Cruz Del Sur Music has announced the signing of American metal legends, Attacker. The label will release the band’s next studio album sometime in 2022.

Originally formed in 1983, Attacker burst onto the scene with their 1985 debut, Battle At Helm’s Deep, an LP many consider to be one of the first pure American power metal albums. The band released The Second Comin in 1988 before splitting the next year. Attacker returned in 2001 and has since released four additional studio albums and one EP, the latest being 2018’s “Armor Of The Gods EP.  

Attacker made contact with Cruz Del Sur Music through a mutual friend of the band and the label. “We corresponded for a few months and struck a deal for the next Attacker album,” says drummer and founding member Mike Sabatini. “We are looking forward to this new partnership!”

In related news, vocalist Bobby "Leatherlungs" Lucas has since rejoined Attacker. According to Sabatini, a conversation about the recent “Godzilla Vs. Kong” movie got the two men talking about working together again, and, more importantly, what a strong unit they are. Vocalist Ski, who appeared on the recent “Spiritual Warfare” single, had recently informed the band that he did not have the time needed to fully commit to Attacker.

“With all the stuff the world has gone through the last year and still going through, we all grew in our understanding of what’s important and what’s not important,” says Sabatini. “It’s definitely a nice feeling. Bobby truly is the best voice for this band. Add to that how excited we all are for new beginnings working with Cruz Del Sur and it makes life that much sweeter. The band and I are very much looking forward to continuing work on the new album material for a 2022 release."

Attacker plans on concluding the writing process for their next studio album by the end of the summer. The band will then enter Bandmother Recording in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Sabatini handling engineering duties. “The new material will have more diversity,” he says. “Brian Smith [bass] and Jon Hasselbrink [guitar] have contributed music for the very first time. Mike Benetatos [guitar] had written most of the last few albums so the injection of different ideas will add some new flavor to our sound. Mike is a little more of a technical writer whereas Brian and Jon’s material adds a little more old-school classic feel which is where we all came from musically. I think fans of the band will be pleased.”

Active for nearly four decades, Attacker has long been a staple of the American power metal scene. They also remain a highly-respected cult act in Europe, something that continues to drive them to this day.

“We were fortunate to have come up when the metal explosion was happening and be part of this great thing that occurred and is still occurring,” says Sabatini. “Heavy metal and hard rock is the music that speaks to me and resonates within me. Listening to the classic metal bands that got me on my path still sends chills up my spine — those types of feelings and love for this music are what keeps me and the band going. Music is in our blood, hearts and souls.

“Another big aspect is the great people we have met since reforming. We honestly had no idea what the bands’ early works meant until going to Europe and hearing from the fans. It was very humbling as we never imagined the impact Attacker and other underground ‘80s bands had. I should totally understand it since so many underground bands were part of my introduction to metal back in the early days. We don’t do it for a living — we’re more like weekend warriors. But hey, some people play golf, we’ll play metal until we physically cannot!"

(Photo - MichaelParanoid Hoenninger)