Heavy Metal Maniac

Exciter is a Canadian speed metal trio who were apparently a big influence on a ton of different bands back in the early 80's. I knew of the band, and I was recommended to give this album a listen, but had never actually listened to any of their material until recently, and I sure am glad I did. What we have here is an extremely solid, fast, heavy and energetic slab of heavy metal mania. It is easy to see how this was as influential as it was, although somewhat simplistic, this is very consistent and it easily stands up to any other more well known metal album of its time. Everything on this album, for the most part, is fast, heavy and extremely enjoyable.

The songs on Heavy Metal Maniac are all generally fast songs with a few slower interludes here and there. "Iron Dogs" is more mid-paced for the majority of its running time, but it picks up toward the end. "Black Witch" starts off with a well done acoustic intro and then picks up in a much heavier fashion, then returns to the acoustic part, and it finally explodes with a badass, rifftastic outro. Other than these two, the album is a speed fest with lots of heavy crunchy riffs and a great rhythm section. The songs generally have a pretty straightforward structure to them, which allows the energy and aggression of the music to shine. This could be a recipe for disaster, but the music is fast and powerful, so the simplicity complements their classic heavy metal style. The lyrics are pretty straightforward too, dealing with common themes in heavy metal. The vocals are done in a crazy kind of style, the drummer is also the lead vocalist of this band, and he does a great job, his voice fits the music very well. My favorite songs on Heavy Metal Maniac are the title track, which is an awesome metal anthem, "Rising of the Dead", "Cry of the Banshee", "Mistress of Evil" and "Under Attack". I think that "Iron Dogs" is a bit on the weak side, as is "Black Witch", but they are both still good tracks. The entire album is actually a great and consistent listen from start to finish.

The instrumentation is great and full of energy. It is very easy for bands that play this style to either under-do it and sound unskilled, or to over-do it and sound like they are trying too hard. Exciter has a perfect game plan to how they approach their songs, the riffs are great, the solos frenetic and fitting, the bass is fantastic and punchy, and the vocals are powerful and crazy. Dan Beehler does an excellent job handling the vocals and the drums, I don't know if he does both simultaneously, but either way, big props to him because he does a great job on both. The bass player, Alan Johnson, plays some awesome bass for the whole album actually. His bass tone is loud and punchy (it is pretty similar to Markus' tone on Walls of Jericho) and he has some great fills and grooves. "Rising of the Dead" has an awesome bass part toward the middle, and all of the songs have tasty basslines. The guitarist, John Ricci, has a unique style for heavy metal. He generally hammers out the chords without ever palm muting. I know that palm muting is not a prerequisite for playing heavy metal, but still, this guy shamelessly strums the fudge out of the thing without putting palm mutes anywhere. This gives him a badass, "holding nothing back" kind of style, and it works really well.

Overall, this is a pretty strong album. I'm glad I checked these guys out, and this is some quality heavy metal on this album. It doesn't try to be something that it's not and it is consistently awesome from start to finish. I recommend this to all heavy metal fans, especially those who love a more traditional style of metal. This is a nice slab of fast and powerful metal through and through, and I really enjoy it. Truly a record showcasing some heavy metal mania!

Although I like Darkthrone in general, there is one thing that bothers me. Why on earth does their song "Canadian Metal" not refer on Exciter´s legendary debut? That is a real blunder. However, "Heavy Metal Maniac", recorded in August 1982, justified the reputation of Exciter as one of the first speed metal bands worldwide. The band was fresh and ignited a firework display of unchecked creativity. They divided the songwriting under themselves in nearly equal parts and their pioneering spirit and courage could hardly be ignored. In my opinion, Exciter perfectly expressed the metallic attitude towards life of those days and the effective cover played its part to the full. The dirty and rough production completed the picture.

"Stand Up and Fight" was dogma and mentality at once. Therefore it was only consequential that the song of the same name opened the album after the unremarkable intro. Metal has obviously become part of the mainstream entertainment nowadays, but back in 1983 these outsider lyrics were entirely applicable. This up-tempo-track lived on its drilling riff and the summoning chorus in conjunction with the attitude described before. Beehler did not possess the most powerful voice in metal, but his appropiate screaming was authentic and credible. The title cut represented a seamless follow-on to the opener. The lyrics dealt with the outsider topic again while Exciter slightly slowed down the tempo. The chorus was simple and catchy at the same time.

The last two songs on the A-Side were slightly weaker. The tough "Iron Dogs" dragged on at length while the chorus failed to make this solid piece outstanding and the speedier part came too late. All the same, I have to say that the main riff proved its quality. "Mistress of Evil" delivered a fine bridge with short guitar solo eruptions and was more stringently than its predecessor. In summary, it can be said that the A-Side of the vinyl sounded amazingly good...

...but it was surpassed by the B-Side that was opened by the mighty "Under Attack". Placed directly in the middle between speed and heavy metal, the guitar runs, the gripping bridge and the strong chorus turned this tune into something special. The following "Rising of the Dead" convinced in the same manner. After a hesitant and spooky start, the song exploded and offered a brilliant chorus as well as suitable lyrics that emphasized the eerie atmosphere of the music. A surprising break after 2.05 minutes gave the song a new direction, an indication for an ambitious songwriting without desperately looking for progressive song structures. The same applied to "Black Witch" and its speed part at the end that saved this dark ballad from mediocrity. But let´s move on rapidly to "Cry of the Banshee", the final highlight. Exciter proved their unbridled power once more while the screaming went slightly mad. It appears as if the furious Canadians bent over backwards to bring this album to a glorious end while performing the most intensive tune. The result is that there remains an open question: when will Darkthrone release "Canadian Metal (Part II)"?

The sudden manifestation of a popular Exciter: The Story of Exciter documentary notwithstanding, Ontario's speed metal stalwarts are likely to go down in history as one of the longest surviving and little evolving acts in all the metallic canon to never quite get its due. They formed up in the late 70s, first as Hell Razor and later the Priest inspired Exciter, with an emphasis on the then-forward thinking sounds being popularized in both the English scene by Sabbath, Motörhead and the aforementioned Judas Priest, and riding the influence of North American hard rock circa KISS or Van Halen to a new level of aggression and 'excitement' well ahead of comparable Canadian legends like Anvil and Razor.

Thanks to an ironic yet important appearance on Shrapnel Records' seminal U.S. Metal Vol II LP, the band was able to sow its spikes and seeds into the minds of a broader fanbase here and overseas, and thus the full-length Heavy Metal Maniac was born, once more under the tasteful and sadly unsung Mike Varney and Shrapnel. More or less a re-skinning of their WWIII Heroes demo, it proved one of the more exciting North American speed/heavy metal albums in a year that produced Metallica's masterful Kill 'Em All, Manowar's Into Glory Ride, Anvil's Forged in Fire and Dokken's Breaking the Chains, but failed to catch on beyond the core audience for the style. Leather, studs, blood, knives and Marshall amplifiers were certainly eye catchers for the metal consumer of the day, but Exciter lacked the same level of sophistication that several of their peers were evoking, and perhaps their riffs and choruses didn't resonate quite so far...

But despite these setbacks, the debut insured the band's ability to perform and promote itself, and generated enough buzz within the industry that they secured further label support through Megaforce Records out of New York. Heavy Metal Maniac was not actually my first exposure to the band (I came into their sound through a cassette dub of Violence & Force), but in retrospect it's a fine album for its style and one that miraculously holds up nearly 30 years after its initial release. There's something genuine, dark, impulsive and testosterone fueled about this sort of record that seems to transcend time and age, perhaps not to the Arctic Monkeys crowd whose impression of 80s heavy metal is none other than the condescending hipster mockery that VH1's tragic popular video recycling and Metalocalypse taught them, but for those of us who were there and cared, or the newer generation of gateway trad metal fan that actually gives a damn.

Exciter was also cool in that they possessed one of those rare power trio configurations in which the drummer also doubled as the vocalist. Dan Beehler had a rabid, workmanlike, down to earth tone saturated with just the right amount of delay that cut out across the density of the guitar riffing. Never so refined or piercing as a Rob Halford or Joe Elliott, he generally hung about a mid range, but was still capable of a strident screech where it counted. In truth, I found his meter and delivery a bit similar to Bobby 'Blitz' Ellsworth' of Overkill on his earlier records like Feel the Fire and Taking Over, only not so violently wild, biting and infectious. That said, Beehler's kit skills were quite effective, whether laying into the slow Sabbath grooves of "Iron Dogs" or the more standard speed metal mid-pacing you'll encounter on most of the cuts like "Stand Up and Fight", "Under Attack" and "Cry of the Banshee". A bit tinnier in the mix than some might appreciate, but remember that this was essentially a demo tape and the Canadians were far from possessing an enormous studio budget.

Beehler is joined here by the other founding members, bassist Alan Johnson and guitarist John Ricci, the latter of whom many will recognize as the long standing spokesman and 'face' for the band, excepting Unveiling the Wicked (1986) and the s/t (1988) on which he had taken a brief departure from the lineup. Johnson approaches his lines with a festive, plum-picking thickness that he loads with grooves and fills. Sometimes he's doing his own thing, as heard in the intro piece "The Holocaust", but other times he's more or less creating a corpulent doppelganger to the rhythm guitar, especially in the faster riffs for tracks like "Mistress of Evil". As for Ricci, he's got a very obvious, weighted tone redolent of Black Sabbath, yet even more blue collar and raw, thriving on the a vivacious undercurrent of savagery rather than a miserable, gloomy din. One certainly hears a lot of punk in the chord constructions, a dash of Motörhead, but he's not afraid to implement brief, controlled dashes over higher strings, or a Van Halen-esque flange ("Heavy Metal Maniac") to create added depth.

The leads, on the other hand, seem entirely out of control, almost as if they were often improvised or squeezed in as an afterthought to various non-vocal sequences. For example, the solo in "Stand Up and Fight", while perfectly constrained to the bridge sequence, doesn't really stand out to my memory. But this was a symptom of much speed metal or thrash, used both to its detriment and success, and like everything else here, really goes with the times. Otherwise, Heavy Metal Maniac has a great pacing and structure. "The Holocaust" serves as a desolate, windy opener that cedes to the red rocket punch of "Stand Up and Fight", and for every few upbeat tracks they'll interject a slower piece like the potent "Iron Dogs" or the power ballad "Black Witch" so the listener doesn't ever feel like he's being clubbed in the face by the same tempo repeatedly.

There are unquestionably a few points here where the riffs seem a bit derivative of their more obvious influences. For instance, the pre-chorus chords in "Heavy Metal Maniac" feel like a ramped up "Detroit Rock City", and a few progressions seem as if they were paraphrased from various Sabbath and Priest predecessors, even if the same could be said of nearly anyone. Yet as the band themselves hint in one of the sweet 1982 audio interviews included with the 2005 Megaforce reissue, they were never bent on reinventing the wheel so much as re-greasing it and dialing up the volume while they ran over the crowd. The only song here I can honestly say I don't enjoy to some degree is "Black Witch", primarily because Beehler's delivery of several of the lyrics is goofier than usual, and even where it picks up to a Sabbath like slower heaviness the guitars are admittedly boring. But everything else works damned well, including the bonus tracks "World War III" (from their U.S. Metal II appearance) and "Evil Sinner" with its gleaming intro harmonics and some impressive, sustained screaming via Dan Beehler.

Ultimately, Heavy Metal Maniac is not offering Kill 'Em All or Piece of Mind levels of quality and craftsmanship, nor is it even the best of Exciter's backlog, but it's a good example of its class that, to the proper ears, will sound just as refreshing as as it did in the mid-80s. To some extent, I feel that this band has never really attempted to tax itself aesthetically. They're quite content with their chosen sound and through their ten full-length albums (to date), have offered us only slight variations that generally coincide with the various lineup changes. But it's not as if we were short on innovators in this or any spectrum, and something can be said for the consistency of vision these Canadians cling to. Whether for a single night of passionate, headbanging release, or a completely leather-bound lifestyle, there's always going to be a time and place to experience music like this: and when you are ready, so too is Heavy Metal Maniac, waiting to embrace you with amplified enthusiasm.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

I think we have a bone to pick with Canada. Our buds North of the Border have given us musical garbage like Celine Dion, Rush (I'll save a review of my disdain for those prog-composing wienies for another day), and arguably that most awful of back bacon-spawned horror, the monumental tool that is Justin Bi...b..b...b; you know, I won't waste another keystroke on that pussy-ass mutant freak. I can forgive all this and more from a nation who will legalize marriage between a man and a car, thanks to Exciter.

Exciter released this, their first album, way back in the gritty and loud early years of heavy metal in 1983. This was also one of the first true speed metal albums to pop up, with some elements of thrash, evoking a sign of things to come. Exciter here has a raw, almost Motorhead-like sound, made up of unrelenting speed and machine gun-fire riffing. The three bandmates also rule. Here we have Dan Beehler on both drums AND vocals; a mix that one won't find often. His drumwork is pounding and very thrash-like (but with some melody), and his vocals are strong and angry, with lots of piss-and-vinegar shrieks and mostly decent mid-paced yelling. Then we have John Ricci on guitars. He too can riff like no one's business, loud and again almost thrash-like. Alan Johnson rounds it out with the bass, and while he's good, his work is nothing to brag about.

The songs have that nasty habit that many a metal albums have in that they tend to run together a bit thanks to repetitiveness. It's basically "fast, fast, fast, some mid-paced, fast, fast". But hey, this is Exciter. If I really wanted variety, I'd listen to a Symphony X album. This is one of the first speed metal bands, baby, and I'll be damned if no song on here sucks! Though a bit similar again thanks to the speed and raw sounds, they all kick ass anyway. The killer title track delivers awesome shredding guitars and some cool, sleazy synth riffs in the pre-chorus. The short but sweet "Stand Up And Fight" will have you doing just that with more shredding, pounding drums and all-out speed. And don't even get me started on mid-paced crushers like "Iron Dogs" and the dark, near-epic "Black Witch".

Overall, while the songs run together a little thanks to similar sounds and speed, this is still Exciter, people. Check out this classic for its raw speed and riff after unrelenting riff.

1983 was the dawn of so many classic albums in the golden era of heavy metal in general. It was also probably the single most wildest and most unadulterated period for heavy metal lifestyle and music because the lines were clearly drawn and there was no fucking around with bands who knew what they wanted; total domination. NWOBHM was still going strong, black metal found it's birthing stage and thrash metal in general just started poking it's ugly head through the door like in the movie "The Shining" with a demented Jack Nicholson saying "HERE'S JOHNNY!". It's almost hard to pick out an album that stands out so much, but even harder for an album that seemed almost too extreme for it's time; Ladies and gentleman I give you Exciter's "Heavy Metal Maniac".

First thing's first, let's listen to the sound. It's a face-peeling rawness that is a perfect continuation of what Motorhead is known for, only much more frantic. In fact it's almost like fucking ear candy to me because it's the perfect kind of rawness that a metal band should have in order to have a perfect combo of speed, melody, aggressiveness and total ATTITUDE! Yes this album will fuck you up if you don't obey it's command. Vocalist/Drummer Dan Beehler is the perfect tone for early thrash/speed metal in what James Hetfield wish he could've sounded like on "Kill'em All". John Ricci..no words. His guitar tone is almost too perfect. It's the tone that makes you grow hair on your chest and balls. Bassist Alan Johnson backs his two metal warrior brothers with the right amount of warm fuzz his bass gives off.

"Heavy Metal Maniac" has everything going for it. You have your automatic classics such as "Stand Up and Fight", the anthem-like title track, and "Rising The Dead", then we get to the other side which shows a little bit more melodic almost Black Sabbath shade of heaviness ala' 'Sign of The Southern Cross" such as "Black Witch", which has an intro that sounds like Metallica were listening to a bit too much to when recording "Fade To Black". What's in between are some more mid-paced head bangers; "Iron Dogs" is very identical to Mercyful Fate's "Curse of the Pharaohs", with "Cry of The Banshee", "The Holocaust", "Under Attack", and "Mistress Of Evil".

For a debut album, this is some powerful stuff. If anything, this album should be listened to and studied for the guitar sound alone. It's an extremely infectious tone that signifies where Exciter was and what they were doing amongst all the other bands kicking metal in it's proverbial ass in '83. Mandatory listening required.

Its sounds strange to say this now, but there was a time when Canada’s Exciter were seen as contenders to be new metal leaders alongside Metallica and Anthrax. Listening to their albums today reveals just how trapped in underground metal themes the band was, excellent though they are. Simply, the other bands that would go on to be stars evolved (in various ways) and Exciter largely did not. But that just means that while dated, their music is rock solid as it perfectly captures a specific time in metal’s past. The prime influence is clearly Motorhead, flecked with bits of Iron Maiden’s song stylings. But being a trio, Exciter come across like a compact and solid brick of a band, heavier and faster than Tank but not as garish as Venom. This is their debut, an album that turned many heads around in the day due to their general melding of aggression and speed with song smarts and classy performance skills. Drummer and vocalist Dan Beehler delivers a high energy performance for both of his duties, while the material here is varied enough to retain interest throughout. On the fast and furious side we have “Stand Up And Fight,” “Cry Of The Banshee” and the fine title track to enjoy, all of which feature guitarist Jon Ricci riffing and soloing with solid flair. On the other hand, “Iron Dogs” begins the band’s tradition of writing solidly slower anthems, and “Blackwitch” manages some nice melodic touches to it’s otherwise straight forward approach. Produced with clear but bristled sound, the whole record is enjoyable in the wonderfully nostalgic sense I described earlier, and for a debut it’s damn impressive.

Everybody considers the first two albums by Exciter true cults for the speed metal genre but I don’t know why this band is so underrated. You can see it also from the number of reviews they received and somehow the band always stayed in a marginal and quite obscure position during all these years. As a fan of thrash/speed metal music, I really cannot understand that, so I decided to give my sincere contribute to a band that was one of the most important realities of this music in the whole world.

These Canadian masters of speed metal were incredible. Their debut, this Heavy Metal Maniac saw the light in a magic year for this genre, 1983. The first thrash metal bands were still heavily speed metal influenced and the true precursors can be found in bands like Anvil and Exciter. The power, the intensity of this sound was incredible at the time and still nowadays it has inside something that drives me crazy. Here you can really enjoy the essence of the classic metal that back in the 80s was so pure and sincere.

The album starts with a small intro to flow in several semi up tempo parts of the violent “Stand Up and Fight”. The up tempo parts are the classic speed metal ones, so not fast like the ones in thrash metal but somehow bound to the Motorhead style. Anyway, the main word is intensity and it comes directly from every instrument here. The guitars are raging and fast with terrific open chords riffs and the scratchy distortion. The vocals are quite melodic but always impressive for anger. They are like the traditional metal ones but brought to higher levels of nastiness.

The title track is another fist in the face for the simple but fast structures and the perfect refrain. Talking about the simplicity and catchiness of the structures, check out the long, mid paced but obscure “Iron Dogs”. The second part is a bit faster but conserves always that massive darkness and everything sounds so 80s in style…wow, I like it. The great bass drum work can be found in the fast “Under Attack” while the short “Rising of The Dead” is more punk in the tempo and the riffage. If you want a semi dark ballad, “Black Witch” is here to satisfy your need, delivering some arpeggios by the beginning, continuing with mid paced and evocative parts that involve also the vocals.

The final “Cry of the Banshee” is the classic fast song put at the end, to close the album with the last dose of heaviness. The tempo is intense and the structures are always very catchy.
Here in this album we can find some of the best compositions ever by Exciter and they belong to the history of this genre. Of course, don’t expect technical parts or stuff like that because here it’s all about the sheer amplifiers’ volumes and violence. This is metal and this is good.

Exciter never really gotten that much attention, and I'm not exactly sure why. They have sheer aggression, great riffs, and they're prettty damn catchy. Their music kinda reminds me of Judas Priest and Motorhead mixed together. They have the attitude, sound, and image of Judas Priest while ahving the balls and riffs of Motorhead. Mix themt ogether and you have Exciter. They have to one of the most underrated bands ever, and they're debut album, Heavy Metal Maniac, is a great example.

The majority of the songs are fast, catchy, and the riffs are on top. The title track, Stand Up and Fight, and Under Attack are good examples of whay the majority of this album sounds like. Rising of the Dead sounds a little punkish yet haves riffs that slay. It's one of the best songs on the album. Then, to throw in a little bit of variety, they add a mid-paced song, Iron Dogs, and an epic number, Black Witch. Both songs are pretty good, yet don't quite fit with the rest of the album, probably because it doesn't match with the raw sounding production that the album has. With bands like Exciter, the fatser the songs are, the better. Under Attack reminds me alot of Motorhead with the fast, heavy, and raw sounding riffs.

Though, they may lack in variety, Exciter manages to release a consistent and catchy, yet fast and furious album, just on the eve of the thrash revolution that would take the metal world by storm. I think the main reason why this band was never popular was because they did not hop on the thrash band wagon. However, it shows that Exciter have they're own unique raw sound. This album is an underrated classic, and it is certainly worth owning. sure, it's no Painkiller, but it's pretty close, abd if you love speed metal, then Exciter is the type of band you want. I'd recommend getitng this, and the follow up album, Violence & Force, as soon as you can.

“…when twilight burns across the sky you’d better run and hide, the beast will roar from deep inside…”

Canada’s Exciter is another of those bands without a flashy name and no image to speak of. What they did have was a drummer who doubled as a vocalist, an uncommon luxury especially in metal and especially at that date. Once in a rare while you might catch wacko Rob Hunter over in Raven trying to sing through his goalie mask. Ventor of Kreator would add to this feeble list shortly. Peter Criss did it…once, if you can even count that. The guy from the Romantics...ok, now I'm getting silly, but still, let me know if I’ve missed one. In addition, the trio was uncorking metal probably a little heavier than just about everyone else without sounding like Maiden’s kids, was a bit on the unliftable side for Shrapnel Records more delicate fretboard fingering, those who weren’t into the British wave appreciated the effort, and are an unwitting co-conspirator to the future thrash movement.

With hopes of aggression that'll grip yer fillings, the confidently titled “The Holocaust” literally breezes into a passive, twinkly interlude leading into a slow, timid step overshadowed by long soloing wails that keeps optimism alive. With nary a break, “Stand Up and Fight” rolls in the energy with a fervent pace that’s difficult to ignore. Screamer/shrieker extraordinaire Dan Beehler would be the precursor to many thrash singers and would come into his rip- screeching own with next year’s dam buster Violence & Force lp. The biggest selling point of the title cut is a strong chorus you can believe; not some guy half-heartedly whining or one you can see shaking his ass to a gaggle of girls in the front row. “Iron Dogs” is 90% a slow rumbler that isn’t the most creative effort in the void, but does liven up toward the end with a quicker pace to underscore a blaring solo via John Ricci. “Mistress of Evil” takes both velocities of the previous song and meters them like traffic, interchanging them for a more interesting outcome than what “Iron Dogs” offers.

The more interesting side two starts with “Under Attack”, a song that always damaged my hearing with its animated main riff and a double bass-rumbled chorus churning with a slow, destructive chug. Breathlessly, this drives into “Rising of the Dead” with its punk-ish opening riff and chorus that is as striking as it is dramatic. A side of the three-piece that isn’t often heard dwells in “Blackwitch”, curbing the cumbrous din for something somber, yet remains grandiose with a slow and mighty undertow. As if awakening the beast, there’s a breakneck outburst near the end that finishes with a streaking, overboard solo. A relentless, vocally-dominant chorus is the backbreaker of “Cry of the Banshee”, with the rhythm/solo compound showcasing possibly the band’s heaviest moments on the lp. Beehler rasps his throat scarlet raw toward the end, yawping the curtain call to an album that was slightly ahead of its time.

For ’83, they weren’t off the mark with this lp's title. I personally prefer Violence & Force to this debut, proving to be a more mayhemic endeavor as far as my tastes go, but that’s not saying Heavy Metal Maniac isn’t worthy of a couple hundred spins.

This is a pretty nice early speed metal album - definitely influential on a lot of thrash bands even though it wasn't quite thrash, it sounds like a more vicious version of Motorhead with some Judas Priest influence as well.

The first song is "The Holocaust", which is a nice melodic intro, and then we get to "Stand up and Fight"! It's fast, it's furious - pretty typical for this album, I mean it IS speed metal!!! Nice headbanging riffs to be found here. Next, "Heavy Metal Maniac" which is an even better song - the choruses flow nicely, and again some really cool speed metal riffs, and some pretty cool soloing from John Ricci.

"Iron Dogs" is more midpaced - it's a bit boring on the album, though live it totally kicks ass. "Mistress of Evil" and "Under Attack" are also pretty nice, and then the album really kicks into high gear with the last three songs... "Rising of the Dead" features probably the most memorable choruses, and some pretty nice shrieks from Dan Beehler.

"Black Witch" is more of an epic power metal song, except it gets really fast and heavy, and also has some great screams, and then we close with "Cry of the Banshee", which is the best song on here - it's got a few really cool parts that go together well, especially the middle section... WHEN TWILIGHT BURNS ACROSS THE SKY, YOU BETTER RUN AND HIDE!!! THE BEAST WILL ROAR FROM DEEP INSIDE!!!

Overall, for the most part it's not a particularly complicated album, but what Exciter do, they do well. Catchy songs, good loud vocals, and great riffs and solos, combined with a sense of aggression that was quite ahead of its time for the early 80s. A very good album.