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Canada's Exciter was one of the first speed metal bands, bursting out of the gate in 1983 -- the year zero for thrash -- alongside other upstarts like Slayer and Metallica. But needless to say, their success came nowhere near matching those of their peers, and the band's brush with stardom was a brief one. Vocalist and drummer Dan Beehler, guitarist John Ricci, and bassist Allan Johnson formed Hell Razor in Ottawa, Canada, in 1978. After changing their name to Exciter in 1980, the band sent their first demos to Shrapnel Records founder Mike Varney, who included the track "World War III" in 1982's U.S. Metal, Vol. 2, then inked them to a one-album deal. Issued in 1983, the band's first effort, Heavy Metal Maniac, was among the first thrash metal albums, and brought them to the attention of Jon Zazula's Megaforce Records (the home of Metallica and Anthrax), which signed Exciter to a three-album deal. After recording 1984's Violence & Force with Anthrax producer Carl Canedy, the band emb...