Violence & Force

Exciter's first album Heavy Metal Maniac had shown enough promise to secure them a deal with Jon Zazula's fast-emerging Megaforce Records. But when they completed 1984's Violence & Force, the results were somewhat below expectations, and the band sounded as if they were trying to emulate fellow Canadian's Anvil. Produced by Carl Canedy, who had just worked on Anthrax's debut Fistful of Metal, the album simply lacked the raw aggression and Judas Priest meets punk rock attitude of its predecessor. Except for the album's solid title track and the anthemic "Swords of Darkness," most of Violence and Force sounds rushed and uninspired -- particularly tracks like "Pounding Metal" and "War is Hell," which have only gotten worse with age. Thankfully, the band would bounce back the following year with what many consider their best effort Long Live the Loud. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia