Customer Reviews

Coercion To Kill

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Back in the early 80's I got my hands on a tape of a 15-song demo by a band called Death Dealer; this was in the days before the internet when the underground tape-trading network was the best, and often only, way to get new music. This band, hailing from Canada, had a very unique sound, with the guitars fuzzed in a way that reminds me of what it might sound like to play one through a vacuum cleaner hose! Hard to describe, but very interesting. The singer is the other notable focus of this band, and while most of the lyrics are unintelligible (and when you read them in the booklet included in this CD you'll prefer to keep them that way!) the voice of André LaRouche act almost as an additional instrument. Some may find his vocal style grating, but I enjoyed then and it still works for me.

This CD is the release of that 15-song demo, using the original recordings, and serves as a greatest hits of sorts for a band that had such a quick run that many people wondered what happened to them. The tracklist is:
1) Sherry
2) Overshoot
3) Occident Tale
4) No Colors
5) Cross My Way
6) The Screamer
7) Far and Away
8) We Can't Come Back
9) Death Dealer
10) You Said Rock
11) Under to Over
12) The Faddist
13) Just Until the Day
14) Coercion to Kill
15) Just a Victim
My copy of the CD also contained a bonus video of "The Faddist" that was a wee tad painful to watch, but then most 80's metal videos have not aged well!

I'm not going to induldge in a track-by-track review, but I will say the album contains material both slow and fast, with a variety of influences. Those who heard Death Dealer either loved them or hated them, and I personally am very happy that they finally got their chance to release theses songs as they were intended, even if it is 25 years late! Great music from back when bands had individual personalities that allowed you to differentiate them from the first notes.