Breaker

Breaker were a Calgary, Alberta heavy metal band active in the early 1980s, remembered for their lone 1982 EP In Days Of Heavy Metal, one of the most sought-after and genuinely accomplished private Canadian metal releases of its era. At a time when Canadian hard rock was only beginning to harden into a more recognizably metal form, Breaker arrived with a sound that was already unusually confident and fully formed: twin guitars, strong melodic vocals, a tight rhythm section, and a flair for drama that set them apart from many of their contemporaries. Their small but potent catalogue has since earned them a cult reputation among collectors, with the original pressing now widely regarded as a Canadian heavy metal grail.

The band’s classic lineup consisted of Rik Anthony on lead vocals, Kevin Bradley on lead guitar, Brian “Shaky” Johnston on guitar, Warren McWilliams on bass, and Doug Jones on drums. Though the EP was recorded in Ontario, Breaker were very much a Calgary band, as confirmed by the original sleeve, which listed a Calgary S.W. contact address and identified engineer John Parker in Calgary alongside Bob Federer in Weston, Ontario. By the time In Days Of Heavy Metal appeared in 1982, the group had already sharpened its attack on the Alberta bar circuit and were operating at a level that placed them well above the average local hard rock act.

Released privately on Iron Head / I.A.T. Music in 1982, In Days Of Heavy Metal was structured like a miniature statement of purpose. Side one delivered three compact originals — ‘Living Free,’ ‘Satan’s Lyre,’ and ‘Easyrider’ — each showing a different facet of the band’s style, from direct, driving metal to darker, more atmospheric material. The entire second side was given over to the title track, a multipart epic divided into ‘His Majesty’s Entrance,’ ‘Chivalry,’ and ‘Knighthood.’ That decision alone made the record unusual for its time: in 1982, when most independent metal bands were still issuing short, punchy singles or rough demos, Breaker devoted half a release to a long-form composition built around shifting tempos, layered vocals, and a distinctly theatrical sense of arrangement. It remains the centerpiece of the record and the clearest reason the EP has endured.

The production credits also add an intriguing Canadian connection. The record was produced by Van Louis, the professional name of Emil Van Sprang, an early member of Calgary’s original six-piece Stampeders lineup. The sleeve credits Louis not only as producer but also, alongside the band, as arranger of the vocal parts — a notable detail given the record’s more elaborate choral and harmonized passages, especially on the title suite. The EP was recorded at Round Sound Studios in Weston, Ontario, mixed at Manta Sound in Toronto, and mastered at The Lacquer Channel in Toronto between January and February 1982. Artwork was handled by Inklings in Toronto, with photography by Ron Sayers.

Although Breaker never followed the EP with a full-length album, the record circulated far enough to make an impression outside Canada. Later accounts connected it with European underground attention, including mention in Kerrang!, and whatever its exact contemporary reach, the record clearly found a second life among tape traders, collectors, and later reissue labels. Over time, In Days Of Heavy Metal became one of those Canadian private-press titles whose reputation grew steadily as original copies became harder to find and its music proved strong enough to justify the mystique.

After Breaker, Brian “Shaky” Johnston carried forward one of the clearest continuations of the band’s story. He soon resurfaced in Lawsuit, another western Canadian hard rock / metal project that kept him active through the 1980s and into later reissue culture. That later work helped preserve a direct line between Breaker’s early Calgary metal identity and the broader prairie hard rock circuit that followed.

Breaker’s lone release was eventually revived in 2018 when Cult Metal Classics issued In Days Of Heavy Metal... Reborn, the first official CD edition and a long-awaited archival restoration of the band’s only known recording. By then, the EP’s status was already secure: not merely a scarce collector’s item, but one of the stronger and more imaginative Canadian independent metal records of the early 1980s — a release whose epic ambition, melodic discipline, and genuine sense of occasion made it feel larger than its four tracks ever suggested.
-Robert Williston

Lineup
Rik Anthony: lead vocals
Kevin Bradley: lead guitar
Brian “Shaky” Johnston: guitar
Warren McWilliams: bass
Doug Jones: drums