Formed in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1981, STRIKE FORCE released their one and only album in 1984 via local record label Globe. Self-titled “Strike Force“, the LP showcased a band influenced by the NWOBHM wave of metal, but also the the North American sound for the genre.
Recorded in Detroit, “Strike Force” rocks with a metallic edge, not absent of melody and catchy twin riffage. Celebrating the album’s 40th anniversary, reissue specialists Bad Reputation re-released the album for the first time on CD, remastered and obtaining a vibrant heavy sound.
A fine piece of mid-Eighties Canadian metal from a band that deserved better luck. Before splitting, STRIKE FORCE recorded another album in 1988 with a more hard rock style, but remain unreleased… until now, because Bad Reputation finally will release it soon.
STRIKE FORCE was founded in 1981 by drummer Pete Paillé, bassist Mario LeBlanc, guitarist Ray Doucet and the singer Stephane Moïse, originally called ”Toys”. When Ray and Stephane decided to leave the band for some personal reason, Pete and Mario when over all around the bars near Montreal, trying to find their missing prospect, a guitar player. Mario had decided at that time, that he will be able to keep hot the singer mic.
Finally, after a while, when they saw a young blond guy named Romy Belanger, they right away stopped their choice on him. He was not only good on the fret board, but he could also sing. The power trio didn’t last long, because they decide to add keyboard/rhythm guitarist Mike Pitre in early ’83 to fill out their sound.
The Band played covers in bars and clubs throughout the province of Quebec, travelling in their own school bus. Most of the bench of the bus were stripped, to finally converted that very too old bus, in an equipment truck.
They played anywhere, anytime, anyway where bar owner wants them, and got better and better. Mario and Romy started writing together, and ”Step over the line” was their very first collaboration. They recorded a demo of that song straight from the mixing board, one afternoon at a club called the Don-Lynn in Paspebiac, a small fishing village in the Gaspe area.
The owners were great and would let them rehearse and play pretty much whenever they wanted during daytime. That demo got them a record deal with Globe Records, the band also gave a cassette copy to a guy at the local radio station, and that thing played so often everybody knew the lyrics.
So, they pretty much toured all the time, going from town to town and writing more songs. More songs
More songs were demoed with better quality, and by an exceptional chance, a copy had been given to renowned Quebec producer Ben Kaye, and he wanted to meet and see the band live. So, they scrambled back to Montreal and got a booking in a local club. That evening Strike Force invited Ben along with their lawyer and his underage son. 20 minutes into their set, the police raided the place, stopped the show, and took every underage person into custody. Lucky for the underage son, his lawyer was present!
The band was devastated because they thought that they had blown their big chance. Anyway, the experimented producer had the chance to see enough of the band and he liked them at first sight. He requested more original material, and the hand went back to writing for a few weeks.
Once they had enough songs, they went to Detroit, Michigan, to record in what was once the original Motown Studios;. The Sound Suite Studio. The sessions were held in early October of ’83. The studio itself was smack in the middle of the black section of town. Imagine four young very white kids from Montreal, French-speaking, making their way through Detroit.
The sessions were tough. In at noon, out at midnight for 10 days. But they were ready. They had rehearsed every arrangement, every vocal, every part.
Strike Force was also a great live band, so their tightness helped them to pass through that recording experience, in front of the engineers and the people present, who were all seasoned veterans from the music industry.
But they did their thing and recorded down the tracks pretty much the way they intended. The final mix, though, was disappointing to them. It was done back in Montreal, and they weren’t allowed in the studio to overseen it.
Back from the States, hitting the road again, they got a call one day saying that there was a problem with the name. An American band from the 50s was still using the name Toys, so they had to find another, and quick, because the album was coming out.
So, they racked their brains, asked everybody they knew for suggestions. Finally, one of the clients of the bar where they were playing at that time, throw them the name STRIKE FORCE.
They played their asses off for months performing many gigs, but the drummer’s condition wasn’t going well. Pete had been diagnosed with leukemia at 17. He had battled the ill in and out of the hospital, trying the best that he can to keep Strike Force alive, but it was getting tougher on him to keep touring. So, he suggested the band to hire a friend of his, a drummer from the same town, to replace him while he was recuperating. Sylvain Latendresse came courageously aboard in July of ’84, and the band went back out on tour.
By that time, the album wasn’t going anywhere. Strike Force have refused going on tour, opening for one of their favorite bands, thinking that the situation will be too hard on Pete’s recovering. So, the record company decided to put everything on hold, doing nothing to promote the album.
One night, Pete dropped by to see the band play in a small bar of Quebec, Le Bar Aucoin. He was looking good, hair growing fast, and enough strong to climb aboard. Sly ask him if he want to play the complete set and Pete was ready for that opportunity. It was great for the guys, to see him back behind the drums. Later, Pete announces to Mario and Romy that when they will be ready for it, he was ready to get back on tour with them.
The guys were happy but ask him to give them enough time to find the right way to tell Sly that they don’t needed him anymore. Unfortunately, Sly never heard the news. Pete passed away a few days before his comeback from pneumonia and complications brought on by the leukemia.
Then, the replacement drummer became a full-time member. The road is tough, and the overcrowded scene in ’84 was tough on bands. Tensions were building within the members as well. Mario and Mike wanted to play a heavier style of music, and also, they were thinking about hiring a singer. Romy, who didn’t really liked the idea, and who just got married, decided that is was time for him, to change his style of living and finally, quit the band a few weeks after.
Mario and Mike kept on working on new songs, and months after, for Pete’s sake, they decided that Strike Force didn’t said its last word yet. They hired a new guitar player, also a talented lead singer, Miguel Garcia.
All that new bunch of musician rapidly got back into the studio to recorded brand new songs but that project never had the chance to get out on the market. Finally, that will be happening soon with that 2nd Strike Force album finally being released.
Highly Recommended
Tracklist:
01. She's A Killer [03:43]
02. Shadow Of The Night [04:19]
03. Back On The Street [03:38]
04. Step Over The Line [04:37]
05. No Good At All [03:19]
06. Devils's Daughter [02:54]
07. Danger In The Night [03:49]
08. Going Away [05:19]
09. Time Race [03:36]
Strike Force – Strike Force – 1984 (Bad Reputation Remaster 2024), FLAC+MP3, CD-Rip w/ Scans
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