Quebec, Canada is home to Strigampire, a band that have been together for over two decades. Silent for a few years during the COVID-19 downtimes, they added new members to the lineup while recording this third album All to Dominate with seasoned producer Christian Donaldson (Cryptopsy) behind the boards. Amplifying their enthusiasm winning the 2023 Wacken Open Air Battle for Canada, this allows them to garner a spot at the finals in Germany – which makes the ten tracks that comprise this effort even more tantalizing.
The mix of melodic death metal riffing and potent tempos next to some sick death/blackened screams allows the quintet to shift between speedier tracks as well as some mid-tempo head crushers that level people limb by limb. A more controlled outing like “Sold Our Soul” contains very catchy melodic death riffs with bluesy leads interspersed throughout, aligning well with classic Arch Enemy/ Children of Bodom next to Metallica, the beverage cap opening a dynamic twist during the proceedings. Tremolo thunder penetrates “Where I Belong”, the relentless double kick next to some wah-wah lead break action stimulates the extreme angles to make the hooks razor sharp. Larynx evisceration from the throat of Steve DC takes “Basking in Paradise” to another level, the cultural melodic death inflections next to the savage aggressive nature of the vocals a tandem sure to infiltrate the recesses of most listeners. Beyond the nine originals, Strigampire tackles a 70’s hard rock classic from the Bon Scott-period of AC/DC, the staple “TNT” – beefing up the guitars, vocal approach, and keeping the steady tempo template intact. The galloping nature out of the gate for “Liberty” through the axe play of Johnny Dead and Willy Thousand takes on qualities of NWOBHM/thrash veterans, while latest drummer James Foster shifts between blitzkrieg BPM’s next to comfortable power/groove-laden tricks.
Five years beyond the last album One Fix, Nine Clouds & Six Feet Deep, Strigampire appeals to a great cross-section of underground (and above) metalheads through the work present on All to Dominate. Prepare to be devastated in a firestorm and crawl out in survival mode to these songs – as the future looks quite bright for these musicians.