Osmose Productions, 2004
- Rising of the Dead
- Violence & Force
- Rule With an Iron Fist
- Rain Of Terror
- Brutal Warning
- Victims Of Sacrifice
- The Dark Command
- I Am The Beast
- Pounding Metal
- Stand Up And Fight
- Heavy Metal Maniac
- Blackwitch
- Burn At The Stake
- Long Live And Loud
- Ritual Death
Quiz time! TESTAMENT, ANTHRAX, TWISTED SISTER -- what do these bands have in common?
Right, they've all recently released albums consisting entirely of re-recorded earlier material from their glory days -- EXCITER, legendary Canadian purveyors of fine speed metal, make another entry into this growing fold of bands with the New Testament album.
There are a few curiosities here though which separate New Testament from other efforts of its ilk such as First Strike Still Deadly; EXCITER actually include not only early songs from their seminal Heavy Metal Maniac (1983) and Violence and Force (1984) albums, but also cuts from such recent albums as 2000's Blood of Tyrants. Furthermore, the production here is really rather raw. If I didn't know better, I would have no problems thinking that this was an 80's recording to begin with -- the drums have a rather murky sound to them, not to mention that the drum sound actually varies considerably between different songs on this CD. The guitar tone here is one of the strangest I've heard; an old 80's Hiwatt amp spewing out a thick, impenetrable wall of fuzzy distortion that doesn't really lend any sort of clarity to the riffing, but in the end works out really well anyway, making the songs sound considerably thicker and more "in your face" than the thin, typically 80's production of the original Violence and Force LP, for example.
I like the rawness here, because vicious-as-fuck speed metal about ruling with iron fists, standing up and fighting, banging your head for metal and such would really not benefit from an Abyss production. However, with the rawness intact, one has to question why this release exists, exactly? Yes, the sound is more powerful, but I'd wager that most fans would prefer the original versions anyway, seeing as they are just that -- the originals. Is it to show off the different line-up of today's EXCITER as opposed to the various incarnations of the band that recorded the original songs on display here? Possibly, but then again I would be more interesting in hearing what a new line-up could do in terms of writing and performing new material than hearing them play old stuff.
Spanning albums from 1983 to 2000, though, the album works very well as a sort of "best of" collection with coherent production values throughout. For a person like me, who admittedly hadn't heard any EXCITER prior to receiving this disc in the mail, I am feeling well and truly introduced to what EXCITER is all about after listening to this album a number of times -- and I like what I hear. From the anthemic shout-along classics like "Violence and Force" and "Heavy Metal Maniac" to slower tracks like "Blackwitch" (featuring a classical guitar intro in the midst of all the speed metal mayhem!) or borderline thrashers such as "Ritual Death", EXCITER deliver a record full of good, friendly, violent fun that is sure to please pretty much anyone with a patched-up denim vest and can o' beer in hand -- but on the other hand, if said metalhead already had all the better EXCITER albums in his collection, I'd see no real reason for him to buy this.
Rating: 7.5/10
