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Exciter > Death Machine > 2010, 12" vinyl, Massacre Records (Limited edition) > Reviews
Exciter - Death Machine

I wanted "Long Live the Loud II", I got this one - 68%

Felix 1666, July 18th, 2014
Written based on this version: 2010, CD, Massacre Records (Digipak, Limited edition)

It is not easy to define the point of time from when Exciter started to deliver exclusively simply structured songs. I think it was a creeping process. Whichever way you look at it, the special chemistry within the band is gone forever. This would not be too serious if the group would limit itself on live shows to celebrate their classics in the best possible way. But Exciter released this album. They cannot expect to have a bonus due to the band´s name or its history. Every new output should be measured by the usual standards. In turn this means that I listen to their tenth studio album ("New Testament" not included) with mixed feelings.

Very generally, I feel comfortable with a simple songwriting, but Exciter overdo it. The first four songs follow the same pattern without the tiniest distinction. Is this still simple or is it already stupid? You decide. Here are the facts. The songs are based on unclear riffs. Without being thrashy, they just make noise. I would not go as far as to call these riffs bad, but they are really nothing extraordinary. The up-tempo rhythms always sound the same, tempo changes are not included. It would have been too much effort, I guess. I have no desire to blame them for the usual verse-chorus-verse-chorus scheme, but every chorus is formed by just one line (the song title) and it seems to be a pleasure to repeat excessively this line. Thankfully, the fact that they always accord to the same approach also has its good points. Each and every chorus energizes you because of its power and dynamic, although the vocals sound somewhat limited and thin. However, the result is that the band delivers four fairly strong songs which are unimaginatively arranged. It is fun to sing along to the choruses, but it also does tend to get a little bit tedious. "Power and Damnation", track number five, marks the temporary peak of creativity. It follows the same pattern, but it offers mid-tempo. Unbelievable.

The remaining songs do not surprise the listener with something unexpected. With the exception of "Skull Breaker", they are just weaker than the tunes at the beginning. When I speak of "Skull Breaker", I do not mean the untitled useless guitar solo which is hidden at the end. Quite the reverse, it leaves me confused due to its senselessness. But far worse than this detail is the production of this album. If one did not know better, one might think this is the first demo of semi-professional lads. Congratulations, if you are able to identify the complete drum parts. More details could be addressed, for example the suboptimal guitar sound, but this does not make sense. The truth is that you are not having fun with this output, if you are not a die-hard Exciter fan. But if you have a soft spot for these Canadians, you get an album with some pretty decent pieces - just listen to the first three songs, and once you have gotten used to the fact that Exciter offer a ridiculous sound in a certain regularity, you might even think that this full-length constitutes a wonderful highlight. But that would be foolish.

Exciter still deliver! - 85%

adriantheone, March 19th, 2011

Only two years after their last effort, Exciter return with this album. Though I did enjoy Thrash Speed Burn, I was worried this was going to be too much of the same and get dull. Fortunately this doesn't seem to be the case, in fact it's surprisingly the most refreshing album I've heard from them in a while!

Production is typical of Exciter, that is, very raw. Some might see this as a negative, but honestly I think a raw producion is always what helped the appeal of Exciter's sound: dirty in your face thrash metal! I do wish the vocals were a little higher in the mix as they're just a bit muffled. And on that note, the vocals are fantastic! Kenny Winters was a decent vocalist on the last album, but this time around he sounds like an extremely pissed off David Wayne which works great!

The songs are basically your standard Exciter mix of songs you've come to expect: primarily all out thrash, but also a few slower moments. The title track kind of gets off on the wrong foot as to me it doesn't stand out as much as the rest of the album. However the next three songs all are fantastic speed metal songs, my favorite being Dungeon Descendents: this song kills!

Power and Domination is the slower Sabbath influenced track of the album that Exciter always seems to have and it's a pretty good one, though nothing too outstanding. Hellfire picks the pace right back up and is another favorite of mine, definitely one of the more memorable riffs of the album. Demented Prisoners is the song that reminds me most of classic Exciter; Violence and Force really comes to mind when I listen to it.

Slaughtered In Vain kicks off with a nice bass intro however the main riff sounds a bit too similar to the title track of the last album. Not a bad song at all though, and the chorus gives it a unique enough feel. Finally, album closer Skullbreaker kicks up the tempo even more and eliminates everything in its path. This song is another favorite of mine and possibly my top track of the album: they really outdid themselves with this song. After a minute of silence there's also an unaccompanied guitar solo, not necessary but still cool hearing John Ricci show off a bit.

All in all, this is what you'd expect in an Exciter album: classic thrash metal at its rawest. While not as necessary to pick up as their first three, Death Machine is still a worthy addition to any collection and probably their best album since the band reformed.

Nude women, chainsaws...it must be the weekend - 67%

autothrall, December 1st, 2010

I feel like the problem for a legendary band like Exciter is that they already forged such a concrete proof of concept in their early output that there is almost no impetus to listen to any of their catalog post- Unveiling the Wicked (1986). Along with early Razor, they were the gods of rugged Canadian speed metal, known for their wild, bullshit free live sets and ripping, screeching vocals over John Ricci's non stop traditional speed/power riffs. So yeah, give me Heavy Metal Maniac, Violence & Force or Long Live the Loud any day, crank it up and watch my frown turn upside down, but I've simply not felt in the least bit compelled by almost anything the band created in the 90s or beyond.

However, the band still needs to put some food on the table, and their van on the map as it launches the speed metal assault on any shore, so they grace us with new albums from time to time. Death Machine is the second effort with Kenny 'Metal Mouth' Winter on vocals, and he's unfortunately the one interesting aspect of this record. He's a little more snarling and wicked sounding than his predecessors Beehler or Belanger, almost as if an Udo Dirkschneider had signed up for duties here, and he's thoroughly entertaining. As for the music, it's the standard variety of familiar sounding, incessant guitars, ranging from fast ("Demented Prisoners") to really fast ("Razor In Your Back"), with only a few stops for breath (fist pumper "Power and Domination" being an example), and Winter shifting back and forth between his sneers and jeers and beautiful, high pitched screams. Ricci's leads are frivolous but tight, the rhythm section of Cohen and Charron compact and level enough to burn these mothers home.

But this is Exciter. You're not here for rocket science and innovation, you're just here to have molten metal poured in your ears for a half hour or so until you move to the next aspect of your life. To that extent, Death Machine is surely not a bad album. It doesn't stop for directions and it doesn't take an excess amount of time pissing around the roadside bathrooms. Ricci definitely has more mediocre material than this under his belt, but there's not a lot here that I feel an urge to revisit. None of the chorus parts seem legendary, despite Winter's enthusiasm, and the guitars are just functional enough to blow speakers and secure blowjobs after the fact. The production is nice and thick, but retains some of the raw frenzy of the band's yester years. This is one for the speed metal fans, and the speed metal fans only, and it seems Exciter has become all too comfortable in this niche. It wouldn't hurt them to write some catchier music, but then, it's not as if this is a bad album, just sadly average, like the last half dozen.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com