Throughout the course of modern rock history, the pages are filled with countless cult and underground heroes, and even more bands that can be filed under the category of "What If's." What if the timing was better or luck was on their side? Such a band is Xciter. While playing the same venues as
Quiet Riot and
Van Halen in California in the '70s, the band never met with the same popularity or favor as many of the bands on the strip did, but they certainly had to have been one of the best
Aerosmith-derivative bands out there during their peak. With future
Dokken members
George Lynch and Mick Brown forming the core of the group, Xciter even sound like
Zeppelin (check
Lynch's guitar riffs and Greg Sanford's vocal phrasing on "Black Star.") With the addition of Lisa Furspanker on vocals for the second half of the disc, it's obvious that Xciter were transitioning towards a more commercial sound by the end of the '70s. A nice souvenir for metal fans looking for historical documentation of that time period and its vibrant music scene. ~ Rob Theakston