reason for celebration in itself… And on the musical front well – let’s just say if you thought the band had taken their ‘thing’ as far as it could go on PTW, you’ll need to think again. Because there are moments on this new album where the band miraculously does it again and tops it’s previous efforts in a show of heart stopping bravura and exuberant show off madcap mayhem that just beggars belief in the swagger of it’s execution and the jaw-dropping self belief it takes to pull this kind of chutzpah-fuelled strutting off…

The first evidence I’d like to put forward to support that seemingly outlandish claim is the superb Give It All, a track in the long tradition this band upholds of merging mega smooth AOR hooks with eighties metal fireworks with predictably over the top results. Right back to Bad Decisions from their 2014 album City of Gold they’ve done this, and Give It All is right up there with the best of ‘this kind of thing’ that the band has produced thus far. Similarly Ready For Anything just oozes the sort of offhanded class for which this band has become known; Big, big voices – thousands of the bastards, seemingly, thanks to the massive production from Josh Shroeder – massive, adamantine walls of axework, the sort of hooks Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer would kill for… there’s just no let up as the boys reiterate their ‘more is more’ mantra over and over again.

And then there’s Live To Fight Another Day; I know there are people willing to fight me over this, but, to these fevered ears at least, it’s simply the best thing Striker have ever done. If they ever make another Miami Vice movie, this is it’s theme; booming syn drums, a classy vocal from Dan Cleary that keeps making me think of Daryl Hall… If you’ve ever wondered what would have resulted from Kenny Loggins joining Judas Priest around the time of Turbo – as I do, regularly – then your answer is here in four minutes and eight seconds of pure eighties-inspired majesty…

Right, that’s me. I’m off for a snooze and a towel down and then I’m banging this mutha on again – it’s an addiction!

Ultrapower releases on February 2nd