Well, here's a sweet slab of ass-kicking Heavy Metal from Ontario, Canada courtesy of the band Antioch. You can almost tell just by looking at their logo with the old-school font that looks hand-drawn and the sword forming the "I" of their name that this was going to be cool. Antioch II: First Strÿke (yeah, they put an umlaut over the "y" because why the fuck not?) the band's debut album, comes out of the speakers swinging with "The Strÿker Rides" and makes no apologies for any blow that lands. Big, bruising riffs are propped up with thunderous bass lines and solid drumming. The vocals are clear but with throat-ripping screams that bring to mind David Wayne in his prime. Musically, Antioch II: First Strÿke combines some Riot/Priest-style Power Metal with more Traditional Metal in the vein of Omen and Metal Church with just a breath of the NWOBHM. All the songs are good but the album is missing one or two killer tracks that would have really put it over the top. That said, I'm not soon going to forget how the bass on "Ebon Star" rattled my chest.
If Omen, Cirith Ungol and newer bands like Visigoth get your fist in the air, Antioch is a band to put on the watch list.
