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Review: Exciter - Death Machine
Exciter
www.facebook.com/excitercanada
Death Machine

Label: Massacre Records
Year released: 2010
Duration: 40:49
Tracks: 9
Genre: Speed/Thrash

Rating:
2.75/5


Review online: January 27, 2011
Reviewed by: Lior "Steinmetal" Stein
Readers' Rating
How do you rate this release?

Rated 3.97/5 (79.41%) (34 Votes)
Review

As an Exciter fan, I was disappointed to hear that Jacques Belanger, the vocalist who replaced the legendary Dan Beehler, would be leaving the band. The man did a good job filling Beehler’s shoes. The exit of Belanger and the entrance of Kenny "Metal Mouth" Winter for 2008’s Thrash, Speed, Burn gave me a feeling that this ship was headed for the rocks.

After Thrash, Speed, Burn I was expecting Exciter to get back to the same high-class Thrash Metal like they released in the 80s. I was actually hoping for that on Thrash, Speed, Burn, but it didn’t happen. 2010’s Death Machine sees the band making the same static, monotonous Speed Metal music without even trying to showcase their experience. There are some decent tracks like "Death Machine," "Demented Prisoners" and "Slaughtered in Vain," but it is hard to shake the feeling that Exciter has run into a wall.

For a band that is one of the pioneers of Speed/Thrash Metal, Death Machine is not a great album. The band tried for a 80s sound and for a fan of that style of recording this will be a pleasure. Nonetheless, there are some inconsistencies with the mixing and mastering which resulted in some of the tracks sounding as if they were demo versions. As mentioned, fans of that sound will like it, but those unfamiliar with Exciter will find it hard to appreciate the speedy passages.

I found it hard to give Exciter this rating, but I can’t see any other way. With Death Machine, the band simply didn’t make the cut. My expectations were that they would make an album way better than its predecessor, but that didn’t happen.

More about Exciter...
Review: Death Machine (reviewed by MetalMike)
Review: Heavy Metal Maniac (reviewed by MetalMike)
Review: Long Live the Loud (reviewed by MetalMike)
Review: New Testament (reviewed by Michel Renaud)
Review: Thrash Speed Burn (reviewed by Michel Renaud)
Review: Violence & Force (reviewed by MetalMike)
Interview with John Ricci (guitar) on January 3, 2011 (Interviewed by MetalMike)
Interview with drummer and vocalist Dan Beehler and bassist Allan Johnson on December 20, 2014 (Interviewed by Luxi Lahtinen)
Interview with guitarist John Ricci on November 13, 2017 (Interviewed by Luxi Lahtinen)
Interview with guitarist Daniel Dekay on August 4, 2022 (Interviewed by Luxi Lahtinen)
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