Although the underground tape-trading scene warmly received Deaf Dealer's early-1980s demo, the Québec-based heavy metal band never translated that early notice into lasting success. Andy LaRoche handled vocals for the original lineup, which managed to place only a single song on the 1983 various-artists anthology Metal Massacre, Vol. 4. The group dissolved soon after the compilation appeared, then reassembled two years later with Michael O'Flynn taking over lead vocals. Multiple setbacks delayed the release of the band's first full-length effort, Keeper of the Flame, until 1986; once it surfaced, listeners showed little interest and the record quickly disappeared from circulation. Mounting disappointment finally prompted the musicians to split for good within the following year.
