Lost Classic #3

Being from Canada, I have always followed a lot of the Hard Rock and Metal bands our country has produced.  Most have not gone on to multi-platinum success, but the quality has been high, and always influential. Ottawa's Exciter were one of the premier forces in North American Metal in the early 80's.  While other bands like Anthrax, Metallica and Slayer went on to larger audiences, and bigger successes, Exciter was left behind, but not before releasing some of the greatest Metal of the era.  

Their second album, Violence & Force is a classic.  At the time, when I was a teeneager, we were always on the lookout for new bands, and discovered a ton of great stuff from the era.  Bands like Raven, Anvil, Mercyful Fate and Venom were a big part of our musical tastes at that age.  I bought this as a blind buy, it had a crazy cover, and the band members on the back looked pretty cool.  I remember actually sending a note to the band asking for a patch for my jacket...and I'm still waiting lol.  Anyway, this record is full of classic metal, and really should be considered (along with the crushing debut Heavy Metal Maniac) as one of the original examples of Thrash.


 Not a bad track on the record, full of pounding drums and thrashy riffs.  The highlight for me has always been drummer Dan Beehler's voice.  The record is full of true metal anthems such as Scream In the Night, Pounding Metal, Delivering To The Master, and the blistering title track.  I've often felt that although fans in the know get it, Exciter really should have been bigger.  At the time they were playing shows with Motorhead, Anthrax and Mercyful Fate, and those bands all became legendary.  However, it's not a popularity contest, and Exciter put out some classic records.  It's too bad people weren't paying attention.  Violence & Force needs to be recognized as a classic of the genre.  Here's the title track.  Until next time, Horns Up!