The original Exciter lineup recorded three classic albums in the 80s
The original lineup of Canadian thrash metal pioneers Exciter is preparing to enter the studio. Dan Beehler (vocals/drums), John Ricci (guitar), and Allan Johnson (bass) haven't reunited in three decades.
“We’ve just entered pre-production ,” Beehler told Canada’s The Metal Voice. “It’s taking a long time because, like many other bands, we don’t work on it every day. And with the shows, rehearsals, it’s taking a little while, but it’s getting there. And we’re very excited about it – we like the material – and as soon as we finish pre-production, we’ll start recording it, so I’m sure that sometime next year [it will be released].”
Regarding the musical direction of Exciter's new album, Beehler said: “It’s hard to say, but so far I think it’s a combination of the [first] three [albums] (…) I know the pressure is on us to make sure the album is as good as or close to the first three, but we’re the guys who created them and we’ve come back all these years [later], so it’s quite natural to write it. And we hope everyone likes it.”
The original Exciter lineup recorded three classic albums in the 80s – Heavy Metal Maniac (1983), Violence & Force (1984) and Long Live the Loud (1985) – before Ricci left the group and was replaced by Brian McPhee.
Exciter's last album, Death Machine , which featured Ricci as the only remaining original member, was released in October 2010 by Massacre Records.
Ricci, Beehler, and Johnson reunited as Exciter in 2014 and have performed sporadically since then.
