New Music Review: BREAKER ‘Breaker – EP’

March 26, 2025 Jason Crews EP & Single Reviews, Music Reviews, Reviews 0

Rating: 9 / 10 Stars

BREAKER is: Terje Fiskvatn (vocals), Caleb Beal (guitar), Rider Johnson (drums)

REVIEW – They don’t make ‘em like this anymore—but BREAKER isn’t here to resurrect the past. They’re here to torch the present.

Canada’s freshest metal export, BREAKER, emerges from the underground with the kind of debut EP that kicks open the gates and doesn’t wait for permission. Due for release via Wormholedeath Records on April 4, 2025, ‘Breaker’ is a lightning strike of raw heavy metal fury—packed with old-school grit, breakneck speed, and that elusive sense of danger that once defined the genre’s golden age.

Founded in 2023 by vocalist Terje Fiskvatn, guitarist Caleb Beal (VILLAIN, MIDNIGHT MALICE), and drummer Rider Johnson (formerly of RAZOR), BREAKER doesn’t sound like a band still finding their footing. From the first pounding riff of “Breaker”, it’s clear this trio came out swinging with a unified vision—blending the soul of traditional heavy metal with the relentless pace of speed metal and a vocalist who belts it out like he’s got nothing left to lose.

“Breaker”, the opening and title track, is a mission statement—riffs ripping like buzzsaws, drums blasting with machine-gun precision, and Fiskvatn’s vocals balancing venom and melody like a high-wire act above a pit of fire. It’s both homage and evolution: if JUDAS PRIEST, EXCITER, and MOTÖRHEAD had a back-alley jam in 2024, this is what it would sound like.

“Babylon” clocks in under three minutes but still manages to steamroll everything in its path. Fast, filthy, and loaded with attitude, it’s the EP’s rawest cut—a Molotov cocktail of punk snarl and metal precision that drips with anti-establishment rage.

“Liberty” closes the EP with a hard-hitting anthem that blends NWOBHM grandeur with a modern edge. Beal’s guitar work is razor-sharp—riffs slicing clean through the mix, while Johnson lays down rhythms that are both primal and precise. This track cements BREAKER’s identity: not retro worshippers, but revolutionaries using classic weapons in a new war.

‘Breaker’ is brief—just three tracks—but it’s all killer, no filler. The EP doesn’t just showcase what BREAKER can do; it declares what they will do. This is the sound of a band ready to burn stages, melt minds, and remind everyone why heavy metal matters.