The debut album from Canadian speed metal band Exciter. Boy this is a fist in the face-metal album for sure! Damn good songs and just full blast all through but anyway done with a great feeling for rhythms and sheer power. A classic and damn good metal album. Get it or die!

I saw Exciter at the 2012 Sweden Rock Festivaland I really enjoyed the show. Of course it can be a little too much listening to their full speed power without mercy for an whole hour but it was worth it for sure!

Oddly enough the band at the time of the recording of this album only consisted of three members, the drummer was also the vocalist which I see as an incredible task listening to the speed of the drumming! The band got a record contract with Mike Varney from Shrapnel Records in 1982 after sending him a demo. Varney include a track from the band on the US Metal vol.2 compilation the same year and after that got to record a full album. Interesting fact is that Heavy Metal Maniacwas released a few months before Metallica's album Kill 'Em All.

1)The holocaust (-)

2)Stand up and fight (8,0)

3)Heavy metal maniac (8,0)

4)Iron dogs (8,0)

5)Mistress of evil (7,5)

6)Under attack (7,5)

7)Rising of the dead (7,0)

8)Black witch (7,5)

9)Cry of the Banshee (7,0)

Score: 7,56

Dan Beehler-vocals and drums

John Ricci-guitars

Allan Johnson-bass

The music these Texans play is undiscribable. It can seem as total chaos when listening on it for the first time...or even the 10th time, but this is music to listen to over and over again and to discover new things the 50th time you listen to it. Somehow they manage to put melody to the chaos and that's what make me able to listen to this album. They, as good progressive bands do, always return to the basic ground in a song. Not just flipping away like some other bands do just to be able to call themselfs a progressive band. There are some songs I like here, some that I can listen to but also some that I just can't stand. 64 minutes of this kind of music is way too much, I get totally messed up in my head.

On Mars Volta's 6th album guitarist John Frusciante from Red Hot Chili Peppers is for the first time not playing on the album. Also Deantoni Parks had replaced Thomas Pridgen on drums.

1)The whip hand (4,5)

2)Aegis (7,5)

3)Dyslexicon (7,0)

4)Empty vessels make the loudest sound (5,5)

5)The malkin jewel (3,0)

6)Lapochka (6,0)

7)In absentia (3,0)

8)Imago (7,0)

9)Molochwalker (6,5)

10)Trinkets pale of moon (3,0)

11)Vedamalady (4,5)

12)Noctourniquet (3,5)

13)Zed and two naughts (5,0)

Score: 5,08

Cedric Bixler-Zavala-vocals (b.1974)

Omar Rodríguez-Lopez-guitars, bass and keyboards (b.1975)

Juan Alderete-bass (b.1963)

Deantoni Parks-drums (b.1977)

This, Finlands symphonic hardrockers Nighwish's 7th album was a great surprise to me. Always feeling that they had more to give and that is was a pity that they could not do more with many of their songs, here it finally is, a fantastic album full of good, interesting and powerful music! Two of the songs leave more to wish for but otherwise there is a LOT of over avearge good songs here. Listen and enjoy!

1)Taikatalvi (-) Very nice "childrens song"-intro.

2)Storytime (8,5) Good pompous hardrock with power and good melody.

3)Ghost river (6,5) Overpompous and messy with a big choir. Too much.

4)Slow love, slow (4,0) Very different jazzy slow song. Far away from rock music. I'm not ready for this yet...

5)I want my tears back (7,5)

6)Scaretale (9,0) Wonderful progressive song with a lot of "fooling around" crazy rhythms and superpowerful keyboards and choruses. Great!

7)Arabesque (-)

8)Turn loose the mermaids (9,0) Absolutely wonderful ballad in medieval style.

9)Rest calm (8,0)

10)The cow, the owl and the dove (8,0)

11)Last ride of the day (8,5)

12)Song of myself (8,5)

13)Imaginaerum (8,0)

Score: 7,77

Anette Olzon-vocals (b.1971)

Marco Hietala-vocals and bass (b.1966)

Emppu Vuorinen-guitars (b.1978)

Jukka Nevalainen-drums (b.1978)

Tuomas Holopainen-keyboards and piano (b.1976)