Beast [CD]

Legendary guitarist John Ricci of Exciter returns with his new band, Powerrage. Alongside Ricci are bassist Todd Pilon (formerly of Witchkiller), drummer Lucas Dery, and singer Jacques Bélanger, who was featured on the three Exciter albums. Powerrage's music is difficult to describe, but in addition to ultra-heavy doom/death metal, there are also Exciter influences and parallels to early Mercyful Fate. The eight tracks on Beast were recorded with the help of John Ricci's longtime friend and producer Manfred Leidecker and mixed by Dan Swanö at Unisound Studio. When you listen to uncompromisingly hard tracks like "Dark Wings," "Haunted Hell," or the almost punk-sounding (and somewhat reminiscent of the unique Amebix) "I Torture I Kill," it quickly becomes clear that Powerrage is indeed a new beginning.