"Heavy Metal Maniac" is considered a classic album by most metal enthusiasts. It had to be one of the very first thrash metal albums to come out, with only Raven beating them to the punch. Still, at the time Exciter were contenders with Metallica and Anthrax for thrash metal superiority, and this disc shows why. It had the speed, aggression and attitude. The recording was rough, sounding like a demo that was probably recorded live in someone's basement, but that only adds to the overall appeal. Not unlike many of those early, underground bands, it wasn't about stellar production, it was about plugging in, turning up and cranking out the metal! That is exactly what Exciter delivers. OK, a few songs have those cliché "evil" type heavy metal lyrics. However, this was pretty typical of the early 80's metal and thrash movement. "World War III" and the title track are classic tracks from this album.
"World War III" a bonus track on this particular pressing of Heavy Metal Maniac? The song was originally released in 1982 on the band's first demo tape of the same name, then later appeared on the second US Metal compilation on Shrapnel Records. Other CD reissues also included "Evil Sinner" from that demo.