As a country, Canada is probably best known for moose, mounties and maple syrup rather than its musical legacy. However, as a lot of you should be aware, the country has a rich metal history spanning the past 30 years. Anyone out there into Razor, Slaughter, Voivod, Sacrifice, Anvil, Thor, Exciter etc.? Yes, I thought so. Well today, I wish to bring you one of my favourite Canadian exports, the largely forgotten Death/Deaf Dealer!

Death Dealer started in the frozen wastelands of Jonquiere, Quebec in 1980 and were peers of slightly-more-famous locals Voivod. However, their approach to heavy metal was far more straightforward than their friends, as they favoured intricate, up-tempo, melodic metal undeniably influenced by Maiden and Priest.

Following early success (partly as a result of their excellent 1983 demo), the band scored a deal with Polygram Records and at the label's insistence, changed their name to Deaf Dealer, along with adopting English pseudonyms (the label fearing that French names would restrict appeal).  DD subsequently released their only official album, 'Keeper of the Flame' in 1986. By the time this record appeared, the band had replaced original singer Andre Larouche with one Michael Flynn, whose powerful pipes sound somewhere between Bruce Dickinson and Wild Dogs' Matt McCourt.

And 'Keeper of the Flame' is an absolute cracker of an album; filled with vigourous  songs, warp-speed technical guitar work in spades and fun, not-too-serious lyrics. As mentioned earlier, the Maiden/Priest influences are worn proudly on sleeves here, in the form of harmonies galore. It's an entertaining and memorable heavy metal record that really should have sold by the bucketload. But it didn't...

A lack of commercial success meant that the label cut the band adrift whilst recording second album 'Journey Into Fear', causing all tapes (along with the band's equipment) to be seized.  Since then, the album has been leaked (have a search on t'internet) and is highly regarded by many, with a lot of fans reckoning it to be superior to their debut. It's a crying shame that it's never seen an official release as it is a wonderful and even slicker record than 'Keeper...'.

As far as I'm aware, the band had disappeared back into the mountains... until now! Following a successful hometown reunion last year, Death Dealer will be playing at Keep it True festival in Germany next April. Miss it at your peril. And if you can't make that, at least get hold of their recorded output.

Right, in their own words, "I'm getting ready to goooooooooooo"

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