Exciter: Long Live the Loud (1985)

Let's all go back to a simpler time.  When the only real concerns were making a few bucks to put gas in your cherried out Dodge Charger or Grand Am to take out your spandex-clad feathered-haired girlfriend.  This cassette was likely playing in the car at the time.  This is the perfect soundtrack for exceeding the speed limit while flying down the highway.

Canadian metal of the 1980's has really garnered a lot of nostalgia in recent years.  Part of that was likely due to the Anvil documentary of several years ago.  But there were better bands in the scene.  Exciter, named after a Judas Priest song, was one of the leading bands in the scene, releasing three classic albums from 1983 through 1985.  This was the third, and probably my favorite of the three.

As could be expected when a band names itself after a Judas Priest song, Priest and Iron Maiden seem to be the primary influences on Exciter's sound.  "Born to Die" would have easily fit on Priest's Defenders of the Faith while the beginning of "Wake Up Screaming" sounds a lot like Maiden's "Hallowed be Thy Name".  Most of the rest of the songs are made up of catchy-as-hell pure speed metal.  There are several terrific songs here, including the title track and "I am the Beast".

I missed out on this album the first time around (I was four after all), but there are several great metal albums being reissued all the time.  All three of the first Exciter albums have recently been reissued and I have been picking them up.  I have not ventured beyond the first three yet, but someday I may have to.  As I said, this is my favorite album by Exciter thus far.

1980's Canadian Thrash Metal

I have not done a look at an overall scene for awhile. Over the last few months, I have been exploring the Canadian thrash metal scene of the 1980's. This has to be one of the most underrated thrash metal scenes. There was some damn good stuff coming out of Canada in the 1980's. This may not be a "scene" in the traditional sense, but rather a number of bands from one country playing a similar style of metal.

These are just a few of the more well-known bands, obviously there are others, but these bands are the ones I have been listening to the most. I considered putting Anvil in here, but decided they were more of a power/traditional metal band, despite some clear influences on the thrash metal genre in Canada.

EXCITER
Favorite Album: Heavy Metal Maniac
Ottawa, Ontario's Exciter is similar to Anvil in that they are not technically a thrash metal band, but they are a little closer, being a speed metal band. However, they are widely considered one of the first speed metal band and a major influence on thrash metal. This album is the band's debut after changing their name from hell Razor, released in 1983. It is melodic and fast, but still has some very clear thrash metal riffs. The band is still active.

SACRIFICE
Favorite Album: Forward to Termination
Quite possibly one of the most underrated thrash metal bands from the 1980's, Sacrifice formed in Toronto, Ontario. Every bit as lethal as Exodus, Testament, Overkill, and others, Sacrifice never quite got the attention they deserved. Featuring brutally fast, razor-sharp riffs, Sacrifice was an incredible band. This is the band's second album and is the album where the band really came into their own. Sacrifice recently reunited after breaking up for several years and released a new album.

SLAUGHTER
Favorite Album: Strappado
Also from Toronto, I have done several posts on this band. Slaughter is one of the major influences on death metal, performing a style of thrash metal similar to Hellhammer and often described as Black Sabbath playing punk rock. Their heavy, down-tuned riffs and extreme vocal styles were utilized by early progenitors of the sound. Chuck Schuldiner was even briefly a member of Slaughter. This is the band's only official album.

ANNIHILATOR
Favorite Album: Alice in Hell
Ottawa's Annihilator is often called the Canadian Van Halen. The band's only permanent member is guitarist Jeff Waters who writes all of the band's music. Waters is an extremely gifted musician, able to write incredibly catchy and infectious music. The band's downfall has been the inability to find a suitable vocalist for a long period of time. This is the band's debut album and the band is still active.

RAZOR
Favorite Album: Violent Restitution
Another extremely underrated thrash metal band is Razor, which formed in Guelph, Ontario in 1984. Sacrifice is at least mentioned frequently, Razor hardly gets any mention at all. The band has been extremely consistent in putting forth some excellent thrash metal albums. This is the band's seventh album, released in 1988. The band was also incredibly prolific in their early years, forming in 1984. The band reformed in 2005 with plans to record another album.

VOIVOD
Favorite Album: Nothingface
We finish things up with the most well-known Canadian thrash metal band, Jonquiere, Quebec's Voivod. One of the strangest bands to play thrash metal, and one of the earliest to begin adding progressive elements to their sound, Voivod was massively influential. The band crafted their own sound and a strong science fiction lyrical bent. This is the band's fifth album and is their masterpiece, it still has some elements of their thrash metal style, but is much more progressive. The band recently issued their final album, choosing not to carry forward after the death of principal songwriter and guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour.

Initial Impressions: Exciter: Heavy Metal Maniac

Canada apparently had a great metal scene in the 1980's. Exciter, Anvil, and Razor were all playing fast thrash/speed metal. Meanwhile, Slaughter, Sacrifice, and Voivod were playing on the heavier end of the thrash spectrum. It's too bad many of those bands were not as well-known south of the border.

Exciter plays speed metal influenced by the NWOBHM, Judas Priest, and early thrash metal acts. It's very fast and also aggressive. The album starts out slowly with the opening track and sounds of an oncoming storm. Then it kicks into gear and does not slow down until it's over. The riffs are impressive, but they could stand to be higher in the mix.

The vocals are a little bit of a weak point. Perhaps the problem lies more in the production values of the album though, as the vocals are certainly not bad. They just kind of echo which gets a little annoying after awhile. Like I said, this is probably more due to the production than the actual vocals.

This album is just another example of some great Canadian metal that went largely unnoticed in the U.S. It's unfortunate, but with the internet, all of this stuff that was only heard regionally can now make its way to the masses.

One last thing though: there are three interview tracks on this album at the end as bonus. That's awful. It's one thing to have bonus tracks, it's quite another to have them be separate interviews.