"Exciter" is a song by English heavy metal band

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

from their 1978

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Stained Class ''Stained Class'' is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 10 February 1978 by Columbia Records. It is the first of three Judas Priest albums recorded with drummer Les Binks, as well as the first to featur ...

''. It is the opening track and is an early example of

speed metal Speed metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It is desc ...

. According to former guitarist K.K. Downing their drummer

Les Binks James Leslie Binks (8 August 1951 – 15 March 2025) was a Northern Irish Heavy metal music, heavy metal drummer. He is best-known for being the drummer for Judas Priest, where he was a member from 1977 to 1979. Life and career Early years Pre ...

accidentally came up with the drum intro for the song at a soundcheck on their ''

Sin After Sin ''Sin After Sin'' is the third studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 8 April 1977 by Columbia Records, and on 22 April in the UK, by CBS Records. Produced by Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover, it was the band's majo ...

'' tour. Canadian heavy metal band Exciter took its name from this song.

1990 trial

During the 1990 civil action brought against the band, "Exciter" was played backwards to the court. Lead vocalist

Rob Halford Robert John Arthur Halford (born 25 August 1951) is an English heavy metal singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Perform ...

demonstrated that, when played in reverse, the song appeared to contain the phrase: "I asked for a peppermint, I asked for her to get one." This action showed that by playing any song in reverse, phrases could be formed by the human brain. The same point applied to "

Better by You, Better than Me "Better by You, Better than Me" is a 1969 song by the English rock band Spooky Tooth. The song appeared on the album '' Spooky Two'' and was composed by American keyboardist Gary Wright. In 1990, a 1978 cover version by heavy metal band Jud ...

", which had a sound that could be interpreted as "do it".

Track listing

In Japan, the song was released as a single in 1978.

References

{{authority control 1978 songs CBS Records singles Columbia Records singles Judas Priest songs Songs written by Rob Halford Songs written by Glenn Tipton