Review by Daniel for Exciter - Unveiling the Wicked (1986)

Canada’s Exciter may not have invented the speed metal sound as it was already evident in parts of earlier releases from the likes of Venom however there can be very little doubt that they were the first ones to place the majority of their focus on that style of metal along with Belgium’s Acid. Exciter’s first three albums (released between 1983-85) are still widely regarded as pivotal records in the history of the speed metal genre today & rightly so too. If you’re an old-school thrasher like myself then it’s very unlikely that you’ve managed to steer completely clear of the influence of seminal releases like 1983's “Heavy Metal Maniac” over the several decades since. People with more than a passing knowledge of the band’s later material seem to be a little less common though so perhaps it's not all that surprising that someone like myself has never heard any of Exciter’s material after 1985’s very solid “Long Live The Loud” album (which just happens to be my favourite speed metal release of all time). I have to admit that I went into 1986’s fourth album “Unveiling The Wicked” with a fair amount of trepidation though as the band’s post-1985 material isn’t exactly raved about.

Your first challenge with a record like “Unveiling The Wicked” comes in the form of the horrendous cover artwork as it’s honestly about as woeful as it gets, even by the notoriously low standards of mid-80’s speed metal. It’s so clear that the woman on the cover is really peeling some fake green rubber OFF her face rather than the other way around which leaves you wondering if SHE is really “the wicked” as opposed to the gremlin that’s intended. It all seems so low-grade that it has the effect of significantly diminishing your expectations of the songs contained within before you’ve even pressed play. Then once you do build up the courage to check out the actual music you’re immediately confronted with an empty, muted production job that sounds like the band is playing in the distance. This flawed packaging is certainly not an ideal platform for the band to wet people’s appetites with but the music doesn’t exactly set the world on fire either it has to be said.

Exciter have always had a significant heavy metal component in their sound with bands like Black Sabbath & Judas Priest playing just as strong a role in the creation of their style as Motorhead or Venom but “Unveiling The Wicked” sees that classic heavy metal influence taking the ascendency & I no longer think it’s accurate to call this record a speed metal release. It sounds far too lethargic for that but definitely isn’t helped by the flat production. We also see pockets of commercial hard rock popping up across the tracklisting & it’s hard not to suggest that there’s a been a bit of a cash-grab attempt going on here. New guitar shredder Brian McPhee shows himself to be quite talented through some quite accomplished solos & the band tries to milk that through an ill-timed shot at creating their own version of Eddie Van Halen’s “Eruption” in the one & a half minute “Brainstorm” interlude. It unfortunately comes across as an obvious example of plagiarism & placing it as the second track on the album was clearly a bad call as the energy just kinda dies even though the track itself is one of the more interesting inclusions. Following it up with two commercially focused shockers in the dumb “Die In The Night” & the immature cheese of “(I Hate) School Rules” is even more baffling, as is the fact that the former seems to be the most highly regarded track on the album (do people not have ears any more?). Thankfully Exciter give us some reasonable quality at the end of the record with the final two tracks being clearly the best of the tracklisting (my personal favourite being the most speed metal oriented inclusion on the album in “Live Fast, Die Young”) but this does leave you asking why they’d left it all so late because the damage was already done by that point. 

I know some people will disagree with me here but I find the other major weakness to be drummer Dan Behler’s vocals. His shrieking banshee-like delivery is so repetitive & showcases a very limited range & ability which leaves me wondering why it hasn’t been so noticeable on previous records. Perhaps it’s the slower tempos & less aggressive feel of these tracks that sees Dan’s limitations being more obvious in a noticeably less violent soundscape? That does sound pretty logical but let’s be honest… Dan was never an amazing vocalist to begin with.

“Unveiling The Wicked” is easily a couple of steps down from Exciter’s first three albums & I’d suggest that it’s a far from essential release in the speed metal story, especially given that it’s actually a heavy metal record parading around in speed metal attire. It reminds me very much of fellow Canadians Anvil in its various mediocrities & I have to wonder if there's some sort of relation there given the timing & locality of the two bands. It's also hard to imagine that Exciter has a full seven albums to come after this one & that none of them are even regarded as highly as this one. I can’t say I’ll be rushing out to investigate those just quietly.

For fans of Raven, Acid & Anvil.