Je vous avais parlé, lors de ma précédente critique, de la relève et de la vieille garde sur la scène Metal québécoise, et parmi cette «vieille garde», on retrouve un groupe nommé Hanker. Avec la sortie de Web Of Faith en 2004 et leur imminente entrée en studio cet été, j'ai eu envie de vous offrir ma critique de leur troisième album Snakes And Ladders.

11 nouveaux titres sur cette parution de 2000 pour une durée de 53 minutes 06, le tout débutant par la pièce Ad Patres. Cette dernière offre un son très entraînant qui donne le goût de taper du pied et de se faire aller la tête, les guitares sont exécutées de très belle façon il en va ainsi pour le reste des instruments et des vocaux. Toutefois, nous rencontrons aussi ce qui est le plus grand défaut de Snakes And Ladders, et probablement de tous les albums de la formation québécoise: la production. Ce détail d'une importance capitale fait perdre beaucoup de points à Hanker et cet effort.

Restons concentrés sur la musique. L'album offre une foule de textures et de diversités sur la composition des chansons. De la rapide et ininterrompue The Pardoner à l'essentielle ballade instrumentale qu'est Fool's Paradise, Hanker nous démontre l'étendue de leur talent et de leur impressionnant potentiel.

Plusieurs coups de coeur sur Snakes And Ladders, je n'ai qu'à penser aux Ad Patres, Far From The Cradle et The Eternal Struggle, sans oublier le respect et la considération qu'ils démontrent pour leurs fans dans Hail To You. Beaucoup de coups de coeur, mais aussi certaines plus ordinaires, des pièces comme Seven, Save Your Life et Confidence Man qui apparaissent dans cet ordre sur l'album: 4, 5, 6. Comme si Hanker s'était un peu essoufflé au milieu pour repartir de plus belle.

Somme toute un album dont la production ne rend malheureusement pas hommage à la qualité du disque question compos, défaut que la formation devra corriger pour percer davantage dans le milieu du Heavy/Power Metal.

Cote: 7.5/10

Christophe Giroux

Source: Metal Universe, Chronique de Snakes And Ladders, Juillet 2007

Hanker hail from Canada, and as most things Canadian they are a worthy U.S. power metal act!

Snakes And Ladders was originally recorded in 1999, was released by Metal Disk in 2000 and then re-issued on LP by the Greek label Cult Metal Classics in 2002. Quality U.S. power metal is what you'll encounter here, nothing more and nothing less. Their style is similar to that of mid era Jag Panzer, with some maiden-esque references popping up here and there, and the odd galloping Omen-ish riff (like on Hail To You) thrown in for good measure. Like the majority of Canadian bands these guys know how to play, while the vocals of Pascal Cliche are also very commendable, bringing to mind a mid range Tyrant Conklin at times.

So overall this is a solid U.S. power metal release, perhaps not the most original around in terms of songwriting, but very good nonetheless.

AsgardLord

Source: The Forgotten Scroll, Snakes And Ladders review, June 22, 2006

A more than solid investment are the so far three CDs of Canadian HANKER. And the best one is their third, Snakes And Ladders. Unfortunately, the albums only are available as import - utopic deal demands from the band so far successfully dampened interest by record labels [Webmaster's note: This was a conflict with a German label years ago, Hanker has now signed with Skyscraper Music] - but musically the band walks the field of honour in best Maple Metal tradition (see their great colleagues of SWORD, RAZOR, RUSH, TRIUMPH...).

Even though HANKER do not like to hear it, you can best compare their sound with JAG PANZER. While some fast parts in fact do remind me of glorious HELLOWEEN days, as in the great The Pardoner. I have to say that the Canadians do not steal like magpies, but just let a few inspirations find their way into their songs. Tracks such as the fast opener Ad Patres or the epic Hail To You with its fine riffing and killer chorus don't have to hide behind JAG PANZER hymns such as Chain Of Command or Iron Eagle.

And I neither can complain about the rest of the songs. Seven surprises with a light oriental touch, while the Save Your Life starts kind of ballad like, but then slowly turns into a truly memorable killer, which would fit on the albums of KAMELOT. BRAINSTORM and SWORD fans should love Confidence Man. Generally every maniac of traditional and demanding Metal sounds should have no problems with HANKER at all. And for an own production the sound also is damn fat.

Rating: 10/10

Hawk

Source: The Metal Observer, Snakes And Ladders review, January 8, 2004

Eine mehr als solide Geldanlage sind die drei bisher erschienenen CDs der Kanadier HANKER. Und am besten kommt das dritte, Snakes And Ladders betitelte Werk rüber. Leider Gottes sind die Alben lediglich als Import zu haben - utopische Vertragsforderungen seitens der Band verhinderten bisher das Interesse der Plattenfirmen [Webmaster's note: This was a conflict with a German label years ago, Hanker has now signed with Skyscraper Music] - aber musikalisch schreitet die Band in bester Ahorn Metal-Tradition (siehe erstklassige Kollegen a la SWORD, RAZOR, RUSH, TRIUMPH...) das Feld der Ehre ab.

Auch wenn HANKER es nicht gerne hören, so kann man ihren Sound noch am besten mit JAG PANZER vergleichen. Wobei diverse schnelle Parts durchaus an glorreiche HELLOWEEN-Tage erinnern, z.B. beim bärenstarken The Pardoner. Dazu muss man sagen, dass die Kanadier keineswegs wie die Raben klauen, sondern lediglich die eine oder andere Inspiration in ihre Songs einfließen lassen. Songs wie der schnelle Opener Ad Patres oder das epische, von feinsten Riffs getragene und mit einem Killer-Refrain versehene Hail To You stehen JAG PANZER-Hymnen a la Chain Of Command oder Iron Eagle in nichts nach.

Und bei den restlichen Songs findet man ebenfalls nichts zu meckern. So überrascht Seven durch einen leicht orientalischen Touch, während das balladesk beginnende Save Your Life sich langsam und fast unmerklich in einen Ohrwurm steigert, der KAMELOT gut stehen würde. An Confidence Man dürften BRAINSTORM- und SWORD-Fans ihre helle Freude haben. Generell müsste jeder Maniac traditioneller, anspruchsvoller Metal-Mucke mit HANKER gut klarkommen. Und für ne Eigenproduktion ist der Sound auch verdammt fett ausgefallen.

Punkte: 10/10

Hawk

Source: The Metal Observer, Snakes And Ladders review, January 8, 2004

Snakes And Ladders is not the follow-up to In Our World (Revisited), as The Dead Ringer was released in between both releases that are reviewed here (1997). Anyhow, Snakes And Ladders was originally released on Metal Disk Records (on CD) in 2000. By this time, HANKER had developed more of an overall original style; hardly any JAG PANZER influences are to be detected here. In general, it's all in the melodic and mid-paced powerful heavy metal vein. That's not to say that this release sounds the same all the time. In fact, it's probably their most diverse release thus far. The only song that I could do without is the short instrumental Fool's Paradise. The rest are all on the same high level, although my personal favourites are The Pardoner, Ad Patres and the 8'+ The Eternal Struggle. Once again, all lyrics are reprinted on the insert, but there are no bonus tracks. The front cover design is identical to the original CD issue, while the back cover is a bit different, including live bandmember pictures. And yes, it's limited to 500 handnumbered copies. www.cultmetalclassics.com. Cult Metal Classics Records / Akadimias 96 / 106 77 Athens / Greece. www.hankermetal.com.

Source: Den Of Iniquity #4, 2003

I need a name clarification please! I mean I think of 2 things when I read this band's moniker: 1) A hankey people use to blast their boogers into when their noses run. 2) Some mountain hillbilly telling you to «hanker on down sons» while offering a swig off his home brewed & lethal wood alcohol moonshine his «Pa» Cecil Billy-Bob Jacobson taught his «boy» to make. Neither make me think «metal», not to even mention the album itself is named after a kiddy board game. However I am asking you to look beyond all of the hokey window dressing as I did and focus on the music because that is where Hanker deliver in a deadly serious fashion! Snakes And Ladders bleeds through it all in rich fiery colours, playing classy power metal (w/ slight progressive touches) in an epic way. I think this should have very little trouble pleasing fans of old & new bands like Helloween, Iron Maiden, Gamma Ray, old Stratovarius, King Diamond (not vocally but musically here and there), Metal Church and the like. Surprisingly Hanker have been bouncing around the score for 10 years and I do suppose this would explain their penchant & talent for penning memorable, catchy songs that flow and stick to you. I would be remiss not mentioning the vocalist's (he also does the guitars) distinct commanding delivery, which sews this rich musical tapestry together. If Hanker were signed and promoted strongly in a German/Greek or Japanese market with proper distribution they could make some really serious noise.

Rating: 7/10

Dale Roy

Source: Canadian Assault #7, 2002

Quarteto canadense formado por Pascal Cliche (G,V,K), Patrick Gravel(G), Denis Cossette (B) e Luc Guay (D). Snakes And Ladders é puro heavy oitentista com pitadas de power metal, nada original mas bastante fiel ao estilo. Tanto a gravação quanto a parte gráfica ficam devendo por serem simplórias demais, assim como a própria música por eles executada, mas vale dar um desconto pela garra de seus músicos. Esse terceiro cd não é o melhor que o Hanker já apresentou, haja visto que tal começa bem, mas da metade do caminho para o fim a coisa entorta, é até engraçado, pois começa quente e acaba morno! Apesar dos pesares, ainda encontramos bons momentos neste disquinho como no bom power metal de Ad Patres que abre o cd, The Pardoner e Hail To You, essa última com um refrão marcante.

Deve-se tirar o chapéu para uma banda batalhadora como o Hanker, pena que infelizmente competem com bandas bem mais talentosas.
Site: http://www.hankermetal.com/

Rating: 7.0/10

Christiano Ferreira Kato

Source: Strike Magazine, Snakes And Ladders review, September 2002

Kanadský heavy/power metal sa preslávil hlavne kapelami EXCITER alebo ANVIL. No okrem nich samozrejme existujú aj iné kapely, aj keď sú oveľa menej «vidieť». V súčasnosti napríklad HANKER. Snakes And Ladders je tretím počinom Kanaďanov, tentokrát už u «akejsi» firmy, nie celkom vo vlastnej produkcii. Kapela hrá heavy/power metal, kombinuje nemeckú školu s americkou a pridáva do toho «kanadskú» osobitosť (samozrejme že sem tam aj trochu EXCITER). Na novinke sa oproti minulému albumu toho dosť zmenilo. Okrem basgitaristu aj hlasový prejav Pascal Cliche. Spieva nižšie a tvrdšie, ale nie je to zlé. Skôr naopak. Ide o hlasový prejav ako napríklad pri Francúzoch KILLERS, samozrejme kvalitnejší. Nový album začína vo fantastickom, až speedovom tempe, prvé dve skladby Ad Patres, The Pardoner je poctivý nárez. Čosi ako na predchádzajúcom albume Unsung Hero. Paráda! Všeobecne kapela zrýchlila. Zbavila sa vplyvu Amriky a je viac kanadsko/európska. Ak by sa zámorský metal uberal týmto smerom, tak OK! No a na rad prichádza potom už aj heavymetal. Skladby ako Hail To You, Seven, Save Your Life alebo Confidence Man sú už v heavymetalových vodách. Zrýchli sa trochu opäť v sedmičke Far From The Cradle a potom sa ide už viac v powermetalovom tempe. Vrcholom poweru je predposledná The Eternal Struggle. Hlavnou silou kapely sú sóla a melodické gitarové linky. Krásna rytmika na rozhraní starej thrashovej (ako EXODUS) a nemeckej scény. Kapela HANKER je dosť «svojská», nehovorím, že objavila «nový metal», ale má vlastnú tvár, hlavne na novom albume. Snakes And Ladders je kvalitné dielo, dobre sa počúva a nenudí! Jedinou chybičkou je akési skĺznutie do pokľudnejších polôh a divná skladba na záver. Žiadne hard rockové prvky ani progras. Ideálne pre fanúšikov tvrdšieho heavy metalu. Len zohnať CD bohužiaľ nie je vôbec jendoduchá záležitosť! Tento rok vyjde novinka, som zvedavý, verím že kapela nespomalí!

Hodnotenie: 7.5/10

Maťo Kimlička

Source: Speed Of Light, Snakes And Ladders review, July 2002

Wer kennt Hanker noch nicht? Dummerweise wohl noch der Grossteil der metalhörenden Bevölkerung hierzulande und auch sonst wo.

Doch in Griechenland bei Cult Metal Classics hat man ein Näschen für Qualität, weswegen nun auch das Debütalbum In Our World sowie das neueste Werk Snakes And Ladders jeweils in 500er Auflagen auf LP veröffentlicht wurden. Hatte ich doch schon seit kurz nach Erscheinen die Import CD von Snakes And Ladders ergattert, konnte ich es nun kaum erwarten diese Power Metal Grosstaten endlich auch auf schwarzem Vinyl zu besitzen. Denn was hier aus den Boxen bricht, schlägt jede mir bekannte aktuelle Power Metal Formation um einige Längen. Teilweise eher ungewöhnliche, aber immer geniale Kompositionen wie der etwas flottere Opener Ad Patres, die glorreiche Fanhymne Hail To You oder das inhaltlich wie musikalisch überragende On The Verge Of Tears, hier stimmt alles! Die erhabenen Vocals von Pascal Cliche, der nun wirklich alles andere als eine 08/15 Metalstimme hat, machen dieses Album endgültig zum Meisterwerk, ohne welche die ausgeklügelten Stücke zwar auch funktionieren, aber lange nicht die gleiche unbeschreibliche Atmosphäre versprühen würden!

Wer's mir nicht glaubt, kann ja die Bandhomepage besuchen, reinhören und sich anschliessend ärgern, dass Songs wie das groovende Far From The Cradle oder das dramatische Save Your Life jetzt nicht in voller Länge und guter Qualität auf der Heimanlage genossen werden können. Da hilft nur kaufen (gilt auch für In Our World)! Bei Hellion Records sollte man sich die mit Textblatt versehene LP noch sichern können, ansonsten kann man auch bei Cult Metal Classics direkt anklopfen.

Punkte: 5/5

Manuel Kempf

Source: Raging Steel, Snakes And Ladders review, May 27, 2002

Es gibt Dinge, die verstehe ich einfach nicht. Da zieht eine kompetente Power-Metal-Band seit mehr als zehn Jahren ihr Ding durch und was ist der Lohn dafür? Genau. Nix. Die Canucks von HANKER sind ein Paradebeispiel dafür. Bereits 1991 veröffentlichten sie ihr erstes 5-Track-Demo und haben danach noch zwei weitere Alben in Eigenregie herausgebracht, wovon zumindest das mir bekannte The Dead Ringer (1997) absolut erstklassigen Stoff bietet. Und liest man die Reviews zum Debüt In Our World, dürfte auch dieses höchsten Qualitätsansprüchen gerecht werden. Gebracht hat das der Band außer einigen Fans im Underground nichts.

Ob sich das mit dem neuen Werk Snakes And Ladders ändert, bleibt zu bezweifeln. Der Markt schreit nicht gerade nach Bands, die eher nach JAG PANZER als nach HELLOWEEN/HAMMERFALL klingen. Ergo dürfte auch Snakes And Ladders ziemlich ungehört an den Ohren der Musikindustriellen vorbei gehen. An den Ohren eines Metal-Fans, der seine Wurzel bei klassischen Power-Metal wie TITAN FORCE, METAL CHURCH oder OMEN hat, sollten, nein, dürfen diese 53 Minuten aber nicht vorbeigehen. Denn was hier geboten wird, ist purer, technisch versierter Stahl, mit tollen Riffs, famosen Gitarrenduellen, einer überragenden Rhythmusabteilung und grandiosen, an Harry 'The Tyrant' Conklin zu TITAN-FORCE-Zeiten erinnernden Vocals von Pascal Cliche. Dazu frische, unverbraucht klingende Songs mit viel Energie, wie der grandiose Opener Ad Patres, das pathetische Hail To You, das groovende Far From The Cradle oder das überlange, herausragende The Eternal Struggle, und man hat ein völlig geiles Power-Metal-Album, an dem niemand vorbeikommt, der auf nur eine der positiv erwähnten Bands steht.

Glücklicherweise vertreibt wenigstens Hellion (http://www.hellionrecords.de/) das Album, so dass man auch hier in Deutschland ohne größere Probleme und zu einem normalen Preis an den Silberling kommt.

Anspieltipps: Ad Patres, Hail To You, Far From The Cradle, The Eternal Struggle

Peter Kubaschk

Source: PowerMetal.de, Snakes And Ladders review, May 14, 2002

Snakes And Ladders is the third album of these Canadians. An album that shows a very mature band, delivering an excellent heavy metal, sometimes fast (Ad Patres, The Pardoner, Hail To You, Far From The Cradle, On The Verge Of Tears, The Eternal Struggle), sometimes mid-tempo (Behind The Curtain, Seven, Confidence Man), but always very interesting. The eleven songs are excellent and contain one ballad (Save Your Life) and one instrumental (Fool's Paradise). The vocals are really great and full of convictions, sounding a bit like Blaze Bailey's voice; the solos are fantastic, and the rest of the music is very well done -the riff of The Pardoner reminds me some old Helloween from Walls of Jericho. Ad Patres, The Pardoner and The Eternal Struggle are wonderful, Hail To You is unforgettable, and the whole opus is very pleasant to listen to. What I hope for the future is that they will find some label and distributor all over the world for their fourth album, 'cause it's a shame not to be allowed to buy some quality stuff because of the business. So, good work Hanker, and stay the same!

Rating: 4/6

Séb

Source: Heavy Metal Universe, Snakes And Ladders review, May 2002

Snakes And Ladders est le troisième album de ces Canadiens. Un album qui montre un groupe très mature, délivrant un excellent heavy metal, tantôt rapide (Ad Patres, The Pardoner, Hail To You, Far From The Cradle, On The Verge Of Tears, The Eternal Struggle), tantôt mi-tempo (Behind The Curtain, Seven, Confidence Man), mais toujours très intéressant. Les onze titres sont excellents et contiennent une ballade (Save Your Life) et un instrumental (Fool's Paradise). Les vocaux sont très bons, pleins de convictions et sonnent un peu comme le chant de Blaze Bailey; les solos sont fantastiques, et le reste de la musique est extrêmement bien réalisé -le riff de The Pardoner me rappelle quelque peu le vieux Helloween de Walls of Jericho. Ad Patres, The Pardoner et The Eternal Struggle sont magnifiques, Hail To You est inoubliable, et l'ensemble de cet opus est vraiment très plaisant. Reste à espérer pour le futur que le groupe trouvera un label et un distributeur partout dans le monde pour son quatrième album, car c'est un scandale de ne pas être autorisé à acheter des trucs de qualité simplement à cause du business. Bon boulot Hanker, et stay the same!

Cote: 4/6

Séb

Source: Heavy Metal Universe, Chronique de Snakes And Ladders, Mai 2002

It seems like in Canada Power Metal has made it's entrance, with upcoming bands like FORGOTTEN TALES and this HANKER playing a very European orientated Metal style (à la BLIND GUARDIAN). The enormous popularity of last mentioned German band in Canada (Top 10 national Charts!) makes an impact on many new bands, and they all want to play in the style of their 'heroes'. A few months ago, I reviewed the female fronted FORGOTTEN TALES, and now it's up to HANKER, a band from the beautiful city of Quebec. This band is playing pure European Power Metal, but there are also a bunch of melodic metal songs on their third CD Snakes And Ladders.

Especially the first two songs (Ad Patres and The Pardoner) are 'Power Metal Heaven' for the fans of BLIND GUARDIAN and HAMMERFALL! The production is fantastic, and the performance is quite excellent. My favourite tracks are Hail To You (fantastic very 80s orientated uptempo melodic metal à la WARLORD - remember them???), Save Your Life (great strong semi melodic metal ballad), Confidence Man (mid-tempo melodic metal piece), Far From The Cradle (fantastic melodic prog. metal), On The Verge Of Tears (heavy prog./power, pure HAMMERFALL) and The Eternal Struggle (very melodic chorus, fast melodic power metal at it's best).

What more can I say to you then to highly recommend this CD of HANKER to anyone who likes melodic metal/European power metal! The CD is distributed in Europe through HELLION RECORDS. Visit the band's website at: http://www.hankermetal.com.

Points: 8.5/10

Gabor Kleinbloesem

Source: Strutter Magazine, Snakes And Ladders review, April 2002

This one caught me by surprise. Excellent return by Canadian traditional power metal band; will have listeners recalling Jag Panzer's classic Ample Destruction amongst other US true metal bands. Lots of crunch in the guitars and memorable songwriting throughout. Recommended.

Sentinel Steel

Source: Sentinel Steel, Snakes And Ladders review, March 2002

As I love the Canada! Even you don't imagine! It is a great holiday when a postman bring me a letter from amateur maple of leaf! In the last year, I lived the ambrosia who is called HORFIXION, but in this year I'm living feast of heavy metal who is called HANKER. When I started the CD I thought about HELLOWEEN from a old times. But the vocal of HANKER is different, it is like voice of Ozzy Osbourne. There are multitude guitar's solos, accelerations, slackening, tuneful motives and drums passages. It is feeling joy of life which is flowing from Snakes And Ladders, joy from play, joy from all beautiful, joy from the past and a future. The 10 tracks transported me to times when I often heard IRON MAIDEN. From day to day is growing my collection of heavy metal! Glory Highest to such bands like HANKER! Glory!!!

Artur Grabowski

Source: Born To Die Zine, Snakes And Ladders review, February 25, 2002

Impressive release from this Quebec band playing a tougher style of power / classic / traditional metal similar to Jag Panzer. The singer even sounds a lot like Harry Conklin of Jag Panzer and also like Blaze (ex-Iron Maiden). Good catchy songs with riffy guitars and good melody lines. Hail To You is a song for the fans. Guitar solos are fast and to the point. Nothing too crazy technically but fits the needs here. Unlike the Jag Panzer's recent output though, the ratio of fast to slow songs here is more favorable.

Rating: 84/100

The Surging Alien

Source: Surfing Alien's Music, Snakes And Ladders review, January 2002

Snakes And Ladders is a piece of classic and traditional heavy metal, quite melodic but with a lot of power at the same time. In spite of not being fans or followers of this style, we can affirm, that for those who are, the music of this band will maybe get to satisfy your expectations. To be honest, this album has good sets of riffs and solos, powerful drums, good performance and the usual heavy metal vocals which are common in this style. This album presents 11 songs that immediately will bring you some memories of the NWOBHM but with more powerful touches on its sound. The albums starts out with the songs called Ad Patres, which we think is the best one of the album for many reasons like its speed and the way how it starts (yeah! we liked it). There are some other songs which are worth as Hail To You, Far From The Cradle and the emotive instrumental called Fool's Paradise that is an introduction to The Eternal Struggle (good as well). In general, if you like classic heavy metal with a lot of power and also deep emotions, then pick up this album!

Jose Zevallos Cifuentes / Alonso Zimmermann Gordillo

Source: Prelude To Darkness, Snakes And Ladders review, November 2001

Pounding out true metal from my neighbouring province, Quebec, comes Hanker, a great melodic metal band in the vein of Iron Maiden and traditional metal. I really don't know where the name comes from and actually thought it was kind of lame, but don't let that put you off of the music - it's well worth the listen. First track Ad Patres sort of sets the mood for what's to come with its galloping rhythms, and second song The Pardoner opens up with some classic left and right speaker riffs and takes off into some very cool riff territory. The thing I like about this band is that they seem very tight and complete, like every instrument is working off one another and no-one is competing to be heard; it just flows well. An example of this is the ballad (not love ballad, but build up ballad) Save Your Life, which starts out slower and works its way up to a memorable chorus, some diverse riffs and melody lines. The range from the singer is not huge, but he is unique and I like the way his voice fits within the song structures. This album is full of great traditional metal, be it epic tracks, rocking tracks or slower pieces like the instrumental Fool's Paradise, which I really connect with for some reason. The band says it best with its anthem, Hail To You: «You, you like our way/You, the reason we play/Without you we would not survive/Louder, prouder, Hail to you...» If you're a fan of traditional heavy metal (and hey, who isn't?) then look into this band and be rewarded. (I'm so proud of myself, I never gave into the urge to say «I've got a hankerin' for some Hanker» in this entire review! Oh damn, I just blew it.)

Lyrics: 8/10 - Production: 8.5/10 - Songs: 8/10 - Musicianship: 8.5/10 - Vocals [Singer]: 7/10 - Originality: 6/10 - Style: Heavy Metal - Bottom Line: Great Album

Overall rating: 7.7/10

Justin Lambourne

Source: Metalview, Snakes And Ladders review, August 28, 2001

Schließt Eure Augen und stellt Euch eine erstklassig produzierte US-Power-Metal-CD vor, die Trademarks von Götter-Acts wie Jag Panzer und Iron Maiden zu einem kongenialen Ohrgasmus verarbeitet. Öffnet Eure Augen und seht, daß Eure Vorstellung Wirklichkeit geworden ist, denn vor Euch liegt Snakes And Ladders, das meines Wissens nach dritte Album von Hanker. Hier stimmt vom Sound über spielerische Fähigkeiten bis hin zum Songwriting einfach alles, zu dem hat das kanadische Quartett mit Pascal Cliche einen Sänger am Start, der wirklich Top-Shoutern wie Harry «The Tyrant» Conklin Konkurrenz macht (obwohl den Tyrant im Power-Sektor natürlich niemand übertreffen kann!). Songs wie der Uptempo-Opener Ad Patres, die mit schönen Gitarrenharmonien versehene Midtempo-Hymne Seven, das recht flotte, mit Maiden-artigen Licks garnierte The Pardoner oder den Titan Force-lastigen Smasher Far From The Cradle sollte man sich nicht entgehen lassen, denn derartige Power Metal-Highlights werden heutzutage nicht mehr gerade en masse geschmiedet. Stellt sich die Frage, warum diese begnadete Truppe noch keinen Lizenz-Deal in Europa eingefahren hat, denn kraftvoller Metal mit US-Prägung klang in der letzten Zeit selten geiler als auf Snakes And Ladders. Power Metal-Fans MÜSSEN hier einfach zugreifen! www.hankermetal.com oder www.metaldisk.com.

Rating: 9/10

Christoph Lücker

Source: Oblivion Magazine #11, August 2001

This Quebec City act cite Maiden, Purple, Metallica, Sabs, Styx and Rush as influences. This may be true, but Helloween's Walls of Jericho must have been in heavy rotation on these guys' turntables in their youth as well. Six of the 11 tracks on Snakes And Ladders definitely share the speed, power and melodic guitar runs that the pumpkin heads delivered on their classic debut (which they've yet to best). The vocals of Pascal Cliche are perfectly suited for this type of action, sounding like a Blaze Bailey who can also hit high notes, and the punchy production (recorded at Phase One in Toronto) enhances the head banging, memorable material. The remaining five tracks, which cover power ballad, mid-tempo pounder and acoustic territory are not as inspired as the speedsters, but add diversity to the package nonetheless. Speed and power metal freaks are urged to check this out.

Rating: 7.5/10

Chris Tighe

Source: Rip N' Tear #9 p. 35, August 2001

Hanker are Canada's premier underground metal band and not without a reason. They are playing classic heavy metal and for me it's a big fucking surprise that they have not signed so far to a major label. They've got more talent than all the other underground metal bands together. The compositions are almost perfect and it's obvious that a lot of thought and work has gone into the songs. As far as musicianship goes these guys are excellent. The singer has a rough voice that fits perfectly with their music, the riffs are catchy and the solos straight to the point. The song structures are complex enough and the songs have enough changes to keep your interest through out the album. The quality of this album is far above the underground and they deserve more than this. If you want to listen some classy heavy metal then visit their web site at http://www.hankermetal.com/ and order the CD as soon as possible. Classic and classy metal at it's best, with a production that will surprise you.

Rating: 8/10

Agelos Kanarelis

Source: Tombstone Fanzine (Athens, Greece) #46, Snakes And Ladders review, August 2001

This is how I concluded my review of Hanker's previous effort The Dead Ringer some 2 years ago: «...they [Hanker] are simply the best Power Metal band around». So the fact that since then I had been waiting for their next release with great anticipation, it shouldn't surprise you at all. And here it is, Snakes And Ladders, Hanker's third release to date.

Snakes And Ladders was recorded in 1999, but various obstacles (mainly label stuff) delayed its final release. But even though it got released over a year after its completion it still sounds fresh and it is destined to kick some serious ass!

They seem to have dropped their melodic power metal sound for a more direct and damn mighty heavier one. This is a back-to-the-roots heavy metal album; Hanker have put together 11 tracks of pure heavy metal that will most definately set the speakers alight and bring down the walls of your room. But apart from sheer heaviness, there is also harmony and melody in Snakes And Ladders.

The guitar riffs are leading the onslaught backed up by a very tight and dynamic rythmn section. As for the singing, it is always powerful and uplifting. Just listen to tracks like the opener Ad Patres, The Pardoner (puts back the 'heavy' in heavy metal, truly impressive), or the explosive Hail To You. But according to my opinion, the best track on Snakes And Ladders is The Eternal Struggle which is Hanker's very own eternal marching metal storm featuring a Warlord-inspired guitar solo.

All in all, Hanker have managed to surpass the very high standards that they had set to themselves with the released of The Dead Ringer. With a sound that is as heavy as it gets and with master-class heavy metal riffing, Snakes And Ladders will leave a lot of fans with a wide smile on their face and an iron fist raised in the air. All that is left to say is: Louder, Prouder, Hail To Hanker!

Chris «The Lord» Condos

Source: Sweet Suffering e-zine (Germany), Snakes And Ladders review, July 22, 2001

Ein ganz heißes Eisen haben die Kanadier Hanker zusammengeschmiedet... Snakes And Ladders ist soweit Ich weiß ihr drittes Album und es ist ein Gourmet Häppchen für jeden Freund klassischen Power Metals von Iced Earth bis hin zu Jag Panzer. Die 11 Stücke sind ohne Ausnahme geil und es lassen sich sogar mehrere potentielle Hits finden... da wären z.B. der Opener Ad Patres, welcher sehr schön melodisch daherkommt, vom ausdruckstarken und voluminösen Gesang Pascal Cliche's getragen wird und sowohl einen wunderbaren Refrain als auch die genügende Portion Härte besitzt oder auch der Mid Tempo Banger Hail To You, eine Hymne an die Fans, die sofort ins Blut geht und zum headbangen auffordert. Diesen Song werdet ihr garantiert so schnell nicht mehr aus'm Köpfchen kriegen... Ohrwurm vorpragrammiert! Gleiches gilt übrigens auch für den hammermäßigen Chorus von Confidence Man sowie für noch 'ne ganze Menge Songs mehr. Hanker schaffen es einfach wie kaum eine andere Band, die nötige Heavyness mit unsterblichen Melodien zu verknüpfen und so ein Süppchen zu kochen, dass ähnlich lecker schmeckt wie die letzten Werke von Überfliegern wie Rival, Iced Earth oder den bereits erwähnten Jag Panzer. Hanker haben einfach enorm viel Power und Spielfreude und reißen total mit. Die Songs klingen zwar zeitgemäß, nicht jedoch trendig, kommerziell oder angepasst. Das Album ist rau und melodisch zugleich, wirkt dabei aber weder pseudomäßig auf heavy getrimmt noch verweichlicht! So und nicht anders muss in meinen Augen moderner Power Metal klingen, der perfekte Spagat zwischen dem neuen Millenium und den Achtzigern! Vergesst alle in Kellertiefe runtergestimmten Gitarren, allen entfremdeten Gesang, alle Samples und alle anderen unmetallischen Einflüsse, sowas werdet ihr bei Hanker mit Sicherheit nicht finden! Scheißt auf alle Trends und nehmt den Hampelmännern von VIVA und MTV nicht ab, das Limp Bizkit, Korn und Papa Roach Metal wären. Sie sind es definitiv nicht! Diese aufgeblasenen Wichtigtuer haben keinen Funken Metal im Blut und werden genauso schnell wieder verschwunden sein, wie sie aufgetaucht sind... in 10 Jahren erinnert sich doch keine Sau mehr an Papa Roach oder Linkin Park oder so!! Aber an Hanker wird man sich auch als 80 jähriger metallischer Tattergreis noch voller Zufriedenheit entsinnen und sich freuen, dass es Kapellen wie diese gegeben hat. Wenn du auf klischee- und trendfreien Power Metal stehst, dann solltest du Snakes And Ladders ganz nach oben auf deinen Einkaufszettel schreiben... Ich schreib aber erstmal wohlverdiente 9 Punkte auf und schick diese auf direktem Weg nach Kanada!

Zu kaufen gibt's das Teil u.a. bei Hellion (http://www.hellionrecords.de/)... wo auch sonst??

Punkte: 9/10

Tobias Piwek

Source: Metal Coven (Germany), Snakes And Ladders review, July 16, 2001

Next to Mississauga's EIDOLON - who have recently proven with their last offering that Canada's real Heavy/Power Metal was still alive and kicking, it's time for Quebec's HANKER to unleash their third release, a really enjoyable affair also. Ad Patres starts the hostilities, a quickly executed Power Metal song with a real catchy chorus featuring excellent vocals from Pascal Cliche. Lots of melodies but nothing cheesy, that's where the difference lies between a melodic yet heavy band and happy/cheesy melodic stuff. The Pardoner had a majestic riff, the kind of stuff that will stick in your mind for days, quite fast but totally controlled material, excellent intense Power Metal! Hail To You is a bit slower yet very dynamic with more killer vocal delivery, not forgetting some effective twin lead guitar work from Patrick Gravel and Pascal Cliche. Seven is more Oriental orientated featuring excellent arrangements, a mid tempo affair that really kicks ass, killer! Nothing that haven't been heard before but it's so well done that it sends shivers to my spine. Save Your Life is more average and sounds more classic. Confidence Man is based on a strong bass line and a solid chorus, but that still sounds like last minute added material. Far From The Cradle puts the band back on intense Power/Heavy Metal trails, great stuff. On The Verge Of Tears is another Metallic assault and Pascal's vocals are just so unreal on this one. Majestic material I have to admit. Metal ecstasy! Fool's Paradise is a short emotional instrumental showing if needed that the guys totally dominate their stuff, and opens an eight minute track, The Eternal Struggle. Starting like a ballad but soon turns out to be another Metallic cruncher alternating between galloping riffing and slower parts during the chorus, never sounding too melodic for its own good - while sounding close at times to the European melodic stuff that so many people enjoy right now, some '80s influences being blatant at times, but who cares, this is pure Metal. Behind The Curtain end this impressive affair in a fine fashion being a mid paced heavy track with a chorus reminding me of DOUBLE DEALER haha! A highly recommendable album for real Heavy Metal lovers, I just hope next time, some record company will finally give them the financial backing to use a proper producer because this is the only low point that I find here - an okay production but it could be definitely better, but other than that, Canada's real Metal still rules! Web sites: www.hankermetal.com and www.metaldisk.com

Laurent Ramadier

Source: Snakepit Magazine #9 p. 91/92, July 2001

Snakes And Ladders is Québec quartet's third album and is a true bomb. From the very first notes of Ad Patres, we are nailed to the ground with a numb look on our face so much this speed melodic metal is catchy. And live, this track really kicks ass, and I know what I'm talking about ! ! !

Our four protagonists, Pascal Cliche (vocals, guitar and keyboards), Patrick Gravel (guitar), Denis Cossette (bass) and Luc Guay (drums) excel in creating songs where the riffs are flying everywhere and the bass and drums are hammering on different tempos in order to serve the most ravaging melodies. The style that they practice is not the most original one, but nevertheless is very purebred and efficient. The subjects of the songs are leaning towards dark emotions, treachery, abuse and envies. A lot of anthems can be found on this CD, like Hail To You which is powerfully rhythmic, Seven and its exotic touch and Far From The Cradle for its diversity and great example of a strong solo in a straight line of this musical style. Listen carefully to The Eternal Struggle, an epic 8 minutes 25 seconds song combines the softness of its intro (the continuity of the instrumental Fool's Paradise) to the imperial rhythm of a devastating melody, all within a lyrical subtlety bringing back certain facts «There is no sin without sinners, there is no evil without man»..

The only downside is the weak production which is sometimes uneven, but the quality of the tracks compensate this gap. Pascal's voice is very powerful, mid-ranged along with well-placed high pitched screams that kinda bring a certain mentor to mind, Rob Halford. The Priestly influences are obvious but there are also some from Led Zep's for Save Your Life where the rhythms sound like Kashmir and the general German metal scene.

Hanker has well assimilated their influences and gave it a second wind offering great compositions that should reach international recognition, which is what we wish'em because they deserve it ... BRAVO ! ! !

Rating: 5/5

Rick

Source: The Metal's Den, Snakes And Ladders review, June 2001

Snakes And Ladders est le troisième album de ce quatuor de Québec et c'est une véritable bombe. Dès les premières notes de Ad Patres, on est scotché sur place l'air béat tellement ce titre de speed métal mélodique est accrocheur. Et en live, ce morceau nous en met plein la gueule, et je sais de quoi je parle ! ! !

Nos quatre protagonistes, Pascal Cliche (chant, guitare et clavier), Patrick Gravel (guitare), Denis Cossette (basse) et Luc Guay (batterie) excellent dans les titres où les riffs abondent et où la basse et la batterie martèlent sur différents tempos au service de mélodies fracassantes. Le style pratiqué n'est certes pas original, mais reste néanmoins très racé et efficace. Les sujets traitent beaucoup d'aspects sombres, traîtrises, abus et envies. On retrouve sur ce CD des hymnes telles Hail To You qui est très puissamment rythmée, Seven avec cette petite touche exotique et Far From The Cradle pour sa diversité et son bel exemple de solo dans la digne lignée du créneau musical. Écoutez attentivement The Eternal Struggle, véritable titre épique de 8 min 25 sec alliant la douceur de son intro (en étroite continuité de l'instrumentale Fool's Paradise) au rythme impérial d'une mélodie dévastatrice, le tout sur une subtilité lyrique nous rappelant certains faits «There is no sin without sinners, there is no evil without man».

Le seul bémol est du côté de la production qui est un peu faiblarde et parfois inégale, mais la qualité des compos compense largement pour cette carence. La voix de Pascal est très puissante, oeuvrant dans un registre moyen avec des hautes envolées bien placées non sans rappeler celle d'un mentor, Rob Halford. On notera outre les influences Priestiennes, certaines inspirations à la Led Zep, notamment sur Save Your Life où les rythmiques rappellent Kashmir et la scène métal allemande actuelle.

Hanker a bien assimilé ses influences et y a donné un second souffle offrant ainsi des compos très carrées et dignes d'une reconnaissance internationale, ce qu'on ne saurait leur souhaiter de mieux car ils le méritent largement... BRAVO ! ! !

Cote: 5/5

Rick

Source: The Metal's Den, Chronique de Snakes And Ladders, Juin 2001

This power metal group has been together since 1985. The band hails from Quebec, Canada.

Patrick Gravel, Pascal Cliche, Denis Cossette and Luc Guay are Hanker.

Hankers musical influences are the great Metal kings of the past like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, Deep Purple & Black Sabbath.

Snakes And Ladders is an album that features 11 tracks of heart pounding music. This is not a progressive metal album. This music is purely traditional metal. Last November of 2000 the CD was recorded at the famous Phase One Studio in Toronto, Canada. This album was released by Metal Disk Records and distributed by PHD Canada.

The CD marks Hankers third release. From the onset, the music delivers a sound and feel of early 80's Metal. When we first heard the CD we felt that it was just another Iron Maiden rip off. So we listened to it again. After we listened to it again, we started to hear the band forging there own metal sound. This release delivers exactly what you expect from a metal album. Good guitar work, great bass punch, great drumming and superb vocals and straight up hard pounding music. This is a good metal album, but are they ready for prime time? We suggest you buy the album and make up your own mind.

We liked the album and so will you.

The Prog4You gives this album 8.5 out of 10 keyboards, even though there are no keyboards in this album.

To purchase hanker CDs visit Hanker at www.hankermetal.com.

Rating: 8.5/10

Prog4you

Source: Prog4you, Snakes And Ladders review, May 2001, updated July 24, 2001

Mechanically perfect upon its unleashing, Snakes And Ladders had actually been recorded in late 1999 and shopped around for a deal for a while until it was picked up by fledgling new Canadian label Metal Disk. This album is a kick-ass chunk of polished steel that reminds you of the wonderful 80's Metal-scene.

Power Metal, but more in lust with the idea of metallic glory than anything squarely medieval, chugging through black and silver like combat zone JUDAS PRIEST, HEAVY LOAD and anyone else who focused their sound on Metal for Metal's sake. Snakes And Ladders is all about quality and dirty ass delivery, songs are straight from the burner, no slow progressive stuff, just pure «pedal to the Metal» power deliveries, with smoking guitars, vocal overload and operatic reverence. The bass is also up front in the mix, nice and jumpy, just the way I like it.

Production also reminds you of the 80's with a sort of garage-sound that works wonders (don't worry everything is clear) for the image the band is striving for. This is the third release from these Canadians Metalheads and their prior recording are just as good. After the smoke clears, Snakes And Ladders is simply a kick-ass record (no better term for it) that will hold up over the years.

Rating: 9/10

Peter Konstantatos

Source: The Metal Observer, Snakes And Ladders review, May 2001

Snakes And Ladders ist eigentlich schon Ende 1999 aufgenommen worden und es dauerte eine Weile bis im neuen kanadischen Label Metal Disk endlich eine Firma es unter seine Fittiche nahm. Dieses Album ist ein ordentlicher Batzen polierten Stahls, der einen unweigerlich an die wundervolle Metal-Szene der Achtziger erinnert.

Power Metal, aber mehr auf den metallischen Ruhm aus denn etwas Mittelalterliches, der in Tradition von Recken wie JUDAS PRIEST und HEAVY LOAD und all den anderen, die den Metal des Metals wegen spielten, steht. Snakes And Ladders ist eine qualitativ hochstehende und arschtretende Platte, die Songs kommen direkt aus der Schmiede, kein langsames progressives Zeug, sondern reine «das Gaspedal durchtreten»-Power, mit krachenden Gitarren, kraftvollem Gesang und viiel Ausdruck. Der Bass ist im Mix auch sehr gut weggekommen, genau so wie ich es mag.

Die Produktion erinnert einen auch an die Achtziger, mit einer Art Garagensound (keine Angst, allse ist klar), der für das Image der Band wie geschaffen ist. Das ist die dritte Veröffentlichung der kanadischen Metalheads und ist mindestens ebenso gut wie die bisherigen Alben. Wenn sich der Staub legt, ist Snakes And Ladders einfach eine Kick-Ass-Platte, die über Jahre hinweg frisch bleiben wird.

Punkte: 9/10

Peter Konstantatos

Source: The Metal Observer, Snakes And Ladders review, May 2001

I'm really happy to know that there's at least a good band from where I come from. Hanker is one excellent band that I've founded on MP3.com and I've buyed their album in December 2000. It's their 3rd album and I've got to say that it's a pretty good album.

Song by song rating:

Song's title	Small comments	Rating
1. Ad Patres	Pretty good song to start the CD, one of my favorite. Fast and very good rythmic song. Great vocals.	5/5
2. The Pardoner	Start with some heavy but slow guitar riffs, then the speed goes up a notch. I love the vocals melody.	4.5/5
3. Hail to You	Excellent song, a tribute by Hanker to their fans. Great chorus.	4.5/5
4. Seven	Good smoothness in the vocals, another good chorus.	4/5
5. Save your Life	Very calm beginning, gets a bit heavier later. A great semi-ballad.	4.5/5
6. Confidence Man	Awesome chorus, that's the best part of the song. I also love the bass at the beginning.	4.5/5
7. Far from the Cradle	One of the best song of the album, I just can't resist to sing along in that song [Not as good though ]. The guitars are excellent.	5/5
8. On the Verge of Tears	Fast guitars, very power metal riffs.	4/5
9. Fool's Paradise	Nice instrumental song, some king of interlude ballad.	4/5
10. The Eternal Struggle	Start a lot in the same style like the song before and then it take off. Very well done, the music, lyrics and vocals are awesome. There's a good small bass solo.	5/5
11. Behind the Curtain	The start sounds like a beginning of a battle. Guitars riffs are very well done. Sounds a bit Maidenish in some parts.	4.5/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Heavy Metal Messiah

Source: Heavy Metal Messiah, Snakes And Ladders review, March 17, 2001

Hanker's 2000 release continues right along with their traditional style of modern NWOBHM 'Maiden influenced sound this time leaning more toward the new Iron Maiden then the old. The music comes across bold and strong on each track. A fast pace and strong beat dominate this recording. Ad Patres, from a former EP/Demo release, is featured front and centre here. Save Your Life (track 6) is probably the title track and comes across as new style Iron Maiden influenced. The recording was a message to those in the music industry who play games and came shortly after a fall-out between them and their newly inked deal with a Toronto area record company that didn't work out (I've been sworn to secrecy so won't divulge any more). That was the whole theme of the disc and even it's title Snakes And Ladders is a play on the theme. They decided to publish this on their own as a result. Track 9 (Fool's Paradise) is basically a prelude to 10 (The Eternal Struggle). It features Spanish style/classical instrumental guitar work. Hanker love to put an artsy bit in but this time they saved it until the end. Track 10 continues on with this style as an intro but is evolves, rather smoothly, into a modern electric metal piece. At 2:11 it breaks out with this awesome guitar riff that remains under-utilized during the whole track. The piece is still good but it would have even been better with it added more. Complicated time changes and beats make this long track a heavy but exciting one. It actually isn't that bad of a track. Track 11 (Behind The Curtain) strong marching/metal beat makes it a strong addition too. When I spoke with their manager privately by phone and e-mail I was asked for a detailed analysis of this disc track by track and offered it up. I had a lot to say but here I will just sum it all up quickly: A nice follow up to their previous work, a natural evolutionary step forward and this time they even avoided inserting brakes like last time with tracks like The Clown. It is a quality production with talented people at the helm.

Rating: 9/10

Derek McDonald

Source: RRCA (The Rock Record Collectors Association), March 2001

Have a hankering for old-style aggressive power metal? Then Hanker's your band. Snakes And Ladders is loaded with tunes that sound like they came from a melding of Manowar and Judas Priest. And to think, Quebec is known for more its passion for death metal, with much success (Cryptopsy, Kataklysm, Obliveon, Gorguts, etc.), yet Hanker may make a case for the power metal minority in La Belle Province. For Halford-style vocals, quick bursts of shred, crushing melodies, and a heaviness that buries most bands in the genre, Snakes And Ladders is a worthy addition to any collection.

Rating: 8/10

Alex Ristic

Source: Unrestrained! #15, March 2001

From amidst what is becoming Canada's heavy metal hotspot (Quebec) comes Hanker with their new CD Snakes And Ladders. This release, Hanker's third, was delayed for what seemed forever considering this was recorded at Phase One Recording Studios, Toronto, Canada in April/May 1999!!! Finally it's out and yes, the wait was worth it. Musically continuing onward from where the last CD, The Dead Ringer, left off with rich new melodies and stronger songs, Hanker have put out their best work to date.

This CD didn't totally grab me on first listen. That's why I am reviewing it a little later than I had planned. The song structures are not basic, nor is the music. It's something that takes more than 2-3 listens to render a valid opinion on. The sound quality of this release is their best yet, even though the «crunch» factor on the mix has been turned down a notch. After about ten or so listens, the awesome brilliance of this CD began to sink in. Ad Patres begins the CD and it is easily the most memorable song on here. The chorus will have you singing along after only a listen or two. Far From The Cradle has a very cool guitar riff on the intro and the chorus on this one is where you can make the comparison to Blaze Bailey's (ex-Iron Maiden) vocals. Pascal Cliche's vocals are however much more varied and his range is quite impressive. He usually sings in the midrange and belts out the occasional piercing scream for effect. On The Verge Of Tears is another of the CD's stronger moments featuring some great soloing with back-to-back lead breaks over some speedy double kicks. The solo ends with volume swells on the guitar that caught my ear. Fool's Paradise is an entirely finger picked acoustic track showing a different side to the band which fits in nicely on the album. The Eternal Struggle follows up the acoustic track and at the beginning I am hearing their Iron Maiden influence. It begins acoustically then slowly builds up with some incredible drum fills… this song also has the galloping rhythms… ahhh yes, this is classic metal at it's best. The song clocks in at just over eight minutes and is one of the more «epic» tracks on the album. Why doesn't everyone know about this band? Why won't some bigger metal label snatch them up? This is some truly inspired stuff that ANY fan of classic metal and power metal without the frills will love! There is not a bad song on here or anything to complain about except for the band's lack of exposure to the world.

Hanker's brand of true metal mixed with NWOBHM riffing puts them into the power metal sub-genre for some. To me this album is more so just an awesome heavy metal offering. Be sure to check out Hanker's webpage at www.hankermetal.com where you can also order their CD's!!!

Rating: 4/5 (Something every metal fan should own)

EvilG

Source: Metal-Rules.com, Snakes And Ladders review, March 2001

Very cool band here, but it's an uneasy cool, the listener caught up in wondering if the band's rough retro feel is on purpose or by virtue of limitation. But if you chuck the analysis and just enjoy, one methodically gets sucked into this band's highly arresting vibe, which is a cross between, damn, many things. First reference is oddly Blaze-era Maiden, due to Pascal Cliche's vocals and the slightly browned out production values. But man, don't take that the wrong way, because the songs Hanker place within this context are rock solid and fantastical at once, recalling old prog metal like Warlord, new stand-alones like Eidolon, all darkened and deepened by a dismal weather vibe that is equal parts Trouble and independent NWOBHM. And one further gets the sense Hanker are fully in control of these balanced, escapist elements because their lyrics are so universal, mature, unflashy, even more the feat given that Hanker are a bunch of mysterious French Canadians. Weird and wonderful, and now that I think of it, maybe more like Killers-era Maiden crossed with old Swedish power metal with Blaze singing (and I didn't need the Ides Of March quote at the start of On The Verge Of Tears to sort that one out). OK, you should now be sufficiently stoked. Go get it.

Rating: 8/10

Martin Popoff

Source: BW&BK magazine #48 p. 53, March 2001

Több, mint három év várakozás után végre új lemezzel jelentkezett a kanadai power metal banda. lgaz, a késés legkevésbé sem az õ hibájuk, mivel az Snakes And Ladders anyagát már 1999 nyarán rögzítették, csak hát az eredetileg lelkes korábbi kiadó az utolsó pillanatban visszalépett.

Pascal Cliche énekes/gitáros és társai a legutóbbi The Dead Ringer albummal magasra tették a lécet, amit azonban ezúttal sem vertek le. lgaz, az új anyag direktebb és keményebb is lett, mint elõdje, de azért minden számban felfedezhetõek a Hanker kézjegyek. A lemez kiemelkedõbb dalai közé tartozik a Far From The Cradle, az európai ízû Ad Patres, s a Hankerre oly jellemzõ himnikus Hail To You, amely tisztelgés a zenekar rajongói elõtt. Az album csúcspontja a nyolcperces The Eternal Struggle a maga sokszínûségével. A dalszövegek ezúttal is fontos mondanivalót közvetítenek a hallgató felé, bizonyítva, hogy a Hanker tagjai nem csak képzett zenészek, hanem mély érzelmekkel rendelkezõ emberek is egyben.

Ha az elõzõ album színvonalát nem is múlta felül a Snakes And Ladders, mindenképp maradandót alkotott a banda. Már csak egy európai lemezszerzõdés hiányzik ahhoz, hogy a kontinensen is minél többen megismerhessék a Hanker nevet. www.hankermetal.com

Rating: 10/10

Zoltán Koncsok

Source: Metal Hammer #13, February 2001

Le power metal a atteint son apogée dans les années 80 avec Iron Maiden, Helloween, Judas Priest, etc. Ça ne veut pas dire pour autant qu'il soit mort et enterré, au contraire! Le quartette Hanker, de Beaupré, en banlieue de Québec, poursuit dans la même tradition sonore, et si l'on est porté à croire que tout a été dit dans le genre, il faut entendre Snakes And Ladders pour réaliser que ce n'est pas totalement vrai. Non seulement la réalisation est-elle excellente, mais les 11 compositions du groupe sont solides et les mélodies, accrocheuses et variées. On est loin de l'album linéaire et monotone qui tente de ressusciter un genre autrefois glorieux.

Rating: 3.5/5

Christine Fortier

Source: Voir, 4 janvier 2001

Kennt Ihr das Gefühl, vor der Stereoanlage zu sitzen, auf Play zu drücken und dann bläst Euch plötzlich etwas unerwartetes aus dem Stuhl? So ungefähr hat es sich zugetragen, als die ersten Töne des mächtigen Eröffnungsstückes Ad Patres erklangen und einem Magnetfeldimpulsator ähnlich in mein Trommelfell rotiert ist, um sich auf Ewigkeiten darin festzusetzen. Weitere 10 Stücke, weitere 10 Hits, das kann nicht wahr sein! Ist das das Album, dass JAG PANZER nie aufgenommen haben? UNSTERBLICHE Gitarrendampfwalzen eines Patrick Gravel und eines Pascal Cliche (der gleichzeitig singt (nagut, singen ist maßlos untertrieben - INTONIERT und exakt in der gleiche Stimmlage wie JAG PANZER - Frontmann Harry (The Tyrant) Conklin schlägt) - gibtïs das? Ja das gibtïs! Auf ihrer dritten zelebrieren vier Ausnahmemusiker 1000% True-Metal pur, ohne dabei in irgendeiner Form altmodisch zu klingen. Snakes And Ladders klingt wie der offizielle Nachfolger zu «Ample Destruction» und könnte direkt aus dem Jahr 1985 oder 86 ins Jahr 2000 teleportiert worden sein - doch die Musik ist zeitlos, die Riffs sind mächtig und Alles in Allem fragt sich der Rezensent nun, warum ägerlicher New Metal der Marke Lick Pisskid massenhaft Alben verkauft, während HANKER nicht mal nen Eurodeal haben. Wer die Ode an die Fans Hail To You oder das sprachlos machende Instrumental Fool's Paradise (auf Wiedersehen, ihr Italo-Billigplagiate) je vernommen hat, wird mir da zustimmen MÜSSEN. Wem beim atmosphärischen The Eternal Struggle keiner abgeht, der hat Heavy Metal nicht verstanden. In diesem Song passiert mehr, als auf der kompletten aktuellen HELLOWEEN-Scheibe. Snakes And Ladders ist Herzblut pur. Ein Album, das noch Emotionen freisetzt und bei dem ich gebannt vor der Stereoanlage knie und frage: «Wer seid Ihr, dass Ihr nicht bangt?» (Zitat: Günter Eich)

Musik: 9.5/10 Sound: 7.0/10

The Mighty SCI

Source: The Underground Empire, Snakes And Ladders review, December 27, 2000

Here it is, the long-awaited third album from Hanker. The first thing I noticed when I listened to the CD, the sound quality! The album was recorded at Phase One Studio in Toronto and the sound is really excellent. Snakes And Ladders contains 11 tracks totalling over 53 minutes.

There's a lot of variety on the album, and it sounds heavier and has more punch than Hanker's first two albums. This is partly due to the arrival of bass player Denis Cossette because he plays with a pick and more aggressively. He has quickly integrated himself into the band. The melodies are as present as ever in the harmonies, the guitar solos and of course Pascal's superb voice. What impressed me the most was Luc's drum playing which is very varied, very present and fits extremely well in the compositions.

It's hard, very hard to pick favorite songs because they are all very strong and profound, so I always end up humming a different one! I listen to the album all the time and I just can't get tired of it. Some of the best songs that come to mind are Ad Patres, The Pardoner, Confidence Man, Far From The Cradle (the chorus is sung admirably by Pascal), On The Verge Of Tears and The Eternal Struggle.

The song Seven has some Eastern rhythms and sounds. This album also has Hanker's first instrumental piece, Fool's Paradise, a short number with a very classical sound used as an intro to The Eternal Struggle, an epic song over 8 minutes in length that talks about the highs and lows of life, which is pretty much the album's concept. Definitely a must-have for fans of intelligent melodic metal. Without a doubt, this album has all the necessary qualities to push Hanker's career very far.

Rating: 5/5

Pierre Bégin

Source: The Metal Crypt, Snakes And Ladders review, December 22, 2000

Le voici le tant attendu troisième album de Hanker. Première constatation évidente à l'écoute du CD, la qualité sonore! L'album a été enregistré au studio Phase One à Toronto et le son est vraiment remarquable. Snakes And Ladders possède 11 titres et dure plus de 53 minutes.

L'album est très varié, sonne plus heavy et est plus punché que les deux autres albums du groupe. Ceci est dû en partie à l'arrivée de Denis Cossette à la basse car celui-ci joue avec un pick et de façon agressive. Celui-ci s'est très vite et très bien intégré à Hanker. Les mélodies sont toujours aussi présentes dans les harmonies et les solos de guitares et bien sûr dans la superbe voix de Pascal. Ce qui m'a le plus impressionné, c'est le jeu de batterie de Luc qui est fort varié, très présent et se marri extrêmement bien avec les compositions.

C'est vraiment difficile de pointer mes chansons préférées car celles-ci sont toutes vraiment fortes et ont de la profondeur ce qui fait que j'en fredonne toujours une différente! Je l'écoute sans arrêt et je ne m'en lasse pas. Parmi celles qui me viennent à l'idée, il y a Ad Patres, The Pardoner, Confidence Man, Far From The Cradle (le refrain est chanté de façon sublime par Pascal), On The Verge Of Tears et The Eternal Struggle.

La chanson Seven possède des rythmes aux consonances orientales. L'album contient même la première pièce instrumental de Hanker, Fool's Paradise, une courte chanson au consonance très classique qui sert d'ouverture à The Eternal Struggle, une chanson épique de plus de 8 minutes qui parle des hauts et des bas de la vie d'où le concept de l'album. Vraiment, un must pour tous les fans de métal mélodique intelligent. Sans contredit, cet album possède toutes les qualités requises pour pousser Hanker très loin.

Cote: 5/5

Pierre Bégin

Source: The Metal Crypt, Chronique de Snakes And Ladders, 19 décembre 2000

I could stop here and only write that this CD is AWESOME!!! But it wouln't be fair to Hanker, they deserve more than one word.

So here it is...

Snakes And Ladders is Hanker's third album and it's the final achievement of one year of struggle. The production is extremely well done, the bass lines are very good, it gives the album a solid background and supports the very well played guitar and drums rhythms. Let say that new bass player Denis Cossette deserves his place with the band. The first song, Ad Patres gives the tone of the album with fast and loud riffs and also Pascal's magnificent and assured voice that goes between an impressive range of register. Songs like The Eternal Struggle depict the very talent of the guys by an impressive instrumental part. Finally, the lyrics demonstrate the hard work and maturity the guys have gained through the years. I haven't said anything bad yet because nothing is bad on this album!!! Like I said, AWESOME.

Rating: 5/5

Geneviève Plante

Source: The Metal Crypt, Snakes And Ladders review, December 16, 2000

Tous ceux amateur de «True Heavy Metal» au Québec doivent déjà connaître la formation de Beauport, HANKER. Snakes And Ladders est leur 3e effort suivant The Dead Ringer et le 1er, In Our World. 3e effort? Et oui, plusieurs d'entre vous découvriront HANKER avec cet album. Pour vous en faire une idée, voici la liste non-exhaustive des noms qui envahir mon esprit à l'écoute de ce CD: MANOWAR, IRON MAIDEN, SWORD, METALLICA, MEGADETH, HELLOWEEN, STRATOVARIUS... Le tout débute avec un numéro rapide où le refrain fait très MANOWAR et s'enchaîne ensuite avec les 10 autres hymnes power-metal «made in» Québec qui ne veulent simplement pas vous lâcher!! Le contenu est toujours très accrocheur et on dénote quelques fois des séquences qui nous rappellent les groupes mentionnés ci-haut, tellement même qu'on a l'impression que c'est par exemple IRON MAIDEN eux-mêmes!! Vous jurerez Mega Mustaine chanter également!! D'ailleurs, le vocal se maintient à un niveau mid-range qui plaira à la majorité mais qui peut aller aigu, comme dans la pure tradition heavy métal, lorsque nécessaire. Les musiciens sont tous compétents malgré le fait qu'ils n'inventent rien vraiment et qu'ils commettent certains quasi-plagiats (connaissez-vous Black Diamonds, les gars!!). Évidemment, l'originalité n'est pas au rendez-vous, mais là n'est pas le but. Avec 15 ans de carrière déjà (ils se sont formé en 1985), ils en ont vu d'autres et ils méritent d'être pris autant au sérieux que GAMMA RAY ou ICED EATH. Ces gars-là collectionnaient probablement les vinyles d'EXCITER, de TYRAN PACE et de JUDAS PRIEST alors que vous étiez encore aux couches!! Grâce à une solide production (même le son fait 80's!!), Snakes And Ladders sera sûrement l'album qui les propulsera à plus grande échelle (!!) sur le difficile marché international. Rempli d'énergie, de spontanéité, d'entrain et d'amour du métal, ce CD vous gagnera en moins de deux!! J'en fus ravi!! La prochaine fois, au lieu d'acheter du IRON FIRE, du HAMMERFALL ou du PEGAZUS, devenez une échelle au lieu d'un serpent dans la carrière de ce groupe et procurez-vous du HANKER!! J'en ai assez dit, longue vie au métal!!!

Mathieu Gervais

Source: MetalMania, Chronique de Snakes And Ladders, Automne 2000

It's been three years since Hanker's last recording The Dead Ringer. So what exactly has this Traditional Metal band from Quebec Canada been up to in those past three years? After listening to this release it was obvious that the band has been perfecting their sound and are now just waiting for the street date of this release. When comparing Snakes And Ladders with the bands previous effort, the first thing I noticed was that Hanker ditched the conceptual styled release that was present on their previous effort. With this new freedom resulting from not having to write songs around a specific topic what did Hanker do? They increased the power of their musicianship and song writing for a CD that will make their sound and style more accessible to the public. My favorite element of past Hanker releases however is still present, the thundering bass, even with new bassist Denis Cossette. If you like the basic galloping bass found on Classic Maiden CD's, the style shown here will be more than welcome. But don't let that statement make you think Hanker is just another Maiden rip-off band, they are far from that. With songs like The Pardoner with it's modern Power Metal feel in the vein of a Jag Panzer release, Hail To You, a great Power Metal anthem complete with a sing along chorus plus a pump your fists in the air rhythm section, Hanker easily shed any tags that they are just out to play what has been done before. Also notable about Hanker are the bands lyrics which often have theme's relating to real life, other than just slaying Dragons, saving the queen, or other traditional Power Metal topics that might be found on other CD's. It's great to hear a band incorporating their feelings, emotions and experiences into their music to play something meaningful to them. Other songs that I really enjoyed from this Hanker release included Confidence Man, Far From The Cradle which had a mid paced guitar riff, soaring vocals, and the real life lyrics which I talked about earlier. This is one release that Power Metal fans should spend some time to investigate a few songs and decide for yourself what you think. I honestly know this is better than the bands previous, and since I only have a CDR, I can't wait for the real release to finally see the light of day.

Rating: 7.5/10 (Above average, very good, and worth listening to)

Alan Christensen

Source: Heavy Metal Lives, Snakes And Ladders review, July 27, 2000

As unbelievable as it may seem, Hanker have bettered themselves with their latest album. Now that deserves my first-ever 6/5 . Snakes And Ladders is better than the first two albums in almost every aspect. The first thing I noticed is the much superior production. This is one of the best I've heard in a long time. Everything sounds better - vocals, guitars, bass and drums, you just can't miss a thing. Nothing short of impressive.

This album is heavier and faster than the first two, the first song Ad Patres being a good introduction to over 53 minutes of pure power metal that Hanker delivers better than ever before. Lead vocalist Pascal Cliche is in even better control of his voice, delivering an impressive range of vocals from beginning to end. The drumming is impressive, more present and loud than in the previous albums, adding an overwhelming power to just about every song. You won't fall asleep on this one, people! This is also the first album with bassist Denis Cossette, who graces us with a couple of solos. The guitars sound better than ever, showing the amazing talent of the two guitarists. The solos are nothing short of amazing. Let's not forget the well thought out lyrics that Hanker has accustomed us to in the previous albums. Snakes And Ladders is no exception.

Some notes on a few songs - they're all good so I'll keep it short . The third song, Hail To You is a great hymn to their loyal fans. Confidence Man, the sixth song, is among my favorites, a great rocker song that will probably generate a lot of enthusiasm when played live as soon as they start playing the first notes. The ninth song, Fool's Paradise, is an instrumental ballad, and also the shortest at 2:51. It is a good introduction to The Eternal Struggle (which happens to be the longest, at 8:25). The latter is so intense, it will stop you from doing whatever you're doing and listen attentively.

Ok, I haven't said anything bad... Actually it's pretty difficult to do so. I'd say Seven and closer Behind The Curtain are the weakest songs on the album, although they are very good. Now, I've said it. Happy?

This album is so far my choice for album of the year 2000. Unfuckingbelievable is the one-word description of Hanker's latest masterpiece. This is an absolute must-have for any metalhead, period.

Michel Renaud

Source: The Metal Crypt, Snakes And Ladders review, July 1, 2000

On peut souvent considérer le troisième album d'un groupe comme étant celui de la maturité, celui où on voit vraiment de quoi ils sont capables. Hanker n'échappe pas à cette règle! Sur ce troisième disque Snakes And Ladders, on y reconnaît le son particulier de Hanker, bien établi sur leurs deux précédents disques, c'est-à-dire un son à très forte teneur en heavy des années 80 mélangé avec assez de touches power métal des années 90 pour que le tout sonne frais à nos oreilles, mais en plus, on nous attaque avec encore plus de fougue et d'énergie qu'auparavant, sûrement grâce, entre autres, à l'arrivée de sang nouveau, le bassiste Denis Cossette. Vous en voulez une preuve? Appuyer sur Play sur votre lecteur CD, et vous serez accueillis par Ad Patres, la première pièce de l'album, qui est à mon avis une des pièces les plus énergiques (et une des meilleures!) de leur histoire, suivie tout de suite après par The Pardoner et Hail To You, deux chansons vraiment bonnes et entraînantes, très rythmées. Par la suite, on nous donne un petit répit avec des pièces au tempo un peu plus lent, beaucoup plus lent dans le cas de Save Your Life, ainsi que Confidence Man, la seule pièce qui a eu un peu de difficulté à m'accrocher au départ. Mais le sprint final suit tout de suite après, avec quatre excellentes pièces (plus une instrumentale, Fool's Paradise, qui est l'intro de l'assez longue The Eternal Struggle), avec entre autres On The Verge Of Tears, une de mes préférées de l'album, il y a vraiment beaucoup d'émotion qui se dégage de cette pièce-là, très intense. À ma grande joie, le chanteur Pascal Cliche utilise beaucoup plus de son range vocal sur cet album, et c'est une bonne chose, car il a vraiment une excellente voix, encore meilleure que je le croyais! Les musiciens, eux, y vont d'une excellente performance, leur expérience et leur talent sont vraiment en évidence sur cette production. C'est un très bon album, à mon avis un des meilleurs produits québécois du genre à avoir vu le jour, ça se compare très avantageusement à beaucoup de produits internationaux. Selon moi, ce CD c'est leur passeport pour l'avenir! Je vous le conseille, vous ne serez pas déçus!

Simon Girard

Source: Sang Frais #6, Hiver/Printemps 2000