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Canada's Exciter was one of the first speed metal bands, bursting out of the gate in 1983 -- the year zero for thrash -- alongside otherupstartslike Slayer and Metallica. But needless to say, their success came nowhere near matching those of their peers, and the band's brush withstardomwas a brief one.Vocalist and drummer Dan Beehler, guitarist John Ricci, and bassist Allan Johnson formed Hell Razor in Ottawa, Canada, in 1978. Afterchangingtheir name to Exciter in 1980, the band sent their first demos to Shrapnel Records founder Mike Varney, who included the track "WorldWar III" in1982's U.S. ...read more
Canada's Exciter was one of the first speed metal bands, bursting out of the gate in 1983 -- the year zero for thrash -- alongside otherupstartslike Slayer and Metallica. But needless to say, their success came nowhere near matching those of their peers, and the band's brush withstardomwas a brief one.Vocalist and drummer Dan Beehler, guitarist John Ricci, and bassist Allan Johnson formed Hell Razor in Ottawa, Canada, in 1978. Afterchangingtheir name to Exciter in 1980, the band sent their first demos to Shrapnel Records founder Mike Varney, who included the track "WorldWar III" in1982's U.S. Metal, Vol. 2, then inked them to a one-album deal. Issued in 1983, the band's first effort, Heavy Metal Maniac, was amongthe firstthrash metal albums, and brought them to the attention of Jon Zazula's Megaforce Records (the home of Metallica and Anthrax), whichsignedExciter to a three-album deal. After recording 1984's Violence & Force with Anthrax producer Carl Canedy, the band embarked upon itsfirst U.S.tour in support of Mercyful Fate. The following year saw them flying to England to work with Motörhead producer Guy Bidmead on 1985'sLong Livethe Loud. The apex of their career, the album saw a marked improvement in both songwriting and sound quality and led to extensivetouring withAccept in Europe and Motörhead and Megadeth in America.Just when it seemed like Exciter were starting to make their mark, however, Ricci left the band for a solo career following the release of thethree-song Feel the Knife EP. After finding a replacement in guitarist Brian McPhee, the band returned to England and hired Bidmead once againto record1986's Unveiling the Wicked. Not as popular as its predecessor, the album also revealed an increasing preoccupation with melody, whichdidn't sitwell with the band's hardcore fans. Following another bout of touring in Europe with Motörhead and Manowar, the band returned toAmerica onlyto discover that its popularity was in swift decline. To make matters worse, Exciter were now without a record deal and Beehlereventuallydecided that not having a proper frontman was compromising the band's chances of success. So, he relinquished his vocal duties tosinger RobMalnati for their independently released fifth album, 1988's simply titled Exciter. But the strategy backfired, as the album's almostcompleteabandonment of thrash for a slower, mainstream metal approach alienated what remained of their already dwindling fan base and led tothe band'sbreakup shortly thereafter.Unexpectedly, Exciter returned to action in 1992 when original members Ricci and Beehler were joined by new bassist David Ledden for theKillAfter Kill album. Another flop, this was soon followed by a live effort entitled Better Live Than Dead (with bassist Jeff McDonald) in 1993,afterwhich the bandmembers once again went their separate ways -- seemingly for good. But Ricci wasn't quite ready to give up the ghostandresurrected Exciter yet again with a completely new lineup in 1996. Including vocalist Jacques Belanger, bassist Marc Charron, and drummerRickCharron (no relation), this lineup recorded 1997's The Dark Command and 1999's Blood of Tyrants, behind which they continued totoursporadically. « hide |
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